Let me be straight up about this. I love Capoeira. Big, pink, fluffy hearts. Here is a great link that tells you an awful lot about it.
I also hate Capoeira, but for very different reasons. Let me 'splain.
About a year ago, The Hubster bought me a set of workout dvd's off the television. In those tapes, the teacher said that this workout utilizes aspects of capoeira. I really really enjoyed the workout, and so I decided to look up a place that teaches the art. At about the same time that I decided this, there was section in Women's Health magazine about different forms of exercise, and three were profiled - ballet, capoeira and I can't remember the other. Hula, I think, or something similar. So, it seemed like fate to look up capoeira. Without knowing any more than the two moves in the dvd, and a bit I saw online, in a static page - without actually seeing the physical moves at all - I found the one place in my state that is authorized to teach it. I called and found that they teach a class that meets three times a week, and I arranged to come in and watch for a while. It didn't look too hard, and I do have an extensive background in ballet, so I signed up.
Now I know that I am stupid.
I had watched the beginning of the class - the stretching and basic movements. Pardon me, but that's not the class. The class is SO MUCH MORE than that. Capoeira incorporates dance, martial arts, acrobatics and music into one sweat filled hour. During my first class, there was a man there who trains the new students and he took me off to the side to learn the basic movements. They really didn't seem that difficult, and I found myself wondering why the students who were in the class, a bit away from me, were sweating so hard and, at points, out of breath. NOW I know.
Check out this video on youtube. Or this one is actually a bit easier - not quite as many flips and stuff.
The second class kicked my ass all the way to Cleveland. It was hard, HARD, and I was soaked with sweat when I left. The third class saw me in tears. Here's the deal: the last activity that I was new to learning was ballet, and I learned that 25 years ago, with kids my own age, and we were all learning the same skills at the same time. This class, I was one of two beginners, in a class of people ten years younger, and I knew NOTHING. Different students come into the class at any time - that's the peril of one adult level. Rank beginners are lumped in with professional level masters. During the third class, two people came in who were amazing - way better than I could have ever hoped, and I was tired. I'd had a rough day and had argued with various family members about the propriety of me taking said class, not to mention the fact that I'm OLD and my body isn't made to do things like back flips any more, so maybe I should just stop. The fourth class was worse, and I called my good friend Jenny in just about defeat. I was giving up. Maybe I WAS too old. She talked me down from the ledge and reminded me why I wanted to do this.
It's a challenge, a skill, and it's fun. It works my abs, my legs - the squats that you do, just about the entire class in the ginga, will either make a man out of you or kill you. I've fallen on my face during the esquiva, and the negativa, learned the meaning of the words quexada, armada, meia lua, shapao de coro, and compasso. I kicked hard enough to knock someone over and learned how to use my elbows to drive an attacker down, although that's not the purpose of the class. That was a bonus. ;) I landed flat on my back in a misbalanced headstand. The majority of the students are young and male, and I really feel every bit of my age when doing it. It's fun, though. I have hopes of getting better, of remembering to keep my chin down and relaxing my arms, of turning my legs IN rather than out in a straight line. As a funny, we have to do the splits, and it's the one area that I excel. One of the guys was ribbing me, and another one said, "Hey, let her be. Everyone has to have a moment to shine, and this one's hers." Gee, thanks.
One thing that took me completely by surprise was the music. We have to learn to play three instruments, which make up the music, and we have to SING and clap during the roda. (pronounced with an H sound instead of an R. ) If you know me, you know I love to sing but others don't like to listen. I'm also not an instrument player. Guess I'll be learning.
I highly recommend capoeira, both for the art form and for the exercise. It'll stretch you both physically and mentally. What I really like is that I'm pushing myself, harder than I thought would be possible, and having a good time doing so.
Here is a list of studios that are certified to teach. Is there one in your area?
