A few weeks ago my friend Sue introduced me to Capoeira at the Inner Space studio in Brookline.
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, music and dance. It originated in Brazil in the 1600s.
Throughout the class our instructor, La Maestra, spoke of the difference between “playing” capoeira and actually competing. When you play, you lack that sense of competition that tends to make you rigid and closed. When you play, your heart is open and your mind is free.
The movements are so fluid that you don’t even realize you’ll be sore the next day from all of the kicking and cartwheels. They also require a lot of thought and contemplation – each move is completed with a goal of flowing into a new one, and getting there can be a challenge.
At the end of the class he reiterated three important elements of capoeira – in addition to acting against and reacting to your partner, you are most of all, interacting with your partner.
Before leaving for my trip I had a conversation with Sue about wanting to try to speak Spanish to everyone, even if my Spanish is pretty shoddy. She mentioned that when you don’t make an effort, you are making a statement: I am hear to have fun and that is all that matters.
When you leave out the interaction part of travel, like in capoeira, you limit yourself, your capabilities and your overall experience. You don’t grow when you leave out the interaction.
To get a picture of how this amazing martial art plays out, here is a video:
I’ve tried a capoiera class before..soooooo funnn. I like mixed martial arts, so many energies and movements..and good music..:) reading this makes me wanna try again!
Umm, I so totally want to try this now!