• Contemporary Capoeira Regional, which emphasizes the efficiency of capoeira's techniques and the athletic aspects of the art, emerged in the early 70's and became extremely popular.    
• Contemporary Capoeira Angola codified some elements of Capoeira Angola, developed an articulated discourse based on "traditional values," and a well-defined political agenda based on Afro-centric perspectives. This approach started in the early 80's and has influenced the thinking of present day capoeira.    
• Contemporary Capoeira is the predominant approach in Brazil, encompassing all schools that do not fall strictly into any of the previous categories. Some of these schools understand capoeira as a multi-dimensional art form and attempt to reflect in their display the diversity and richness of today's capoeira.

Notes On My Concerns As A Capoeira Teacher In The United States

What does it take to enjoy, or even to become passionate about capoeira? Not much. The appreciation of its aesthetics and atmosphere come easily, along with the unconscious attraction to the art form's power and depth. One should not feel obliged to delve deeper than that. But what does it take to be a conscious capoeirista in the complex society of today's world?

It is easy to get passionate about capoeira, and passion itself has been one of the propelling forces of this art form throughout the times. For most youngsters, the passion comes from the enthralling movement. The art form's acrobatic aspects, its effectiveness as a form of self-defense and its continuous flow that exudes an animal like primitive force, all strike a chord, as they did for me when I was a child:

     "We walked up the...hill to the Paiol. In a small dirt area, Venâncio, Inácio, Angelo, and others were playing [capoeira]. My God, such impact! I could not believe what I saw. The sweaty bodies were performing incredible movements which I always fantasized about doing things of the circus by professional acrobats. From that moment on, Capoeira caught my soul (Almeida, 1986: 111)."

Capoeira has other appeals for those who are more mature and open-minded: the challenge of understanding an art form from a different cultural context, including its philosophy and music with lyrics in Portuguese; the African roots of the art, which for many, seems like a call from distant ancestors; the extraordinary political potential which may be explored to the fullest extent; and the power to fire contemporary debates focusing on the issues of race, ethnicity, and identity in diasporic communities.

While it is easy to get passionate about capoeira, it is not so easy, here in the United States, to obtain the proper information necessary to fully understand the art's intricacies. It is natural to experience some degree of confusion when studying about other cultures. Therefore, misinterpretations are inevitable as capoeira grows in the powerful and influential culture of the United States.

One of the primary causes of misinterpretation of capoeira in the U.S. has to do with the lack of knowledge and unfounded assumptions made by those who have put forward most of the capoeira discourse and literature available in English language. Certainly, the individuals who have presented this information are compelled by capoeira. Yet some have never practiced capoeira, and others have not studied capoeira long enough to present more than their own assumptions. Unfortunately, individuals who are not aware of their own lack of understanding have put themselves in the position of speaking and writing about the art and even teaching capoeira without the supervision of acknowledged mestres.

I have noticed representations of capoeira in many written works and in some prominent schools' approaches, which define very particular views. These views do not reflect the reality of the capoeira practiced by almost one million people in present-day Brazil. Some of the views are completely absurd and naive; others seem to have been thought out with consciously cultivated intentions to fit capoeira into limiting agendas. The agendas range from those which refuse to admit the socio political implications of the art, to those which exaggerate these same implications.

Until now in the United States, the idea of bringing theoretical discussions on historical, social and political issues to the forefront of capoeira classes, meetings and formal encounters has been foreign to many practitioners of the art. Even the most publicized capoeira conferences have focused primarily on training techniques, exotic displays of capoeira, or other commercially appealing unrelated arts such as samba, bossa-nova, chorinho, pagode e samba-enrêdo. Among the few exceptions were the Midwest Capoeira Conference I organized as the Tinker Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994, and later, the First Annual International Capoeira Angola Encounter USA promoted by Mestre Cobra Mansa in 1995.

The Midwest Capoeira Conference brought together almost twenty teachers and 125 participants engaged in different formal and informal discussions on capoeira issues not normally addressed outside Brazil. Issues such as women in capoeira, racism within the art, lyrics' motifs, and the consequences of Mestre Bimba's work were discussed. Similar issues were addressed at Mestre Cobra Mansa's encounter in 1995.

