19 posts tagged “capoeira”

 I've realized that in many ways--teaching and capoeira are very much alike.  Here's a list of similarities:

1. Be three steps ahead of the game
    In capoeira, you need to constantly think about what's coming next.  If the rasteria doesn't work what will you do?   How do you counter the meia lua?  You need to have a goal in mind.  You need to be thinking ahead of where you are.  Same with teaching.  You have to be three steps ahead of your students.  One of your behavior problems is here today. Okay, greet him at the door and try to get him on the right track.  Students give lots of excuses about homeowrk? Knock their excuses down before they even make them. 
2.  Roll with the punches
    In other words, be flexible.  Maybe the copier is down so students will have to copy off of the board.  If you get a take down in a capoeira game come back with a martelo. 
3.  You never really know how you are doing
    In capoeira it's hard to get accurate feedback because you can't see yourself play.  Same with teaching.  Things seem like they are working, you think you are doing a good job but you don't always know. 
4.  Have your own style
    You have to be sincere when teaching.  You can't be the next Edward James Olmos.  You have to be you.  Otherwise it's just acting and you'll be exhausted. In capoeira, you have to develop your own style and have your own game. Use the way your body works to your advantage. 
5.  Work your ass off
    I have yet to meet a good teacher who didn't work their ass off.  In fact, I always said 'the greatest enemy of teaching is time'.  You know what you have to do for your students but you don't have the time or the energy to do it.  Same with capoeira.  You can always practice you kicks more or work on a new florieio or learn a new song.  
6.  Don't be afraid to try new stuff
    You gotta spice things up as a teacher or it gets really boring for you and your students.  Same in capoeira. If you do the same moves each time your opponent will be able to read you and you will get 'checked' or 'locked out'. 
7. Question Answer
    In teaching you ask questions and the students answer.  Or, students ask questions and the teacher answers.  The same with capoeira.  You do a move and your opponent 'answers'.  Or vice versa. 
8.  There's always some bullshit
    Paperwork.  Nasty teachers or nasty students.  In every capoeira group there's always someone how plays in a way you don't like.  There's always a favorite.  There's always someone who doesn't like you. 
9. Never let yourself be vulnerable
    Some may disagree with me here but I don't think it's a good idea to cry in front of your students.  Many students are taught that crying=fear and that fear should never be expressed.  It can also appear unprofessional to your collegues and supervisors.  Crying or vulnerablity is never good in capoeira.  I can't tell you how many times I went HOME and cried after class because of one frustration or another but I do my best to avoid doing this in class.  Also, don't be vulnerable in the game.  Don't do a queda de rins at the foot of a person who is standing opposite you.  Try never to turn your back.  Don't get stuck queda de quatro. 
10.  Have fun
    As a teacher you gotta be silly sometimes.  Take the pressure off.  One day, I spoke to 602 (which was my worst class ever in the history of teaching : ) in a robot voice for the whole period.  They loved it!   In capoeira, don't be afraid to make fun of yourself.   One time I slipped and fell and rolled on the floor for a bit.  I decided to keep rolling just to give myself a good laugh.
11.  The joys of success are immeasurable. 
    The days that I have a good game are pure joy. When students master a concept or are excited about a subject you are in heaven.  You work, you work, you work and then finally it pays off.   That is satisfaction. 

P.S.  One of the guys from the team from France was wearing an Abada Capoeira t-shirt. 

Okay, here's a link to an article about b-boying and capoeira.  Again, the assertion that capoeira did not influence b-boying.  http://www.bboy.org/forums/interviews-articles/51945-history-breakdancing.html So why the similarities?  Are they coincidental and spontaneous? 

