Capoeira: self-defense disguised as song and dance
- posted: 25 Mar. 2008
- scrollsports@byui.edu
An assortment of students grouped together in a circle and singing while two people spin and dodge each other in the center could be a very unsettling image. That’s all right. It’s just Capoeira.
BYU-Idaho’s Talent Explorations Board of the Activities Program offers Capoeira workshops twice a week. The workshops are taught by Niki Garrett, a junior studying English. Garrett learned Capoeira from a couple who run a school for the martial arts in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has been practicing the art for almost two years.
“Capoeira combines fluid ground movements and acrobatics with spinning kicks and various take-downs,” Garrett said. “Its movements are very dance-like.”
Although Capoeira looks like a dance, it is a form of self-defense that focuses on redirecting and avoiding violence. According to www.ithaca.edu/capoeira, the Web site for the Capoeira Organization of Ithaca College, Capoeira originated in Africa and was brought to Brazil by captured slaves. Because slaves weren’t allowed to openly train for self-defense, they disguised their training as recreational song and dance.
The group creates a circle, or roda, around the two opponents. The members of the roda clap their hands to the beat while they sing and play instruments traditional to Capoeira.
“There are different types or games of Capoeira, and the game is determined by the rhythm,” Garrett said.
Students are taught basic kicks and dodges for the first hour of the workshop. The second hour is spent learning songs and playing in the roda. If there is time after the workshops, students are welcome to stay and work on more challenging and fancy moves.
“It’s a good workout and keeps you flexible,” Garrett said. “And I think it brings people together into a community unlike any other martial art I’ve done. Everyone there is having fun, working hard to improve and willing to help those around them.”
Workshops are held at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays in the MC East Ballroom, and at 1 p.m. on Saturdays in room 202 of the Oscar A. Kirkham Building. 