In Brazil, the need for theoretical study of capoeira has long been recognized and has motivated the organization of numerous symposia and encounters dating back to 1937 with the Congresso Afro-Brasileiro. (Lyra Filho, 1974 p. 323). While still living in Brazil, I had the opportunity to participate in many highly productive and challenging national meetings. These meetings, conferences and workshops have multiplied in the past two decades, generating extraordinary discussions and an exchange of information that entices even the younger Brazilian capoeiristas.

Many organizations in Brazil have stepped forward to support the research of capoeira and to promote publication of the results. This activity has generated a wealth of documentary and interpretative works spanning the life of capoeira. Carlos Soares (1994) has given a panoramic summary of these works. His summary ranges from the writings of the mid-eighteenth century by the "pioneer chroniclers" of the art to studies done by folklorists in the 1920s and 1930s. It also includes the present day explosion of sociological and political analyses of capoeira, considered by Soares to be the "new historiography" of the art form (Soares 1994: 7-25). As a whole these works have addressed the origins of capoeira, the etymology of the word "capoeira," the oral tradition of the art, and the literature from different historical periods, as well as, the sociological, anthropological, philosophical, musical, and performance-oriented facets of capoeira.

Much of this material is available in various Brazilian bookstores and libraries. For instance, in the private collection of Raimundo C. Alves de Almeida, Mestre Itapoan, there are more than 2,300 books, thesis, essays, and magazine articles concerning capoeira. In Itapoan's 1993 publication Bibliografia Crítica da Capoeira, these resources are listed with critical annotations and references for the public channels through which the material may be accessed. On account of its Portuguese-language medium, however, this pool of critical information has remained inaccessible to those who do not read Portuguese well. This language barrier is perhaps one of the reasons why so many who speak and write about capoeira in the United States appear not to have properly researched the available literature on the art.

Nowadays, there are an extraordinary number of capoeira practitioners. The diversity of knowledge, philosophies, and existing styles is a result of the social, economic and political scenario of Brazil. The crossing of geographical borders has also already affected the art form. Today's capoeirista should reflect on present day reality, thinking consciously and maturely about how to channel the force of capoeira in a positive direction. This direction should point both towards personal gratification, as well as towards creating solutions for contemporary problems related to all those involved in the capoeira community.

Conclusion

I would like to offer a more detailed description of the many existing cap oeira styles in Brazil, and to comment on how the schools of important mestres of the art conduct their work. Since this task is impossible to accomplish in a summarized study guide, I will present, instead, an outline of work based on my own school, Capoeira-Bahia. As a student of Mestre Bimba, I was highly influenced by his approach, which I try to present properly to my students. However, as do the majority of capoeiristas in Brazil. I also welcome and support all authentically based styles of capoeira practiced today. I understand as "authentically based styles" those which reflect the knowledge and familiarity of their practitioners with what is considered "capoeira" in a general consensus of the large majority of well-known and recognized capoeira mestres in Brazil.

Since my earlier days of teaching in this country I have tried to expose my students to a broad array of capoeira styles. I have done so, by promoting trips to Brazil and sponsoring workshops with other teachers. The first workshop was conducted by Mestre Gladson from the University of São Paulo in 1982. Following Mestre Gladson's workshop was a series of others given by teachers such as Mestre João Grande, Mestre João Pequeno, Mestre Curiò, Mestre Bobò, Mestre Nô and Mestre Brasilia of the style Capoeira Angola; Mestre Eziquiel Martins and Mestre Itapoan of Capoeira Regional; Mestres Camisa, Mestre Preguiça, Mestre Peixinho, Mestre Garrincha and Gato of Contemporary Capoeira Regional; Mestres Moraes and Mestre Cobra Mansa of Contemporary Capoeira Angola; and Mestre Roberto, Mestre Ousado, Mestre Sombra and Mestre Suassuna of Contemporary Capoeira. Numerous other workshops were conducted by capoeira teachers living in the United States.

For the past five years I have worked closely with Mestre Rã, Cassio Martinho, who was graduated by Mestre Suassuna from São Paulo. Mestre Rã has brought a unique perspective to our classes, which I welcome and appreciate. It is our goal to keep the school small and community oriented, and to give support to former students who request our assistance.

