Back to apologies mode…sorry, guys. My new schedule thanks to work is insane, and I barely have time to cook and clean, let alone read or write anything of substance! I may be going on another hiatus soon, but not before I release the Mandingueira Retrospect Magazine (only table of contents left!!!). For now, here is my long-promised review of Capoeira Beyond Brazil!
Capoeira Beyond Brazil is written by Aniefre Essien and published by Blue Snake Books. I was really looking forward to reading this book because of the “international aspect” it seemed to have, and was really interested in seeing how capoeira would be treated in an international context. Having said that, the book had both its ups and downs.
When I was in high school (please excuse the temporary non-sequitar; this is related, I swear!), our social studies teacher gave us a tour of the school library’s references section. There was Encyclopedia Britannica, World, Canadiana, etc., and there were racks of Time Magazine, as well. Upon showing us the latter, our teacher told us, “Here we have Time World, which is about the United States, and here we have Time Canada, which is about the world.” (That’s still one of my all-time favourite quotes, by the way.)
Well, reading Capoeira Beyond Brazil, unfortunately, brings that quote to mind. I suppose you could say it goes beyond Brazil—but only as far as the United States (skipping over Mexico and Central America along the way). Maybe it was just me, but for some reason I’d been expecting a slightly more academic, ambitious piece with a larger scope than it had. I was expecting to read about capoeira in Asia, Australia, and (present-day!) Africa, about globalization or international relations (and capoeira’s influence from or on them, of course) and sociological theory more so than personal anecdotes and basic/typical introductory capoeira lore.
However, the book does have it good points, as well. Essien touches interestingly on some topics that I don’t think I’ve seen quite touched on the same way before, such as the horridly ironic phenomenon of some capoeira teachers using capoeira as a “tool of oppression” on their students. The book is healthily “progressive” from a feminist point of view, and I enjoyed reading the capoeirista interviews at the end (though again, the interviews, similarly to the rest of the book, only feature “A Few U.S. Capoeiristas”).
One interview which especially resonated with me was the first one, by a former capoeirista who left the game because he felt that people were beginning to bring too much ugliness into the art and violating the spirit of the game. He said a lot of things that I found insightful and agreed with, especially in regards to fighting in the roda/in capoeira, mentioning how “students have been trained to fight in the name of the instructor, not necessarily because that student feels that s/he has to fight”. The capoeirista being interviewed concludes, “I have to separate the concept of capoeira from how it’s actually practiced by individuals who tend to bring in the element of machismo.”
Overall, Capoeira Beyond Brazil was an okay read. It just didn’t turn out to be what I’d expected it to be, which is the only reason I was disappointed. I think it would be an ideal gift to give to a beginner capoeira student, and even more so for an American beginner capoeira student. The writing itself is fine, Essien’s experience as a capoeirista and capoeira teacher shows through with no question, and I’m always up for a good capoeira anecdote, so in that respect the book is great. For what I mentioned earlier, I guess I’ll just have to wait till some international affairs post-doc gets hooked on capoeira!
1. Winners will be picked by random draw.
Capoeira weaves fighting, music, dance, prayer, and ritual into an urgent strategy by which people live, struggle, celebrate, and survive together. In this book Bira Almeida—or Mestre Acordeon as he is respectfully called in capoeira circles—documents his own tradition with both the panoramic eye of the historian and the passionate heart of the capoeirista. He transports the reader from the damn of New World history in Brazil to the streets of twentieth-century Bahia (the spiritual home of capoeira) to the giant urban centers of North America (where capoeira is now spreading in new lineages from the old masters).
Learning Capoeira: Lessons in Cunning from an Afro-Brazilian Art is a provocative look at capoeira, a demanding acrobatic art that combines dance, ritual, music, and fighting style. First created by slaves, freemen, and gang members, capoeira is a study in contrasts that integrates African-descended rhythms and flowing dance steps with hard lessons from the street. According to veteran teachers, capoeira will transform novices, instilling in them a sense of malicia, or “cunning,” and changing how they walk, hear, and interact.
This is by a wide margin the best book yet published on the history of capoeira, in any language. Matthias Röhrig Assunção has done the archival digging that most previous authors have been unable or unwilling to undertake, and has avoided the essentialism and willful invention of tradition that pervade the most popular accounts. Instead, he makes the competing and overlapping accounts of capoeira’s origins part of his subject, emerging with a rich account not only of the game itself but of the ways in which it has been understood and its place in larger debates on the meanings of Afro-Brazilian culture.
The book starts off by giving an in-depth history of the Brazilian art of Capoeira. The last half of the book deals with the movements and techniques of Capoeira, including: offensive and defensive movements, basic kicks, takedowns, advanced kicks and movements, head butts, hand strikes, and knee and elbow strikes. Each of the techniques and maneuvers are vividly depicted by drawings that are very easy to understand and learn from. There is also an explanation of both Angolan and Regional versions of most of the techniques.
Nestor Capoeira, a long-time teacher of capoeira and noted mestre (master), begins this revised edition of his bestseller with an in-depth history of the Brazilian art, giving the most popular theories for the origins and purposes of this movement that combines the grace of dance with lethal self-defense techniques in a unique game-song structure. He discusses some of the most famous capoeristas and their influence on the art. In addition, he describes how the two major branches of capoeira (Angola and Regional) came about and the differences between them.
