“Brazilian Nuts in KL!”
2008
No, No Sepultura in town.
No, not ugly Ronnie and friends either.
but …
These Brazillian nuts are here.
I was on my way back from Pavillion yesterday when I suddenly saw a big crowd in front of Sungei Wang’s Maybank. I decided to stop by and take a peek. To my surprise it was a group of nutsy Brazillian doing a demo of Capoeira. Now, doesn’t that rings a bell? Remember the movie “ONLY THE STRONG”?
Perhaps the chanting :
Paranaway .. Paranaway ..
Owh, forget it. It’s basically a Brazillian form of martial art. Capoeira is a blend of martial art, game, and dance originated from Brazil, from the regions known as Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The art-form started up in Brazil during the 16th Century, an obvious result of the slave trading that took place in conjunction with the previously slaved native Indians. Capoeira was created and developed by both the native slave Indians in Brazil and slaves brought from Africa. Participants form a roda (circle) and take turns playing instruments, singing, and sparring in pairs in the center of the circle. The game is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints, and extensive use of groundwork, as well as sweeps, kicks, and headbutts. Less frequently-used techniques include elbow-strikes, slaps, punches, and body-throws.
It’s like a blend of everything. Exercise, dancing and whatever. The songs, wow! Very very indulging. It’s very catchy until the thing keep on playing in my mind. It’s insanely catchy!
Capoeira primarily attacks with kicks, sweeps, and head strikes. Some schools teach punches and hand strikes, but they are not as common. A possible explanation for the primary use of feet is the common West African belief that hands are for creation and feet for destruction[citation needed]. Another common explanation is that slaves in Brazil were commonly shackled at the wrists, restricting them from using their hands. Lastly, striking with the hands is often seen as unelegant and disruptive to the flow of the game. Elbow strikes are commonly used in place of hand strikes. “Cabeçadas” or Headbutts are common- as they are in many of the fighting arts of the African Diaspora[citation needed]. Knee strikes are sometimes seen. Capoeira also uses acrobatic and athletic movements to maneuver around the opponent. Cartwheels called “aú” (a very common acrobatic movement), handstands (bananeira), headspins (pião de cabeça), hand-spins (pião de mão), hand-springs (gato), sitting movements, turns, jumps, flips (mortal), and large dodges are all very common in capoeira though vary greatly depending on the form and rhythm. Fakes and feints are also an extremely important element in capoeira games and the setting of “traps” or illusory movements are very common.
Capoeira defenses consists of evasive moves and rolls. A series of ducks called esquivas, which literally means “dodge”, are also staple of a capoeiristas’ defensive vocabulary. There are typically different esquivas for every step of the Ginga, depending on the direction of the kick and intention of the defender. A common defense is the rolê, which is a rolling move that combines a duck and a low movement. This move allows the defensive players to quickly evade an attack and position themselves around the aggressor in order to lay up for an attack. It is this combination of attacks and defense which gives a game of capoeira its perceived ‘fluidity’ and choreography.
Other evasive moves such as rasteira, vingativa, tesoura de mão or queda allow the capoeirista to move away or dangerously close in an attempt to trip up the aggressor in the briefest moment of vulnerability (usually in a mid-kick.)
So, you might want to watch your balls!
Music is integral to capoeira. It sets the tempo and style of game that is to be played within the roda. The music is composed of instruments and song. The tempos differ from very slow (Angola) to very fast (são bento regional). Many of the songs are sung in a call and response format while others are in the form of a narrative. Capoeiristas sing about a wide variety of subjects. Some songs are about history or stories of famous capoeiristas. Other songs attempt to inspire players to play better. Some songs are about what is going on within the roda. Sometimes the songs are about life, or love lost. Others are lighthearted or even silly things, sung just for fun. Capoeiristas change their playing style significantly as the songs or rhythm from the berimbau commands. In this manner, it is truly the music that drives capoeira.
So, I leave you guys a clip from the show.
P/S : Sorry for the blur motion. I was using my phone 
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