Our work reflects observations I have made during my many years of teaching in the United States. The reality of capoeira is somehow paradoxal to North Americans. What does it mean to defend, attacking? To go in, going out? To move sinuously and "non-directly" while being confrontational in a fight? To "stand up from a fall before reaching the ground," as said Tony Vargas in one of his songs.

The essence of capoeira seems to be the ability of the capoeirista to navigate through apparent contradictions, feeling comfortable and centered in a chaotic universe. I have noticed a distinct way of thinking among my North American students that is culturally different from the way Brazilian capoeiri stas think. I see my students taking a systematic approach of simplified practicality and organization, which reflects life in the States. Here, in common everyday life, most of us write in short sentences and in a direct order; issues are reduced to black or white; straight is straight...everything is classified, labeled and placed in its niche.
This reality affects the way my students analyze capoeira, an art form that may be out of sync with this straightforwardness. We try not to forget that capoeira was only recently introduced in this country. The North American mind's understanding and perception of the art form is still in its early stages of development.

On the basis of these views, we follow an approach that I have called "COM-PÉ, ... [which is] based on respect for the roots, applied philosophy, and disciplined training" (Almeida, 1986, p 6). These three fields were established primarily to aid students in developing a broader understanding of the art form.

Respect for the roots means studying the history of capoeira, distinguishing facts from opinions and questioning hasty conclusions with the goal of acquiring solid knowledge about the base of the art. Students are encouraged to read all the existing literature on capoeira. We discuss works that we believe to be properly researched and sound, and which may have the power to inspire further study and discoveries. We also analyze works in which we see methodological inadequacies, and we even look at those that obscure the understanding of capoeira.

Applied philosophy involves the study of the rituals, the functionality of the music, and the experience of capoeira in itself, as a process of incorporating the fundamental principles of the art into one's game. Disciplined training is a systematic approach covering the physical training of capoeira in an effective way. In Capoeira-Bahia school, we practice capoeira according to the rhythms of the berimbau. For historical reasons and because I come from the lineage of Mestre Bimba, we follow the three main rhythms that were used in his school: São Bento Grande, Banguela an d Iuna. In the context of Contemporary Capoeira, we also use different berimba u's rhythms to play a broad spectrum of jogos. These jogos range from a more ritualized form of combat involving theatrical display and self-expression, to a more fight-oriented and vigorous sparring as a means of self-defense.

We encourage our students to be open-minded about other styles and perspectives of capoeira, even if the result of their search yields outcomes that may be ideologically or practically opposed to the presentations of our school. We believe that an inflexible approach, mandating exactly how the students must behave and play, undermines the most fundamental characteristics of capoeira: the freedom of individuality and self-expression through a rich and soulful cultural manifestation.

The study of capoeira demands conscientiousness. It involves a commitment beyond the practice itself. The student who knows very little of the political potential of capoeira, or nothing of its historical, social, musical, and philosophical aspects, misses as much as a capoeira "scholar" whose knowledge of Portuguese is inadequate, and who has never experienced a capoeira match from inside an unfamiliar and treacherous roda . As I described earlier, the game of capoeira is sometimes frustrating but, in the long run, it is a challenging and rewarding activity with great potential for promoting self-understanding and personal growth.

Capoeira is the art of facing danger with a smile on one's face. A good ca poeirista will face the opponent confidently, but never so over-guardedly as to inhibit the flow of the game or the expression of the beauty and integrity of one's personality. The roda de capoeira, in its broader spectrum, is a metaphor for life, which demands that we negotiate treacherous situations everyday. A careless attitude in life will bring disastrous consequences. On the other hand, an excessive, over-protective attitude will also stop the flow of life, making us static and miserable. The practice of capoeira is an activity that may help fine-tune the delicate equilibrium between freeze and flow, perhaps between failure and success. The only way to comprehend and internalize the fluid character of the art – whether the jogo de capoeira itself or the universal game of life that it mirrors is to step into the ring with the commitment to push one's limits and with an attentive effort to see beyond the game itself.