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Ronin?
In feudal Japan,
"ronin" was the name given to masterless samurai, those who had no leader to
serve.
During my first 3+ years of Capoeira,
I have not been affiliated with a "real" Capoeira group and mestre. This is
not to say that I teach myself; instead, I learn from various mestres and
teachers, here and there, in bits and pieces. The majority of my training
has been with the Hamilton College Capoeira Club, which is not associated
with any particular group. The teacher, Roberto Andrade, has 6 years of
Capoeira experience, also with several instructors.
Nice To Meet You! So, Who Do You
Train With?
It's not easy to answer this
question... and it's always interesting to watch others' responses when I
explain my situation. Some simply accept it, others warn, reprimand, or
lecture me for learning with an "unqualified" instructor. One mestre told me
flat-out, "the reason your game is not developing is because you train here
and there with various people." To these criticisms I have three things to
say: 1) Saying my Capoeira is not developing is simply untrue. Every year I
have made progress in my movements, my game, my abilities to sing and play
instruments, and my understanding of the art; 2) I have no other option.
Roberto is the most experienced Capoeirista within a two hour drive... and I
have no car; and 3) Roberto may not be a mestre, but he's far from
"unqualified." He's a solid Capoeirista and an excellent and patient
instructor. He has never charged us for classes, but instead gives
generously of his time and energy to share his knowledge of Capoeira with
us.
It can also be a little tough to fit
in when I visit other groups. Yes, I have shown up in blue pants to a group
that wears all white, shown up in all white to a group that wears yellow and
black. Sometimes I have trouble "placing" myself if the class is divided up
into beginner/intermediate/advanced levels of instruction: I don't want to
be presumptuous and assume that I can jump right in with the more advanced
group; but I also don't want to look like a show-off by going with the more
beginner group and then being by far the most experienced one in it. It can
be an awkward situation.
The Good Stuff!
Despite the occasional difficulties,
being a lone wolf among packs of Capoeiristas has had far more pros than
cons.
First of all, it has made me a very
versatile Capoeirista. Being exposed to diverse styles of teaching and
playing has opened my eyes and made me attuned to the subtle differences
among them, and I can adapt my style to fit the environment. I'm comfortable
in virtually any roda: traditional Angola rodas led by students of Pastinha...
aggressive, fight-like rodas in which games end in intense wrestling
matches... fluid and beautiful performance rodas in front of a large
audience... the spontaneous games that arise on the streets and beaches of
Brazil... I'm not a full angoleira nor a full regionalista nor a full
contemporânea Capoeirista, but a little bit of everything; my style is
unique and can't be "pinned" to a certain group. I've seen many Capoeiristas
that are very good within their own group, but cannot play in a roda that
differs from their group's style... I prefer to be versatile; "a Capoeirista
must be a chameleon," says Mestre Suassuna.
Secondly, I believe I've learned much
more about Capoeira than I would have if all my training was with just one
mestre. "Ninguém é dono da
verdadeira absoluta," writes Mestre Bola Sete: no one possesses the absolute
truth. Everyone has different
perspectives... on everything from the history of Capoeira, to the
significance behind the very movements and songs, to the best method of
teaching it. Hearing so many diverse and often contradictory viewpoints from
students and teachers of the art has allowed me to keep an open mind and to
form my own opinions.
Another benefit of being outside the
group system is that I remain un-batizado'd and unranked. Consequently I
don't place much importance on rising through the cord levels, comparing my
abilities with others', obsessing about who does and doesn't get the next
cord at a batizado and why, etc. I have a corda crua (used in many groups
for unranked beginners) simply to hold up a couple pairs of abadás that will
fall down without one. Even that got me into trouble in Bahia - people would
come up to me on the street and say "careful, because in some groups that's
the color of a mestre's cord, and they won't like you wearing one."
:::shrug:::
Finally, being unaffiliated with
anyone keeps me out of rivalries, politics, and the other nasty issues that
can sometimes come between students and instructors of different groups. I
try to respect, get along with, and learn from every Capoeirista I
encounter, and I've generally been successful.
In Conclusion...
