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What is Capoeira?
About Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art, combining self-defense and fighting techniques with dance, acrobatics, music and culture. Training capoeira fosters physical, mental and emotional wellness while learning challenging movements, playing afro brazilian instruments, and singing in Portuguese. Students apply their training in an exciting improvised "game" that builds confidence, freedom of expression, strength, spacial and body awaress, creativity, reaction time, and more.
With fascinating historical roots tracing back to the time of slavery in Brazil, capoeira is also a powerful tool for freedom and cultural empowerment.
Come try it for yourself to learn more!
Who can do it?
Capoeira is such a dynamic art that it attracts a wide variety of students, each bringing their unique skill set. Some aspects of the art may come easier and others may be more of a struggle depending on previous experiences, talents & personality types. It has something for everyone and is guaranteed to offer many opportunities for you to step out of your comfort zone and into new exciting and rewarding experiences no matter what background you have!
The best way to see if capoeira is a good fit for you or your child is to participate in our intro program for new students for just $20.
Here’s an article that appeared in WEMERGE magazine in 2013, written by Casandra Tanenbaum
You’ll find all kinds of traditions stewing in the cultural melting pot of south Florida. Among them, Capoeira is arguably the most engaging and exciting, and Capoeira Karkara is the premiere performance troupe/training center/community gathering bringing the tradition to life all around us. Even if you know nothing of the rhythm or the movements of Capoiera, the energy of a gathering is infectious: sooner or later, you’ll be pulled in!
The tradition of Capoeira combines unique Afro-Brazilian martial arts movements with chanting and music for full scale sensory immersion. Steeped in the history of Brazilian slave rebellion, the physical element of Capoeira consists of a blend of self-defense, acrobatics, improvisational dance. Participants create a large circle (called a roda, pronounced “HO-dah”) within which two partners “play” off one another, employing kicks, turns, leaps, ducks, and gymnastic evasions in a free-flowing spontaneous dance, all to a rhythm and series of call-and response chants from the outskirts of the circle. The result is a physically challenging total body workout, a communal endeavor, a journey into Afro-Brazilian rhythmic expression and an exciting interactive performance spectacle all in one! In the Roda, you have an opportunity to use your voice as a musical element to encourage the flow of activity, engaging the communal spirit of a family gathering. You also get a personal invitation to show off your skills, flexibility and power when you play in the center of the circle with your ‘opponent’. The play of the Roda is a light and friendly exchange of one-upmanship: unlike the combative back and forth of other martial arts disciplines, the participants watch it as more of a dance than a fight. After all, participants refer to the exchange as “playing Capoeira,” though the movements may appear serious to the untrained eye.
In order to play smoothly in the Roda, participants engage in ongoing training, building fundamental skills into complex maneuvers to improve their technique. If you want to learn to play, you’ve got to come to class! Luckily, Capoeira Karkara makes sure there are classes available any day of the week. The master teacher and founder of the troupe Mestre Betinho, and his wife, Professora Sara, formed the group in April of 2006 teaching kids and adults this joyful practice. Classes can be found at the YMCA of Boynton Beach and at Level 5 fitness in Delray Beach, but the troupe performs regularly all over south Florida, at festivals and celebrations as well as fitness expos for youth and adults. The group has recently begun annual cultural immersion exchange vacations, bringing south Florida’s dedicated Capoeira students to study in Brazil.
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