Ive been watching videos all over youtube and a few capoeira sites and Ive yet to see anyone get kicked except for once (Which looked like a mistake) and only once have I seen someone triped (also in the form of a mistake)
2007-07-01 05:43:06 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Martial Arts
No you actually fight. IT LOOKS like a dance to fool the british soldiers that once ruled their lands.
It is a real fighting art. a great movie to watch based on it is called Only the Strong....its was made int the early or mid 90's.
You really need to understand the history and culture of their art to know why they train the way they do. I have had that luxury of training with them years ago and of course historical research.
so yes it is a real art and a worthy one too. like many un armed arts it derives from the need to defend themselves after the local law outlawed weapons and any form of fighting so thats why it looks like dancing.
All MA make mistakes, they are no differant, it is good they can laugh about it more so than some.
Here is the URL for the Movie at the bottom is the movie scenario. http://product.half.ebay.com/Only-the-Strong_W0QQprZ3205075QQtgZinfo
2007-07-01 06:00:16 · answer #1 · answered by Legend Gates Shotokan Karate 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
It's both. Capoeira is a "Martial Acrobatic Dance." It combines elements from all of those things. When you're in the roda, the only reason it's playful is because you're supposed to dodge rather than block (Though the blocking is implied with almost all dodges).
It depends on the practitioners and the style as to whether or not contact is made really.
Capoeira Angola is really close combat. It's about strength and skillful moving around your opponent. Angola is very low to the ground, and contact is common. A lot of the ground moves in the style you observed (Capoeira Regional [Hay-ji-o-nal]) come from Capoeira Angola.
As for Capoeira Regional: A lot of people these days don't make contact when they do moves. Capoeira Regional is really fast, and the spinning that is done is not pretty when someone gets kicked in the head. Your goal in the roda is to hide your true intetions, but when you're in a street situation: You don't hide anything. It's very effective for self-defense, but just like other Martial Arts: It takes awhile for that to kick in.
The contact that you see isn't usually a kick or something similar. The way that a Capoerista tries to get in is by countering. For example:
Vingativa- Your partner does a crescent kick, and this move is a dodge of that Crescent kick, and an elbow to the solar plexus. That is the kind of thing that ends the match.
Tesoura- Two leg scissor takedown. The leg grappling ends matches as well, and they work in street situations in the right hands. A tesoura is another way that a match is ended.
It's like an elaborate game of chess. The two people keep going until someone moves in. Usually when a Capoeirsta is given a chance to move in for the kill, they imitate the actual move. Like instead of actually doing a Martelo (Roundhouse kick) the head, they will slowly show their partner that was their intention by easing into the move.
Here's a video with some self-defense techniques:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pOd4G7odwg
Watch this roda too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS38bKr6vYE
You see how Mestre Barrao comes in for the kill at 00:35? That's how it's usually done.
2007-07-01 18:01:00 · answer #2 · answered by Kenshiro 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would like to respectfully disagree with Big Foot. You never been kicked until you been hit my that one kick, I don't know the English name, but it traslates to star.
It is still a form of a Matrtial art, it was just disguised as a dance to fool the soilders, I thought they where Portugese, but I may be wrong.
Either way Capoeiraist are very hard to block because to the unusual style, but you can defeat them with skill and timing.
2007-07-03 15:19:13 · answer #3 · answered by txinferno 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
IT's a type of dance but i suppose you can use the moves to fight
2007-07-01 12:52:15 · answer #4 · answered by Honey B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its not real fighting, maby a long time ago but its purely dance now days, they have some nice techniques which they say can be used for fighting but in reality they would be too complex to be effective against real opponents
2007-07-01 20:59:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 6⤋
listen to "fenrisWulf". Hes right.
2007-07-01 17:25:15 · answer #6 · answered by Mr. Bo Jangles 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