I'm glad that for the first few years
of my learning I haven't been a member of a "real" group; it has helped me
become a more versatile, open-minded, and complete Capoeirista. Please
understand that I'm not saying I'm the perfect Capoeira player - I consider
myself very much a beginner, and I still have TONS more to learn. And I
don't write this at all to criticize Capoeira groups or their members -
after all, I won't be a ronin Capoeirista forever! I graduate Hamilton
College this year, and when I settle down and live in one place for more
than a few months at a time, I'll join a real group. Fortunately, my
experience as a Capoeirista sem mestre has led me to train with and visit so
many groups' classes that I have a pretty good idea of what kind of group
I'd like to be part of, both in terms of Capoeira style and teaching style.
Roberto has told me that his aim is to open our eyes so that when we do
leave the college club and choose a group to join, we choose wisely. In
this, I believe he has succeeded.
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The Great Divide
Male or female? Democrat or
Republican? Paper or plastic? Chocolate or Vanilla? Cup or cone? Manual or
automatic? Angola or Regional? The division between the two styles of
Capoeira seems to be one of those great dichotomies. Unfortunately, each
camp holds a lot of misconceptions about the other. I don't claim to be an
expert, but as someone who doesn't fall completely on either side of the
fence, I have a few observations and opinions to share.
To clarify some
definitions: when I say “Capoeira Angola” I refer to all Capoeira lineages
(both Pastinha and non-Pastinha) that date from before the creation of
Capoeira Regional and do not trace their line to Mestre Bimba. “Capoeira
Regional” refers to both the original style created by Mestre Bimba and
students thereof, and the Senzala-based/contemporânea/atual style
that has come to be known generically today as Capoeira Regional.
Angola and Regional Stereotypes
Things I've heard Angoleiros say
about Regionalistas:
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They are not
learning the “real,” “original” Capoeira
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Their style
is a bastard child of Capoeira Angola devoid of tradition and
culturally, philosophically, and spiritually bankrupt
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They are all
about showing off their flashy moves, pretty colored cords, and
oversized muscles probably gained by the use of steroids
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They spend
all their time flipping, so they are ineffective fighters.
Things I've
heard Regionalistas say about Angoleiros:
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Their style
is the low, slow, boring, old, musty and antiquated version of Capoeira
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They
are cultish snobs with a superiority complex based on practicing the
“original” (and therefore more “legitimate”) form of the art
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They are
dirty, smelly hippies who do drugs far more often than they shower
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Their style
is a form of dance, so they are ineffective fighters.
Not every Angoleiro or Regionalista
thinks this way, of course, but I’ve heard each of those thoughts voiced or
hinted at by students and even masters of the respective styles… more times
than I’d like. The stereotypes exist, even if they are not always openly
expressed.
I'll start by trying to separate the
truth from the myth in the above statements.
A Closer Look at Capoeira Regional
No one denies that Mestre Bimba
created Capoeira Regional in the early 20th century. However, the
fact that it is not the “original” form of Capoeira does not imply its
inferiority. Capoeira Angola has evolved as well; to believe that the
Capoeira Angola played today is the same as the “original” form practiced by
African slaves in the 17th century, or even the form practiced
after the abolition of slavery in the late 19th century, is
absurd. All arts change slowly over the centuries; the creation of Regional
was simply an unusually sudden – and deliberate – change in Capoeira, done
by Mestre Bimba for the express purpose of winning legitimacy for Capoeira
by promoting its acceptance among the middle and upper classes.
It’s true that
Mestre Bimba sacrificed some traditions. Whereas Capoeira Angola was a jogo
(game) that included play, fight and everything in between, Mestre Bimba
emphasized the fighting aspect, marketing his style as the Luta Regional da
Bahia (Regional Fight [or Martial Art] of Bahia) - the elimination of the
word "Capoeira" from the title was done to help separate his version from
the negative stereotypes associated with that term. Bimba also shifted the
primary focus from malícia to technique/efficiency. One result was the
elimination of the chamadas, incorrectly seen by Regionalistas as moments of
rest from the game when in actuality they are sub-games designed to test the
alertness and awaken the malícia of the Capoeiristas. Another consequence
was the de-emphasis of music: Bimba reduced the bateria from a gunga, medio,
viola, two pandeiros, atabaque, agogo, and reco-reco to a single berimbau
and two pandeiros. He replaced the ladainhas and chulas sung in Capoeira
Angola with the quadras, four-liners that are not even used much anymore;
most Regional rodas use only corridos. Mestre Bimba also introduced a few
traditions: the teaching of a Capoeira “course” in an academy setting and
the creation of a graduation system and ceremony.
