The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: News

Media Credit: SARA GUEVARA Alex Squires (left), a freshman from Richmond Hill, and James Webb, a sophomore from Warner Robins, practice capoeira at the Tate Student Center Wednesday, Sept. 19. The capoeira club practices every Monday and Thursday. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: SARA GUEVARA Zak Vaudo (left), a sophomore from Queens, N.Y., and Brian Moorman, a senior from Atlanta, practice capoeira. [Click to enlarge]

When junior Kyle Deal kicked his girlfriend in the face, there were no hard feelings - it was just another Monday at the University's capoeira club, which practices Afro-Brazilian "dance fighting."

While Deal said injuries are infrequent, the participants practice at full speed. Though capoeira is a method of fighting, the actual practice does not involve hitting the opponent, said sophomore Zak Vaudo. Rather, the two "fighters" purposefully miss each other. All this is done to music, which makes the "fight" look more like a dance.

One of the common misconceptions about capoeira is that it is choreographed. Deal said capoeira is not scripted but rather practiced by people acting and reacting to one another.

"You're not wearing any pads and going full speed," he said. "You should have enough control not to hit them. The way to 'beat' an opponent in capoeira is to work so quickly that your opponent cannot keep up."

On Mondays and Thursdays at the Ramsey Center, the University's capoeira club team, which became official in 2001, meets in the upstairs aerobic rooms. The club's main goal is to preserve and enrich the capoeira culture, Deal said.

He added that capoeira is n Afro-Brazilian fighting style that originated in Brazil in the 1600s, where slaves created capoeira as a method of teaching one another how to fight. They gathered and practiced what looked like dancing. Music, clapping and singing further disguised the fighting.

Senior Michael Bykhovsky said he, like many others, was introduced to capoeira by the movie "Only the Strong." He said capoeira had a slow start in the U.S. but has started to take off, especially in popular culture.

"Capoeira is in music videos now, and I even saw it in a fitness commercial," Junco said. "Everyone has seen it - you just didn't realize what it was."

The capoeira club at the University does not have a master trainer. The club is student-run, but members have aspirations to fly in a capoeira practitioner from Brazil - Deal said the club has been raising money to get this accomplished.

The members have a philanthropic outreach as well. Junco said the club performs for any organization that wants them. He said the club enjoys helping out and performs at local elementary schools annually and that capoeira is a cultural aspect above all else.

The club always is open to new members.

"I hear so many times people saying, 'that stunt looks so cool' or 'I wish I could do that,'" Bykhovsky said. "Join the club, and we will teach you everything."

"Capoeira is a lifestyle - it's extremely physical, mental and artistic," Deal said. "It's where you make your best friends and have fun."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools