Meeting Capoeira pt2

Music is a big part of Capoeira and can be ritual and symbol. The lyrics of the songs sung could be light hearted and fun, or inspiration to play harder. The lyrics could be about love or death. The music was also a way to relay messages to one another about things happening outside of the roda. Joshua told me that you could tell the difference between an old school Capoeira song and a new school one. The classics, like Negro spirituals, had lyrics like: “Don’t tip over the milk, because the tree will fall. Look yonder to the owl so the fork will know”. “It had to be crazy shit like that because they had to be discreet”. New Capoeira songs are direct, and talk directly about what’s going on, because there’s no need to be discreet. (Granger)
My Identity In this Class
My time here learning capoeira, learning about capoeira, and getting to know those in the group has been interesting. I remember a few weeks ago writing about my identity and place in the group, and not feeling so good about it. But that drastically change between then and now. When I was in class drilling moves I often felt like I was doing them wrong. I felt awkward, and sometimes uncomfortable. Sometimes I fell, and got embarrassed. I felt very outside the group in those moments. One day a woman named Amy was leading my side of the class, the beginner’s side of the class, and I felt I couldn’t do the moves correctly. Well actually it wasn’t that I couldn’t; it was that she was moving way too fast for me. Even when Josh teaches I feel like the pace is going way too fast. I looked around to see how many of these guys (and girls) were actually doing the moves correct, and in sync with the teacher. Not many of them were. It eased my mind a bit, but I was still very self-conscious.
I tried to shake it off and just do it, but I still wasn’t executing the moves. We were drilling a combo kick. A combo made up of two different kinds of roundhouse kicks; the already mentioned armada and queixada. I remember feeling like “don’t give up B, you got this” so I excused myself from the group In order to regroup. I went to the back of the room, and just watched for a minute. Then I went back to try again. I still couldn’t get the moves right; I couldn’t get over how effortless this woman’s armada was. It was almost like she was performing ballet. Amy’s arms went up, and her leg followed as her foot led her twirling body 360 degrees clock wise while the other kick followed, counter clockwise. I then threw in the towel. I felt like even though she didn’t say anything to me directly I had been written off as a quitter.
The entire class regrouped, and both the beginners and the more advance were together doing this crazy move where we had to jump to the floor and some how swing our legs up like we were b-boys break dancing. Then somehow switch legs to be facing the other side. I was too through! I sat in the back and watched in frustration. Josh asked me had I done the exercise twice yet, and I told the Maestro that I was thinking about leaving. I don’t know why told him that. Like, why would he care that I was a quitter? But I explained to him that the pace was just too fast, how could he expect me to just know how to summersault, land on one foot, and then jack knife into a glass of water. My frustration was not because I thought it was impossible to do, but I’d need to know what are the steps one takes to do such things. His answer was to slow the moves down in my head and study them. He must think this is the matrix I thought to myself. I didn’t want to completely quit, so I suffered through the rest of the class. Even still, I was very unresponsive to anything else done in the class. It would have been less embarrassing if I had just got my stuff and left.
Things took a turn for the better on the November 8th 2011 class. A week or so before then I was rear ended while stopped at a stoplight, which stills has me on the bench suffering from a neck injury. However I continued to go class to observe, and this particular day on the 8th I felt very involved and needed. Another group occupied the room we are usually are in, and for that reason we practiced in the corridor. We didn’t have the usual sound system equipment to plug in an iPod with capoeira music, so we used the traditional instruments and played our own music.
We had two kinds of berímbaus and a pandeíro (tambourine). A berímbau is a long stick with curve in it, with a wire string tied at both ends. On the side that faces the person playing it is half of a gourd tied on with a string. To play this instrument you use a rock to apply tension to the wire while tapping the wire with a stick. The rhythm we played was four quick taps with the rock and 2 taps with out the rock. Meanwhile the pandeíro is a tap at the top, then a tap at the bottom followed by another tap at the top. I had never in my life played a berímbau, but that day I was willing and eager to learn. Pilar (participant) told me I was good at it, and the only real criticism I got was how to tap the pandeíro with the correct fingers.
I felt more apart of the group because as I leaving I went to shake hands with the players, and they all seemed more embracing then usual. I’m not sure if it was because I felt more open and embracive to them or what. I shook hands with a guy also named Brandon and I had this goofy look on my face. I said, “I’m being a creep, sorry”. Then he touches my face and says, “I know”. My reflexes reacted, and I grab his hand, and my mood changed but I realized he was only joking. I soften my frown and replied: “now you’re the creep”, and we laughed. That exchange made me feel like an insider. I made sure he knew I wanted to interview him for this project, and once we had the chance to sit and talk I reminded him of when he touched my face. I told him that it was off putting at first. But then I realized he was joking, so it made me feel more like I had a friend. He said it was to show that in this group everyone is welcomed, unlike other capoeira groups, which can be “clicky”.
Getting To Know People, While Getting To Know Capoeira
Brandon is one of my favorite capoeiristas in this group. Not because he shares my name, or my hair (style). But he, unlike other players in this bunch, never comes to class with sweats or formal Capoeira attire. He comes dressed in his street cloth. A sweater. A large scarf. Casual dress shoes. A nice shirt. Even with all the attention to detail, whether it be intentional or not, he’s never NOT ready to step into the roda, or the assist by teaching the beginners of the group.
When I come to Capoeira, I’m just leaving my English class, so for me it’s more convenient to just join the formation street cloths and all. That left me with the question… why does Brandon choose to fight in jeans, sweaters and button ups? He answered: “just for the energy of it and to rebel against the system”. He continued to say that he’s always practicing Capoeira because it’s in every day life. It is a set of morals that guides him in his interaction with people and different situations. (Cooper)
On the last day of class I interviewed Josh and after all the simple Simon questions I asked just to get the conversation going I came up with a great question, but Amy came over and said a few words and I forgot it. My solution was to stall, so I asked him to just tell me a story pertaining to him and capoeira. He replied, “I’m named after my uncle. My uncle was a black panther, and he looked after Tupac Shakur. It was about a struggle, and the struggle is in all of us even if we are blind to us.” I didn’t get it, so he followed that by saying: “Capoeira is the freedom of the movement, and the celebration of the fight.” I then asked Josh what was next for him and Capoeira, while secretly still stalling, and he said he wants to do an event in spring that brings many capoeristas together to one location. I couldn’t remember the REAL question, so I said my goodbyes and left him and a few others as they went for drinks and some food at a near by restaurant.
I went back to school and begin to type what I had just wrote down when probably the most important question, as far as I was concerned, came back to me. I packed up my things and headed to the restaurant; I was in luck he and the others were still there. I took a seat and asked him “is it a dance, or is it a martial arts?” “It’s a dance. It’s based on rhythm. Any martial arts you learn you have to have rhythm, just like a dance “ he said. My point of view is, when I hear some people call Capoeira a dance I think they are unknowingly belittling the seriousness of it. “Let them believe that” He said, with a convincing stare. I followed up with “is it fighting or is playing, because you often refer to it as playing?” Quickly he responded, “It’s playing, the minute you start fighting, you’re weak. It’s a game.” (Granger)
After four months of paper writing, note taking, and video recording Capoeira has reveled it’s self to me. Not as a thing that you do, not necessarily, but as the capoeiristas have said Capoeira is something much bigger than what we can do in an hour and half long class; it is a way of life. It is at my side in my darkest hour as a mentor that advises me when I face any form of oppression or obstacle. Even if you think you’re not very good at it, all anyone really has to do is play the game.