Capoeira jump kicks its way into the North Country

Capoeira introduces the North Country to a new sense of Afro-brazilian culture

Story by Antonio A. Graves
Photo courtesy of Capoeira Brasileira

After the group warmed up their legs, with a number of stretches, including some toe touches, they were met with instructions from their teacher: “ginga, feinta, mea lua de frente, armada, au.”

"In the North Country, at least where I live at, it is extremely homogeneous. It’s not a lot of people from different cultural backgrounds...Most people I know around here don’t get to have positive interactions with people of color."

The words were in Portuguese and the class did as they were instructed. Almost every movement in Capoeira is capped off with the ginga. The ginga is the basic movement of every Capoeirista—think of a modified version of the two-step. After the ginga, the students did a feint or a fake followed by two kicks into a cartwheel. This was just one of the sequences that were practiced during a Capoeira class in Plattsburgh, NY.

Capoeira is the combination of a dance, a fight, and game. Another way to look Capoeira would be to call it a relationship because of its various fight-game elements with a significant other. Capoeira is also a conversation: When a question is asked in the form of a kick, it can be answered in the form of a dodge or with a countering kick.

Capoeira is both ritualized and realistic combat. More importantly, Capoeira is a form of pride from the nations of Africa through the culture of Brazil. Capoeira can be many things at once, just like a multi-faceted diamond.

The origin of Capoeira reaches far back to the 1500s by enslaved Africans who lived in Brazil. It started out as a game in which players or Capoeiristas would form a roda (circle) and participate in ritualized combat. The object of the game included tricking your opponent into getting tripped, swept, or kicked by performing acrobatics or feints, which is an offensive movement that is made to confuse and knock the opponent off balance.

Although exact details of its origins are still not known, most scholars agree that Capoeira was used as a form of black resistance by former slaves against their oppressors after they were freed in 1888. However, in 1890, the government legally banned the public usage of Capoeira and the decree was inserted into the Brazilian Penal Code. Although the Brazilian army adopted the art form during their war against Paraguay, any person who was caught would be subjected to 2 to 6 months in prison. However, in 1937, the decree was abolished and it became institutionalized in Brazil as it began promoting daily healthy activities.

Capoeira has evolved from Capoeira de Angola, which followed the tradition of Mestre (master) Pastinha. Capoeira Regional, which follows the tradition of Mestre Bimba, established sequences and predetermined movements into the practice of Capoeira. Contemporary Capoeira, which has been adopted by most schools in the United States, is the new and most common form that is featured here in the North Country.

The school that has the most involvement with the North Country is the Equipe Capoeira Brasileira school. They now have locations in Plattsburgh, NY, Saranac Lake, NY, and Montreal.

As their mission statement states: “The Equipe Capoeira Brasileira works at ‘several levels’ to emphasize the importance of using Capoeira as a means of cultural and physical integration.”

Jamie Whidden, who teaches under the tutelage of Mestrando (mastering) Peninha at the Saranac Lake location, believes that Capoeira did wonders for his life. He also attested that the exposure of different cultures to the people of the North Country is of great importance. As a resident of Lake Placid, he strongly believes that his residential area is in need of great change.

“In the North Country, at least where I live at, it is extremely homogeneous. It’s not a lot of people from different cultural backgrounds,” Whidden attests. “Most people I know around here don’t get to have positive interactions with people of color.”

Whidden, who lived in Brazil for six months to learn more about the culture, has been playing the game for ten years. He shared that his life has been incredibly enriched by the culture, while describing it as a “beautiful art of pride.”

“While playing, you can just feel the flow from Africa to Brazil right through us,” he boasts. “I hate to say it, but I probably had some ancestral relationships to the other side of slavery. This is a way for me to experience the beauty of African culture preserved in the form of pride, resistance and vagrancy.”

Whidden ended up teaching in the North Country because he needed money to get Peninha, his teacher from Brazil, into the country. Whidden explained that he had to get an intercultural exchange vista with the Arts Association in Lake Placid. Presently, both Whidden and Peninha, who also has a school in Montreal, are dedicated to spreading the art form to anyone willing to learn. Even though speaking Portuguese is a major part of the culture, Whidden believes that anyone can learn to play Capoeira.

"Even though it can be difficult at times, you have to be willing to try...Everyone pretty much sucks at the beginning because some have more rhythm then others. But if I was able to learn it then anyone can."

Chris Daniels, who is a student under Peninha, said that although he does not speak Portuguese, his instructor does a job in smoothing out the cultural transition.

“Even though it can be difficult at times, you have to be willing to try,” Daniels professes. “Everyone pretty much sucks at the beginning because some have more rhythm then others. But if I was able to learn it then anyone can.”

Daniels, who links his initial interest for Capoeira from movies, such as “Only the Strong” has been playing the game for two years and has seen vast improvement in his physique and in his spirit. He feels that Capoeira is the “greatest expression of freedom possible.” Whenever he feels like he is going through tough times emotionally, Daniels uses Capoeira as an outlet to channel his frustrations. Although once overweight, Daniels mentioned that ever since he began playing he has lost close to forty pounds and is more flexible.

Plattsburgh State student Amanda Ballow, who also is a student of Peninha, also noticed an increase in her flexibility. She has been playing the game for over two years and sources her initial interest to her friends, who also are into Capoeira. Although Capoeira was initially not intended for women’s participation, women have accounted for 50 percent of the students, who practice in the Equipe Capoeira Brasileira.

“It’s a different time period and the world is changing,” Ballow says. “This is definitely a different type of workout then most are used to.”

The group from Plattsburgh, NY could agree with Ballow's comments as they all walked gingerly to the intsrtuctor. During the end of their session, the players all gathered to form a roda and endulged in games to review the moves they praticed throughout the class. Each Capoeiristas endulged in the one-on-one action by cutting into the game, much as a rude person would cut into a couple's dance.

The Capoeiristas would end the session just as they began it: they would use some form of a ginga, feinta, mea lua de frente, armada, au.

Will you try your hand at playing Capoeira?