Capoeira in Abu Dhabi

African in origin and Brazilian in evolution, capoeira is a graceful, fluid martial art with a difference – it’s a communal sport, often set to music or drumming, and the movements suggest dance as much as they do combat. The art was developed in the 1500s by African slaves in Brazil who were fighting for their freedom; it was quickly banned but survived underground until 1930s when Mestre Bimba, who was the creator of contemporary capoeira, helped to legalize the sport. Brazilian Alex Filadelfo, or Mestre Caxias, as he’s known to his students, has been practicing the art for 30 years and is now teaching it here in the capital. We caught up with him for a chat about capoeira and why it’s becoming so popular in Abu Dhabi.

When we’ve watched people practicing capoeira at the Corniche, it looks more like they’re dancing than training to fight. Why is that?
Capoeira is simultaneously a dance, a fight and a game, blending attack and defence with flowing, dance-like movements, acrobatics, music, instruments and songs. These aspects marry flexibility, agility, strength, balance and coordination. Music is an integral part of capoeira as it is brings the energy and rhythm that the players need during their game. The music was introduced into the game back when the slaves needed to hide that they were training. There are several instruments played – not only the drums –and all capoeiristas need to learn how to play them.

Have you ever actually used capoeira in self defence?
Yes, when I was very young I used it in several street fights. Some kicks in capoeira are very dangerous and I resorted to those as I needed to at that point. However, with time you learn self confidence and you move away from any desire to fight.

How else has capoeira affected you personally?
Capoeira taught me discipline, respect for others, patience, tolerance to people’s differences. It taught me about the sense of community; you can’t do capoeira alone, but you need a community around you. I was drawn first drawn to learn the art by the fact that capoeira was a way to learn self defence but with artistic flair. Since then I’ve become more intellectually aware of part of my country’s rich history while physically it always kept me in top shape.

So does a practice session give you a good workout then?
It works all the muscles in your body and is one of the best fitness exercises a person can do as it works several muscles at once, which is not very common in other fitness programs. Capoeira is also a great aerobic exercise as it combines floor movements with aerial movements which increases oxygen uptake. You experience a trance-like feeling when you practice that is very therapeutic and brings so much good energy to people’s lives.

Can anyone join in?
Capoeira is unlike any other sport as it doesn’t need a specific body shape. It is malleable, by which I mean each person will adjust their capoeira technique according to their body’s capabilities. In my opinion, capoeira is a complete art and sport. It is recreational, therapeutic, challenging and suits everyone. The social aspect of capoeira is also a big draw to people as it satisfies the feeling of belonging to something good. Basically capoeira is a complex sport that anyone can learn as long as they are dedicated and willing to invest time into their training. The returns are incomparable.
Contact Mestre Caxias on 055 841 7843 or visit www.uaecapoeira.com for more information