I came across this link when I was looking for Capoeira Omolu's Homepage.  Still haven't found that but I'm definitely going to check this place out.  http://www.capoeirasj.com/museum/about.html

Back in mid-February I took a trip to NYC for the annual batizado.  This year we celebrated  Mestranda Edna Lima's 20th Anniversary.  Check out her website to learn about her influence on capoeira in the United States. http://www.ednalima.com.  I loved participating in the games and meeting and getting to know people from Chicago, Sweden, Germany, Brasil, and Aruba.  There were some fantastic games!  And yes, I am now an amarella-laranja (which is low intermediate/high beginner level for those who don't know capoeira).

Benefits of 'Progressive' Majority Culture on Minority Culture (my own opinions)

1) Fancy salsas at Cancun Burrito
2) More tools to understand address the needs of difficult children
3) Using the mirror in capoeira
4) Higher quality meats at Cancun Burrito
5) Healthier ways to cook traditional foods, like using turkey necks in soul food, less fat, etc.
6) More people of color embacing other less organized forms of spirituality that follow principas of Buddihsm, Hinduism,etc. 
7) More people of color trying to be 'green'.
8) More people of color exploring concepts of Buddihsm, Hinduism, meditation, yoga, etc. 

Detriments of Progressive Majority Culture on Minority Culture

1) allowing children to have too much authority in school
2) lack of respect for elders--although this is prevalent in all cultures
3) commercialization and (word for taking over) of art forms--Examples: hip hop, quinceaneras, rock, capoeira
4) Tofu in burritos--that's taking it too far : )
5) Too much focus on 'voice' instead of learning conventions in writing--think Delpit

Plus--we have to come up with a better name for the 'majority culture'.  White people aren't the majority in California anymore--Latinos are.  But the majority culture (not Latinos) still has a major influence on many economic and social factors in our lives. Some people use the term 'culture of power' but then what do we call everyone who is not in the culture of power--'culture of powerless'?  Because I definitely wouldn't say that people of color are powerless to influence the majority culture.  Think--hip hop, white kids wanting to be black, etc.

I guess my point here is that there is give and take and that cultures do influence each other although not always equally.   

Another Reponse from a Friend--

Cultish culture vulturism purveys throughout the entire American Capoeira movement, (my opinion).  Some feel the vulturism is a reclamation of history lost, or taken from us years ago.  But that is a mental construct.  A development of the mind that makes us feel 'more connected' to the diaspora, and therefore ourselves.  But it is a feeling (a very viable one at that) and when you are talking about feelings, there is just no way to objectify who has the right to have them and and who doesn't. 

But let's not forget that it is a immeasurable combination of factors that culminate into each person's path.  To that end, we 'do' what we do to achieve feelings that we want to feel- it doesn't necessarily make what we 'do' real or unreal.

Lastly, people need to be assessed on a case by case basis.  Sometimes we need racial keys to help us with those assessments- and sometimes those racial keys lead us astray.  

That's all I have to say.  You caught me in a contemplative mood.

Posting on Vox can be a pain in the ass b/c you have to sign up.  So here is a response from a capoeira friend of mine. 

A capoeira mata, haha!" as Mestre Bimba used to sing. (Capoeira kills, haha!) Maybe not so much anymore and that seems to be part of the reason why we think capoeira is off rhythm or too safe or has fundamentally changed its flavor, especially in the United States. No longer an instrument of "resistance", it has become martial art, sport, gymnastic competition, meeting place for "inter-racial" dating, etc. Capoeira is just practiced now under a whole different context and so now you are officially learned it and attend classes and do homework and pay fees and buy uniforms and come to class on time. Its definitely not "street" capoeira.

Wrap that up in a culture like the Borg of Star Trek, the good ole USA, which tries to assimilate everyone else's culture into their own and claim it as their own and "viola!" Gringo (as in "white boy") capoeira. Which is not unlike gringo "jazz", gringo "rock n roll", gringo hip hop, gringo house, etc to name other art forms. Not that its bad or wrong or anything, it just is what it is. One note: there is a segment of the capoeira community in the U.S. that falls heavy on the Afro-centric, diaspora part of the spectrum, from Angoleiros who staunchly claim that capoeira was fully developed in Africa, before its arrrival to Brasil, to groups who will not allow non-"Black" people to join their group. My question is, do they have flavor in their games? My totally biased, un-analytically researched, gut reaction answer is "Of course they do, they Black!" In my opinion, there is just something about the African Diaspora that no matter where we ended up in the "New World", we all have that cultural thang, that would make an alien from another planet think that we were all related. 2, 4 beat, not 1, 3 beat. Again its just a different sense of time, because of the cultures we are descended from… Just different.

