The colors of the fallen leaves

Ok. This post is not about capoeira, but if you are still interested, read on.

It all started with the colors of the autumn leaves. Have you noticed them? There are zillions of fallen leaves on the ground. Look for the ones that just came down. I call them the "fresh" leaves. I bet you cannot find two of the same colors or patterns. I started wondering the story behind each leaf. They started off as new buds in the spring; gradually they grew into full leaves. They survived the thunder showers and windstorms, and just now they performed the autumn symphony of zillion colors. Anyone who has heard the sirons of fall colors know what it means to be speechless. You prefer not to say a thing because you are afraid whatever you say is going to ruin it. You realize that you are limited by the power of words, because no words can do the job.

Ok, each leaf on the ground tells a story. After the symphony, they came off. And they tell you a lot more than words can say. I am not going to ruin it. Go check it out yourself!

p.s. I am having the most wonderful autumn I've ever had in my life--the colors of the fallen leaves, the music, the wisdom, the love. I am thankful to whoever made this happen.

Chamada

Chamada seems to be the most ritualized move in Capoeira. It means "call" in Portuguese. One player invites the other player for a break by exposing himself and standing at a distance. The other player moves towards the berimbau to get the axe and then capoerias his way towards the person who did chamada. Needless to say, both players have to be extremely alert because any attack could happen anytime.

I remember the first time I was invited to participate in a jumping chamada, I thought it was a mere friendly invitation to play a childish game. I joyfully gave both my hands to the other player and side-jumped with him. And then I got kicked straight at the chest. Man, that really hurt. It was a lesson learned. From then on, I never assumed friendliness in the roda, and I became very cautious about chamadas, as it could be deceivingly congenial. Again, Capoeira is about fighting. Being alert is always a must.

There seems to be different kinds of chamadas--standing with arms open, facing or not facing the other player, having one arm higher and the other lower, or inviting to move/jump sideways, etc. The essence, according to my observation, is to appear at ease but to be ready to give a hard attack. After walking together back and forth (getting really close so that you feel the tension between both players), the person invited by a chamada is usually offered to make a move first.

There are several places where you are most likely to be tricked and get hurt. When you approach a standing chamada, you have to be careful checking that person out. When you chamada back and forth together, you could be tripped and fall or you could be kicked. And when you are invited to do an Au, you have to be alert for an attack too. The person doing the chamada should have the feet apart for balance, and be ready to fall down to escape an attack.

Chamada is a beautiful ritual. It is where capoeiristas get intimate physical contacts, where one exposes himself to the other because of a trust in his own ability to act and react. It is a demonstration of confidence and sophistication in Capoeira Angola.

A picture of Chamada can be found by clicking here.

Bênção--Bless you!

Bênção means blessing in Portuguese. It's interesting how a malicious front kick was named to sound so congenial.

To me, Bênção is the most dangerous move. It involves directing your energy towards your foot and giving it all out while standing on the other leg. Balance is crucial. And total surveillance is indispensible. You are also most fragile, because after a Bênção, your body is at the most extended and exposed position. And you stand only on one foot, which makes it easy to sweep your leg and get you down. That is why you are most susceptible to attacks when doing bênção.

It seems to me that people don't bênção easily. They do it when they are confident enough and when they are prepared to take the following attacks. You invite more malicious attacks when you bênção, too. This is because when encoutering bênçãos, the players feel more threatened. They may take the game more seriously and sometimes even lose their coolness.

So when you bênção, you are blessing the other and you need to be blessed. That's how I take bênção to be the name of this move.

The RHYTHM of playing

My teacher, Iuri, told me the other day that I played a good game (even though I got kicked and fell several times). He said that I got the "rhythm."

I didn't really notice this rhythm thing until Iuri made it clear to me. And then I saw it everywhere. Of course, capoeira is all about rhythms. We play the instruments with rhythms. We move our body with rhythms. But the rhythm that Iuri talked about was the moment-by-moment, back-and-forth interaction between the players in the roda--the flow of energy. It takes two to capoeira. This is so obvious, yet so easy to forget.

Onlookers of capoeira often take it to be a sort of dancing at first sight. Sure it looks festive. We sing, we play the instruments, and everybody seems to enjoy it very much. But it ain't dancing. It is fighting. It is making the fighting look good. No malicious kicking or grabbing. Little physical contact. We attack and escape and attack again and escape again. But it is crucial to do so beautifully. It is an art.

It is like a dialogue. You don't talk to yourself. You don't just listen either. You listen, and you talk, and you listen again and then you say something back again. Learning to capoeira is like learning to talk. You got to know when to say something, and you got to know what is appropriate to say. To beginners, this is often very hard. We often just listened and feared to speak. We are often afraid that we may say something stupid. Worse yet, we don't really know what to say. OR often times, we don't have a chance to talk at all. This happens when the more experienced person talks too much.

The nirvana of capoeira is reached when the Axe flows between the players, when the energy comes back and forth between them, and fills the roda. That is the rhythm of capoeira.

Ginga

Ginga is always what you start Capoeira with.

Even after 2 years of Ginga-ing, I still find myself uncomfortable doing it at times. There is never too much ginga-ing.

The crucial thing is about holding your balance, and getting ready for any attacks or accidents. So, you don't want to be stiff, but you also don't want to move too light. It's almost like ballroom dancing. The most important thing is to figure out where your weight should fall on in each move. Then you find your balance. Then you know where your arms should go. Then you know where to fall if you have to.

I found that different groups ginga very differently. I used to ginga in a more robotic way. Each ginga has to be well-formed in terms of balance and shape. Now, I find it should be more versatile. You should appear relaxed and unpredictable. It's almost like you are doing the "drunken style kung-fu." You are half-dancing, looking as if you don't care. But of course, you do. You are observant, and you are ready for an unexpected attack.

Ginga is especially fun with music. You hear the music, and you can't stop ginga-ing.

Welcome to my capoeira blog site!

Marionete is my capoeira name. I love playing capoeira.

Currently, I am training with a group led by Iuri Santos in Bloomington, Indiana. I used to train with Capoeira Malandragem in Tucson, Arizona.

Capoeira to me is not just a martial art. It is a style of living, a philosophy of life. It is about strength and flexibility, about endurance, and respect. We respect our mastres, and the capoeiristas we play with. We respect our instruments and the spirits. We respect our lineage, and we don't forget where we came from.

Capoeira, to me, is also a well of wisdom, a sky full of gems to be discovered. I am a beginning capoeirista, and always get excited about learning new tricks. I got disappointed at times knowing my limitations, but dicovering that I could go beyond was always a natural high!

So, here I am, ready to note down my life with capoeira, and share it with you.