Capoeira is simultaneously a dance, a fight, and a game. Created by the Africans brought to Brazil as slaves beginning in 1500, capoeira was forbidden by law but survived underground. When open practice was allowed in the 1930s it soon became very popular. Capoeira came to America around 1975, and has become widely recognized by dancers and martial artists. The author discusses capoeira’s evolution from Brazilian street play into a way of life. The philosophy of capoeira, and the practical and spiritual benefits of that philosophy, are also discussed. Instructions and exercises in intermediate and advanced skills take up where the author’s previous book left off. The book includes 100 black-and-white photos and illustrations.
A Street-Smart Song delves into the boundless philosophical depths of capoeira, the fascinating synthesis of Brazilian dance and self-defense. Drawing from a wide range of sources—the streets of Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, the teachings of the old masters Pastinha, Bimba, and Leopoldina, and the brutal economic realities inflicted on the poorest of Brazil—Nestor Capoeira paints an indelible portrait of this living art, its spiritual heritage, and its vital place in a world hypnotized by media and crushed by poverty.
The first in a two-volume series on capoeira, Volume One traces the origins of the popular martial art and dance form from the beginning of the slave trade in the Americas in the 1500s to the early years of the Brazilian Republic in the 20th century. Focusing on the people and events that shaped the art form in Brazil prior to the “academy” period of the last century, Capoeira: The Jogo de Angola from Luanda to Cyberspace explores the subject from many vantage points.
Capoeira evolved as a Brazilian martial art developed initially by that country’s African slaves. Marked by deft, deceptive movements played on the ground or completely inverted, the form started gaining worldwide popularity in the early 20th century, when this second volume of Gerard Taylor’s wide-ranging history begins.
Based on eighteen months of intensive participant-observation, Ring of Liberation offers both an in-depth description of capoeira—a complex Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines feats of great strength and athleticism with music and poetry—and a pioneering synthetic approach to the analysis of complex cultural performance.
Capoeira, a Brazilian battle dance and national sport, has become popular all over the world. First brought to Brazil by African slaves and first documented in the late eighteenth century, capoeira has undergone many transformations as it has diffused throughout Brazilian society and beyond, taking on a multiplicity of meanings for those who participate in it and for the societies in which it is practiced. In this book, Maya Talmon-Chvaicer combines cultural history with anthropological research to offer an in-depth study of the development and meaning of capoeira, starting with the African cultures in which it originated and continuing up to the present day.
Capoeira is a unique music-dance-sport-play activity created by African slaves in Brazil, and Candomblé is a hybrid religion combining Catholic and African beliefs and practices. The two are closely interconnected. Capoeira and Candomblé have for centuries made up a coherent form of Brazilian life, despite having been suppressed by the dominant cultures. Now they are not only widely recognized in Brazil, but have become popular in North America and Europe as a new blend of sports, dance, and holistic approach to many facets of life.
Grade 5-8 | Few Americans have heard of capoeira, though it is rising in popularity and will be featured at the 2004 Olympic Games [sic?]. Atwood offers an enthusiastic if flawed presentation to fill in the information gap. The full-color photographs are energetic, showing players of both genders, a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and a broad range of ages. The format is colorful and vibrant but it is sometimes confusing. Several pictures at the tops of the pages have captions buried under paragraphs of type. Sidebars are set off only by a change of background color that varies randomly from page to page; therefore, children are likely to continue reading the mainstream text directly into a side topic and wonder what happened.
Many people have dreams but few have the guts to follow them. This is the story of a young Englishman whose passion for Capoeira took him on an incredible journey from the sedate surroundings of the English Home Counties to the heart of Rio de Janeiro’s toughest shanty towns. This book is a must for anyone who wants to study Capoeira in Brazil, and any martial arts student will admire Gleadall’s dedication to Capoeira – his enthusiasm fizzes off every paragraph. His tenacity in the face of a brutal training regime, injuries and the gun violence of the Favelas is a lesson in focus for any aspiring martial artist. And the book has an appeal far beyond the world of martial arts. It is also a wake up call to anyone who has a passion and is afraid to take the leap of faith to pursue it. Above all this tale is a testament to the power of following your heart.
In his first novel, Khafra Om-Ra-Seti flows with the spirit of ancient African wisdom and martial arts mastership. This book brings together many of his beliefs and visions regarding the search for a true meaning in life. The saga of the Dogon family, and the ancient beauty and spirit of Capoeira, moves the reader into the realms of msyticism, power and deceit, love and hate, freedom and redemption, and the burning passion to reach the highest level of self-mastery in one’s lifetime.
(Essential Capoeira: The Guide to Mastering the Art; Available January 29, 2008) Fun, different, and above all effective, capoeira is a unique dance-fight-fitness program enhancing strength, stamina, and flexibility training for the entire body. … In clear, accessible language, author Mestre Ponchianinho explains the aims and benefits of the discipline, along with its history, origins, and philosophy. He continues by introducing the two main styles along with the techniques of the most famous mestres. Easy-to-follow warm-ups, basic moves, defense and escape moves, kicks, training combinations, strengthening exercises, ground movements; and more advanced acrobatic movements are all described and illustrated in step-by-step photographs. […]
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