The deliberate
change of traditions in order to make Capoeira appeal to a wider audience
may be questionable, but it definitely succeeded in its aim of legitimizing
the art: Mestre Bimba’s group worked its way to a performance for President
Getulio Vargas, which eventually led to the legalization of Capoeira's
practice. It is impossible to say how Capoeira would have evolved if Mestre
Bimba had not created Regional, but it was undeniably a key step in
Capoeira’s transformation from an undesirable pastime of society’s
“lowlifes” to a celebrated national sport
True Capoeira
Regional is not all style and no substance. Good Regional groups emphasize
the functionality and purpose of movements, not just how pretty they look.
The seqüências of Mestre Bimba were designed to teach players how to
interact with each other and use smart attacks, escapes, and counterattacks.
During the classes of Mestre Bamba (student of Mestre Vermelho 27, who was a
student of Bimba) that I played in and observed in Salvador, a big emphasis
was put on doing movements with purpose. I have never met a
Capoeira Regional instructor who believes acrobatics are equally or more
important than having a good game; instead, they encourage their students to
use floreios sparingly, wisely, and only in certain moments: “the only time
for acrobatics is when you enter the roda, maybe if you have space you do a
mortal or whatever, but after you land, that’s it for the flips” (Professor
Ubaldo, Grupo Esporão).
I think some
Angoleiros’ perception of Regional as devoid of substance comes from seeing
Regional performance rodas in which “one
guy kicks up in the sky and his opponent, ten feet away, hastily dives to
the floor to avoid the attack. Please! ...Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's
a lot of fun as well, however, it does little to develop your nervous system
and finer reflexes for playing against someone who will not agree with you
beforehand to keep there distance just to make you look good and feel safe”
(Contra-Mestre Perere, “Gringos in the Ring”). However, most Regional groups
have a very different character in their performance rodas, which are geared
towards creating a beautiful, non-combative spectacle for the audience,
versus their training/academy rodas, in which the focus is interacting with
one’s partner and playing smart. The most extreme example of this contrast
I’ve seen was Capoeira Topázio in Salvador: the Capoeira they do as part of
a folkloric performance in the Solar de Unhão restaurant is pretty, playful,
full of flips and fancy movements, with less interaction between the
players; whereas their academy rodas are extremely intense and competitives,
with kicks, dodges and takedowns executed with ruthless efficiency.
Sadly, I have
seen some Regional/contemporânea groups that play with little or no
meaningful interaction all the time. I remember seeing one angoleiro visit a
Regional group and play in their roda. The two were not interacting well,
and later on the Regionalista told the angoleiro, “you’re supposed to kick
over me, not right at me.” It brought to mind the words of
Mestre Valmir (angoleiro), who said, “if you do your kick over the other
player’s head, why should they dodge?
All your movements must have purpose.” Even in a playful game, one should
aim to hit… there is no meaningful interaction if you aim to miss! But with
the exceptions of these unfortunate groups, many Regionalistas do follow the
principle “nunca dê um golpe em vão” (never give a hit in vain) in their
academies.
A Closer Look at Capoeira Angola
I hate
responding to this: “oh, Capoeira Angola, that’s the slow, boring version
without the flips, right?”
There’s so much ignorance in that question I don’t know where to begin!
First of all,
Capoeira Angola is not “slow”; it is only seen as such because it is played
at a much wider variety of speeds than Regional. Capoeira Regional is always
played at medium to fast paces, and the pace within each game remains pretty
constant. Angola rodas, on the other hand, can range from snail’s pace to
so-fast-your-mind-can-barely-process-it. Not only that, but within each
game slow and cautious movements are alternated with extremely quick
attacks and dodges. It makes it that much more unpredictable, and that much
more interesting to watch.