I think those two factors might be the biggest reasons for your dis-ease with the situation. But its  just my opinion and my 2 cents worth.

So as you can see, I've been thinking about this culture vulture issue a lot.  I realized that there are lots of people who are white (both above and below me in rank) who I would love to play in capoeira. And there are also a few people who are black or latino who I don't enjoy playing.  So, I guess the cautiousness/bad game thing is not always a 'white boy' phenomena.  People who play below the rhythm and people who play super cautiously just bother me--regardless of race. (And I'm sure there are people who don't like to play me because I can be wild and crazy : )

 I still think there is an issue here with culture vultures in the Bay Area.  And I'm still bothered by the lack of Black people at the Black History Performance. Why are there so many more culture vultures here than in New York?  Is it because NYC is more overtly racist?  And what is a culture vulture?  How do we define it? 

Agpz! You are right!  Writing about what I think is the bomb! Maybe I should go back to school and get my Ph.D.  Of course, then I'd have to back up what I'm saying with 'facts', 'data' and quotes from other researchers but. . .Is getting my Ph.D. a way I can live in NYC in a more healthy and respectful way?  Gotta think about that. . .

What's up with all the culture vultures in capoeira in the Bay Area?  I started thinking about this phenomona after a friend told me about her boyfriend's opinion of capoeira --"oh it's just a bunch of white boys thinkin' they can do something".  No, I thought, my capoeira organization is international there's a bit of everyone in the group.  But then I went to class and looked around--there were quite a few white boys.  In fact, on that particular day the majority of the people in the class appeared to be white. 

So what?--a voice inside myself said.  Everyone has right to do something they enjoy.  I'm not Brasilian so who am I to say who can and cannot do capoeira?  I don't have the right to judge others. 

But then I started to notice things--like how people play really cautiously.
And then there was a black history performance where all the students were white except me who is about mutt as they come (Black Panamanian, Jewish, probably some East Indian--I won't get into my whole pedigree--that's a whole 'nother blog entry).

So why does culture vulture phenomena bother me?  Well, first it seems as if a lot of white people play cautiously.  There are two aspects to the cautiousness.  First is people playing way below the rhythm.  This is a problem because it leads to bad capoeira.  If one person plays on the rhythm
(how the hell do you spell rhythm!!!) and then some one is off the rhythm then its hard to develop the game.  And it's bad for the person below the rhythem because it's easier to move around them and take advantage of their openings.  

The cautious playing also involves not checking people's openings.  Now, I'm basically a beginner of average ability.  And I'm still learning the game.  But I feel that you need to check a person's openings in order for that person to develop as a player.  I'm learning that there's a time when you ignore openings for a variety of purposes but if you don't check a persons openings and just let that person do what they want and you do what you want then where is the game?  It's just kicks and esqivas.  This is can leave the person with bad habits when they do play someone who will check their openings.  In a nut shell you need to check openings most of the time to avoid bad capoeria. 

Now is the 'cautiousness' a white thing?  No, it's probably due more to socio-economics.  And also individual differences in personality.  So why am I still bothered? 

Well, I guess the flavor of capoeira is just different.  My old group had lots of people of African decent and lots of people from different countries.  We joked a lot, laughed, and we had a strong sense of community (sometimes too strong in my opinion b/c people didn't think for themselves).  We hugged and kissed on the cheek.  We had energy.  We were outgoing and loud.  We moved our bodies in a certain way.  We had flava or sabor.  (It was no ideal community for me all of the time mind you--there were a lot of problems but there was sabor.) These are things commonly associated with people of the diaspora.  Can white people do these things that I just mentioned?  Absolutely--if they are exposed to the culture.  Culture is not genetic.  It is learned. 

