CAPOEIRA ON MY MIND...

WASSUP FAMILY!!!

As of today, I'm getting into my 11th month of training in Capoeira Angola, and lately, I've been reflecting on how my life has been going since I started.

The Picture you see above is a class picture I took after my Capoeira class in Griffith Park a couple of weeks ago. Below, is a video of that same class taken by Marques J. Hardin, the guy in the blue shirt. I'm the large, uncordinated guy with the mini fro.



Anyway, that class was like most other classes. We started with about an hour of music class, then 2 hours of movement training where we do a warmup, then some basics (as a side note: In any Martial Art you do, if you're instructor is not focusing on the basic training in your art, then in my opinion, he doesn't give a shit about your training), then some drills, then ground movements, and finally, a small Roda at the end.

Now if you've read my blog, you should know what capoeira is. If not, then this video from UNESCO should give you a clear explanation of what this amazing art is.



Published on Nov 26, 2014
UNESCO: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - 2014
URL: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/RL/...
Description: Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian cultural practice that is simultaneously a fight and a dance. Players form a circle at the centre of which two players engage with one another. The movements require great bodily dexterity. The other players around the circle sing, chant, clap and play percussive instruments. Capoeira circles comprise a master, counter-master and disciples. The master is the guardian of the knowledge of the circle that it is learnt by other participants through observation and imitation, promoting mutual respect and social cohesion.
Country(ies): Brazil
© IPHAN/Bossa Pro
Duration: 00:10:22 - Support: - (0089200020
Category
Film & Animation
License
Standard YouTube License



Onward.

You know, I wanted to learn this martial art for many years... Even when I didn't know about it. The very 1st time I saw a capoeira movement was in the movie, "The Mighty Quinn", starring Denzel Washington and Robert Townsend.



It's been a couple years before I found out that this was indeed capoeira. I read in an old M.A. magazine about how the Capoeira fighting sequences were choreographed by Cedric Adams.

The first time I saw capoeira actually mentioned in a movie was this old movie called ROOFTOPS...



and since then, I was hooked.

I wanted to find a school, but this was the late 80's/early 90's, and I was out of luck.

Until... In 1989 Panther Productions decided to make 8 VHS tapes about Capoeira.



I bought them in the mid - 90's, and watched them from end to end, and learned all the movements. Hell, I can still do some of them... And I also watched and studied every video clip I could find on the art, from movies , travel shows, commercials...



And I must have watched ONLY THE STRONG about a hundred times...



But I stopped because I had nobody to practice or play with. Fast forward a few years, I gave up on learning capoeira, and started learning another fascinating martial art called Pencak Silat:



Thiese styles in particular...





But, CAPOEIRA WAS NEVER FAR AWAY... And then, in 2014, as summer was ending, I became a student of this guy:

Charles Williams.

The man who is my teacher, guide, and role model in this wonderful way of life called capoeira. In fact, I actually met him a few years ago at a bar in Downtown L.A. through a mutual friend named Danni El, another amazing person Whom I've written about MANY TIMES.

In fact, they were singing this very song when I first met him.



And then I learned about the Open Mic called "FREEDOM OF SPEECH THURSDAYS" that he hosts at the "Sabor y Cultura" cafe in Hollywood.



And of course, it's ALWAYS a pleasure to see SEAN HILL...



Anyway, the point is, at the time I met him, I had NO IDEA he was into martial arts AT ALL, much less capoeira.

But then, this party happened.



It was a going away party for Danni el, as she was going out to FLORIDA for a few months. And it was there that Charles was playing and singing some capoeira songs with a friend of mind named Alejandro (who was also a capoeirista, unbeknownst to me, and I found out that he was a capoeira instructor!

And after that, he would occasionally put this banner up on his Facebook page:

And despite the VERY CLEAR instructions on the banner, I tried and FAILED 2 times to find him in that enormous park... and besides, I was going through some financial difficulties, and for over a year & a half, I didn't have the money to get bus fare to get out to the park.

But then one Sunday, I was practicing my silat (Which I hadn't practiced in a long while) in a different part of the park than where I usually went to at that time (not even THINKING about Capoeira), and I just happened to look across the road, and there he was, playing a berimbau.

I had a little music lesson with him on that day, then I went to the observatory... And then I started training in earnest with him the next Sunday after that, and since then, there have been grueling classes...

RODAS near DTLA...



LEIMERT PARK...

SAN DIEGO...

AT CHUCO'S JUSTICE CENTER...

And Demos....



And a whole LOT of love.

And Wonderful Memories...

Of all the memories I had on this journey into capoeira, this is my absolute favorite. Why? Because I never thought in a million years, I'd be doing this... Posing with my very own berimbau.

I've been training in Capoeira for almost a year now. I love this martial path I'm on right now, and I'm really looking forward to going deeper on this path, and seeing how far the rabbit hole goes...



And now, I'd like to end with this video.

This video is one of my all time favorite Capoeira videos. I especially like the way that short skinny black cop plays...

Check it out!