Approximate Class Structure:
- Jogging and bringing circulation to shoulders
- Animal forms!: Bear walking, duck walking, crab walking gorilla walking, chameleon walking. You name it, we can walk like it!
- Ginga: the moving stance. How does it work? How do you ginga with a partner?
- Kicks: Learn a new kick. From big spinning kicks to the round house, capoeira has an cornucopia of imaginative kicks to offer.
- Evasions: How do you get out of the way of a kick? How do you counter a kick passively or aggressively?
- Review Portuguese names for these moves and practice them with a partner.
- Group games with new found vocabulary of movements
- Music: learn the chorus to a a Portugese capoeira song! Sing it loud! This is how we support our friends in the Roda. Learn how to play the pandeiru, the atabak and the berimbau! There is even a cowbell of sorts...
- Roda: Now wrap it all together and play a capoeira game in the Roda. The Roda, (pronounced "Hoda"), is where a couple of us play music, one person leads the songs, everyone else stands in a circle clapping to the rhythm and responding to the song leader. Then two people meet in front of the instruments, agree to have a respectful game and then PLAY!
Why is capoeira the perfect martial art for kids?
- Creativity is key. Kids aren't burdened with memorizing forms. Instead they learn the capoeira kicks and attacks one by one with evasion options. Eventually, like learning to speak, they begin to string together the movements in games with each other.
- Respect for and support of your classmates is central to capoeira. More advanced students are taught how to support their classmates. They learn how to help those who struggle improve their game and confidence.
- Equality of the sexes is also a central tenant. This martial art does not revolve around brute strength. Growth in capoeira translates to an improved eye for movement, body confidence, physical coordination, sense of rhythm, a grasp of timing and musical ability.
- Get the wiggles out. Capoeira is athletic. The fighting stance is a moving one. The kicks are big and powerful and the evasions can be downright gymnastic. But don't worry: the game can be adapted to all levels of flexibility and size.
Jamie Lee Curtis's take on Capoeira Besouro's non profit for kids, Ginga Arts:
Jamie reviews our parent school, Capoeira Besouro Los Angeles