Speaking of
being interesting to watch, Capoeira Angola is far from “boring.” Watching
four-hour rodas on Saturday mornings at Mestre Valmir’s academy was one of
the most entertaining experiences I’ve ever had. I was absolutely captivated
by every moment of every game; they all contained moments of laughter, joy,
seriousness, tension, playfulness, shame, aggression, revenge, anticipation,
and surprise. Capoeira Angola may not catch one’s eye as quickly as Capoeira
Regional, but it is profoundly interesting on a more complex level. Since
the games are longer (about ten minutes each as opposed to the sixty seconds
of a Regional game), the players have time to really develop the interaction
between them, and it is mesmerizing.
Capoeira Angola
can be an acquired taste. It can take some time to learn to appreciate the
style, especially for people who are used to Regional. Mestre Bola Sete put
it well: “Modern Capoeira is similar to a young
and beautiful woman that naturally rivets whoever sees her, although she is
completely empty in her essence. Whereas the traditional Capoeira of the
past was more similar to a simple woman of the people, who does not stand
out at first sight, but however possesses a truer beauty, interior, that
only the people with a more acute sensitivity could immediately perceive.”
There is a very persistent myth
among Regionalistas that Capoeira Angola is ineffective in a fight. First of
all, just because an angoleiro looks open and vulnerable doesn’t mean
he is! I’ve seen plenty of Angoleiros who don’t appear particularly
intimidating, or who play with their bodies seemingly unprotected; yet they
are extremely capable of effective self-defense and vicious, accurate
attacks in fights or fight-like rodas. As Mestre Bola Sete said in a lecture
at the ABCA (Associação Brasileira de Capoeira Angola), “Capoeira Angola is
a violent fight; it can kill; it has killed before” – and this is true.
However, the fight will not always be apparent when watching Angoleiros play
because 1) fight is one aspect among many of Capoeira Angola, and one
does not often see it – in fact, it should not occur – between friends and
training partners in the roda. “Do the game
in the roda, and not the fight, reserved for defense against our enemies”
(Mestre Bola Sete); and 2) the fact that
Capoeira Angola is a violent fight that does not appear to be one only adds
to its strength.
The efficiency of any martial art
depends on the experience level of the practitioner; this applies to both
Capoeira Angola and Regional. Mestre Bola Sete writes, “The
hits of Capoeira Angola, almost always executed with moderation in the roda,
are very dangerous when used in the street, against enemies, as long as the
practitioner possesses the necessary experience to utilize them in this
circumstance; if this is not the case, the situation is inverted (the danger
is to the practitioner).” I’ve seen both forms of Capoeira used well and
used poorly in more aggressive, fight-like games.
Finally, the
ad hominem attacks – the stereotypes of Regionalistas as shallow steroid
addicts and Angoleiros as dirty potheads – are simply stereotypes that
create divisions between Capoeiristas rather than bring them together. So
why not drop them?
Conclusions
I agree with Mestre Valmir, who once
said to me in a conversation about Angola vs. Regional, “each style has its
own value. Which one someone practices depends on who they are and what
they’re looking for.” In other words, it’s not a matter of which one is the
“best” form of Capoeira; it’s the question of which one is the best for
you.
Mestre Itabora also gave some wise
words during a workshop in Boston: “if I teach a move differently than the
way you’re used to doing it, it doesn’t mean one way is right and the other
is wrong… they’re just different; try to learn from both.” If certain
Capoeiristas focused less on the “superiority” of their chosen style and
instead tried to learn everything they could from people who do things
differently from them, we’d have many more open-minded and well-rounded
Capoeiristas as well as fewer problems between groups.
I’ll close with a Mestre Bola Sete
passage that really captures the fact that Capoeira’s diversity of styles is
one of the sources of its beauty and uniqueness:
“Some people in
our midst have the custom of criticizing others’ playing styles, because
they lift their legs very high or, by contrast, because they don’t usually
lift them above the level of the waist, and other comments of this nature.
If these people reflected on this type of attitude without vanity, which is
unique to the human being of delayed evolution, they would certainly arrive
at the obvious conclusion of the poverty, in terms of creativity, that there
would be if all of us practiced the same style; and that this condition of
diversity is what gives origin to the wealth of details present in rodas of
Capoeira, where the ego of the Capoeiristas manifests itself through their
bodies’ movements, demonstrating that to play Capoeira is a state of the
spirit and that emotion is its essential component.”
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