So why am I still bothered?  I guess I want to see more people of the diaspora exposed to capoeira.  I feel that white people in the bay have more access to capoeira than people of color because of socio-economic status.  I want to see people of the diaspora enjoy art form that I have grown to love and has bennefitted me in many ways.  There aren't as many black people in the class because they don't have access to it.  That's the same thing that bothers me about the performance that we had for black history month.  The fact that there were mostly white people representing an art form that started with enslaved Africans in Brasil reflects that race and class structures in U.S. society.  And that bothers me because once again black people and poor people are on the bottom.  It's so ironic that capoeira has become a thing of privilidge (how the hell do you spell privilige!!! I tried it 3 different times!).

And another question--why am I not bothered when I see international people in class--Japanese, Russians, Israelis, etc. ?  I guess I see them as not fitting into the U.S. race/class issues so they get a pass?  This issue needs to be explored for me at another time.  And again this brings this back to the fact that capoeira is a Brazilian art form.  How would Brazilians see things? 

It's interesting because I thought I had dealt with the culture vulture issue already and I was ready to transcend race and see each person for who they are.  And I am in many, many ways I am.  But the culture vulture phenomena gets to me when it dilutes the quality of the art form (although who is to say how the art form should look and who am I to judge the 'quality'?) and because it reflects the race/class structure of our society.  So bring it on white people--but bring it with sabor.

P.S. So I just reread my previous entry about Culty Capoeira and now that I'm with a new group I want to amend some of my complaints.  I guess I see the value of 1, 2, if you see capoeira as a martial art.  Number 4 seems pervasive everywhere and hey if ass kissing is your thing--by all means pucker up. The issue of manipulation and power plays appears to be a personal choice of the instructor and I personally don't like it but if you like that kind of  thing or you get something out of it by all means.  I guess ideally, each person has to get to know themselves and find an instructor and group that's a good match for them.

P.P.S.  Check in soon for updates on my life in the Bay and all my recent adventures.
  

Okay . . .so I was going to write this piece right before I got suspended (oops :  and caveat). . .I really needed a way to vent about all the little things that were frustrating me. . .but now I've realized--what's the point?  Capoeira is the way it is--people are the way they are. . .If I were to do it my way, I would change a lot of things. . .but then it wouldn't be capoeira. . .There are  so many things that I love but then there are some things that bother me.

Love
1.  the game
2.  the relaxed feeling you get after class
3.  going to batizados
4.  the music
5.  the songs
6.  traveling for capoeira
7.  meeting people from all over the world
8.  watching capoeira videos
9. all of the things capoeira teaches you about life
10. the game
11. the game
12. the game
13. the game
14. the game
15. the game
16. you get the idea. . .

Things I Don't Like
1.  the rude way in which you are corrected sometimes--rude corrections doesn't really work for me--but some people do do (dodo, get it?  : ) better when they are yelled at.
2.  when you make a mistake repeatedly and then you are asked to sit out.  if you can't do something well you need more practice, not less.
3.  they way the rules and customs are not explicit.  you have to learn the hard way.  now, I understand the history and reasoning behind this so it makes sense.  the only problem is that you can break a rule of ettiute out of ignorance because the rules are not explicit.
4.  all the ass kissing.  now, I personally hate ass kissing and some people in my group seem to become experts at it, but hey if they want to punk themselves. . .
5.  the culty aspects-being pressured to attend all events, and pressured to hang with the group all the time when abroad.  again, I understand the reasoning behind this but it gets irritating.  teachers  asking for favors and lower cords doing stuff for them.  this goes into the ass kissing section.   come on people, get some backbone!  higher cords and masters have amazing skills but they are not gods.  don't play yourselves!