Capoeira: The Forbidden Fight

Capoeira originated in Brazil in the 1600s. The only indigenous American martial art, it was developed by African slaves in Brazil. Capoeira began to take form amongst the community of slaves that worked on the sugar cane plantations, the docks and various other slave works. 

It became a strong weapon in the life and death struggle against their oppressors. When the owners of the sugar cane fields realized the power of Capoeira, they began to punish those who practiced it, sometimes with death. Capoeiristas learned to camouflage the forbidden fight with singing and clapping as though it were simply entertainment.The fight was disguised behind the dance - a dance that could be as graceful as a panther and as treacherous as a snake.

Mestre Bimba, with his good will and love of the art was able to take Capoeira from being forbidden by law and transformed it into Brazil's national sport. He along with Mestre Pastinha was the first to open schools and the Capoeira tree grew, spreading its branches across the world.


Capoeira is an art form and self-defense; with strong aerobic and dance elements. It is a harmony of forces that gives you power, flexibilty, endurance and self-discovery. Capoeira balances the body, soul and mind. It is a graceful, exciting art form that teaches you to be alert while keeping its strong traditions and enables you to break through limits, revitalizing you for everyday life.

3 Ways Capoeira Training Can Improve Your Health

1. Extreme Cardio, Strength and Conditioning
After a couple minutes of partner drills where you are moving in and out, ducking, dodging, spinning and jumping you will find that you may be a bit winded and that there are some muscles you have not used in a while. Capoeira is very much a language between two people, and the more you and your partner get into training, the more you both get out of it.

After a few months of practice you will know your body like never before, and it will be stronger, lighter, quicker than it has ever been. You will find that when you do other activities like jogging or playing basketball you will have a lot more energy for the long haul.


2. Build Efficient, Effective Bodies
Most of the problems that people have, health wise, come from bad habits. When it comes to our bodies, the number one bad habit we have is NOT USING IT. For some people, their jobs require them to stay fit, but for everyone else sitting behind a desk or around the house all day, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, lungs, etc. are all being underused. How does this translate into health.. easy, you bend down to pick up a pen you dropped and boom.. your back is out for a week. Your body gives out because it is not used to doing anything strenuous, or at least something that will cause it to learn to work more efficiently. Enter Capoeira...

Capoeira training causes one's body to cope with the rigors of the ridiculous movements. The movements inherently build slow and quick twitch muscle fibers, enhance breathing and blood flow, build flexibility, build hand and eye coordination, balance and much more. All of these thing contribute to making our bodies more efficient and effective machines. We will move better, feel better, heal faster, because we are fine tuning our bodies.

3. Fun
Once a person starts Capoeira, and gets a chance to see many of the groups who do it, they instantly notice that everyone is smiling and having a great time. They also notice that most of the grand masters, are quite old. They are 50 to 70 years old and unless they have developed some sort of sickness or have had a major injury, they are still as cat like as they were as teenagers.

Capoeira truly has a unique way of pulling you in and showing you how great it can be to train hard, to smile while doing it, to be as gentle or aggressive as you would like, but also respecting each other. Mix that with music, dance and the grace to hopefully keep doing it for years and years and you really have something magical on your hands.


The good news is that this awesome art is available here in Lagos through The Bodylanguage Company which consists of a group of dancers, dance teachers, choreographers, performers, martial artists and fitness experts.

Skilled in dance styles ranging from Asia to Europe to north and south America and of course Africa, The Bodylanguage Company has displayed diversity beyond its contemporaries, conducting classes for both children and adults alike. Some of its genres are: Salsa, Rumba, Samba, Chacha, Brazilian Capoeira, Belly dance, Hip hop, Contemporary, Jazz, Ballet etc.


Contact details are as follows:

Phone: +2347038710733, +2348021322227, +2348039412991, +2348122263530

Email: thebodylanguagecompany@gmail.com

www.Facebook.com/thebodylanguagestudio

Instagram: @bodylanguagestudio

Or visit us at:
The Bodylanguage studio,
334/336 Agege motor road,
Beside Suzuki motors,
Ilupeju-Lagos State.
Nigeria.



Visit www.capoeiramalandragem.com and www.mandinga.org for more