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.
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.
posted by Chienjer at
2:46 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home