First of all, I would like to point out that this note is part of a series of posts about the things that I think are so great about capoeira. The series of posts consists of four posts that will be published one day after another. I know that the theme here seems rather silly but, no, it is not another dumb “The 4 reasons why you ought to play capoeira” post. Capoeira Experience being a personal blog, my aim here is to say what I feel, what I think, what I notice about capoeira as opposed to telling you what you ought to do, feel, and think. I enjoy exchanging ideas very much, I try to be as open-minded as I can so, if you feel like it, do not hesitate to let me know what you think. I don’t believe in things such as universal truth. Conversely, I tend to think that personal experience is basically at the core of everything we do as individuals. I’m not trying to convince anyone that capoeira is good for you. Maybe it is not. Maybe it is nkt what you are actually looking for. And if you enjoy capoeira like I do it might be for reasons that are different. I am not seeking to build a perfect, muscular body, for example. However, it seems highly necessary to develop strong muscles to do some movements that I would like to be able to perform–so working out hard is rather a necessity to achieve something else than a goal in itself (going to the gym really is not my thing). Anyway, I am already diving into details but I have not mentioned yet the actual reasons why I play capoeira. So here it comes!
Knowing my body
My first motivation, the thing that really got me started, was the desire to take control of my body. I felt like I I was using only a small amount of my physical capacities, and that really bothered me. Someone who is very important to me told me about how my body feels strong. Well, this was something that I was not really aware of. I had not thought of my body as strong before. Yes, there is something about my shoulders, for example, but, I never really did anything about it–it is all genetical. I started thinking: So, she (yes, because she is a she, the one who initiated me to capoeira) says I might be strong, huh? That was definitively not how it felt to me at that time. I basically felt sloppy. Nevertheless, I wanted to know more about my body. I wanted know where was what, and how it works, what it can do. And, if I dare say much about her, well, she gives me wonderful massages, because she knows perfectly human anatomy. These massages always make me think: How is it possible that what she does simply with her hands feels so good ? This is how I realized that knowing where my muscles are, what they are capable of, and how to use them, is something that I wanted to figure out, like some kind of personal quest that is now intimately related to capoeira. I was not a big sport guy–and, apparently, still ain’t–I had never really paid much attention to my body before.
Now, I feel like I have an idea of what is possible and what is not my body. And, the nice thing is that after I understand where my weaknesses are, I can work on it. This is where working out is important. For example, everything that involves standing upside-down on my two arms was simply impossible three weeks ago. No bananeiro for me! Which really is a shame, when you think of it. But, well, when I was asked to do it during a class, I tried. Not successfully, indeed. It just seemed not doable at that time, my arms would collapse and thus I would be afraid to fall on my head and break something–fear in capoeira is another subject that I believe is really worth talking about. So, in order to strength my arms, I started doing push-ups from time to time, after or during a training session, for example. Pushups are hard for me: If I do more than ten of these in a row, it feels like my little upper-arm muscles might fail me, so I never dare to lower my body again the eleventh time. And I definitively do not want to put myself in the red zone where I can not take any effort any more. Why would I do that? I already sweat so much doing half of what the instructor asks us to do!
Maybe I am lazy: When it feels like too much, I stop. And the martial-art lovers might not agree with that. But I do these little series of pushups regularly, doubled up with hours and hours during which I try to do reasonable stand-ups. Yes, I literally spent two hours training on this last week, and was very proud to reach my goal! But I promise that is not the only thing I do: I am starting to memorize sequencias and have fun reproducing them on my own. The satisfaction is big and, once again, it is so important to do things little by little, and to build up on what is there already! That is a challenge for me alright!
The cat-like reflexes
I heard people tell me in the past that I am not good at anticipating. Well, it might rather be somewhat of a mind problem (related to the body, for sure, and motion) but, nevertheless, I am pretty sure that being in the middle of the roda helps me developing new reflexes that were totally absent before. The truth is, I find the intensity of such situations rather unsettling. A roda is usually pretty hectic for me, even if it is slow-paced, since there is so much to think! To me it feels like the only way to survive–the term is too strong, but you get the idea–is to be able to react quickly, almost automatically. And I believe that, unless I become a cat, the only way for me to be reactive also has to do with body awareness, that leads to a better mental map of my surroudings and space in general.
This awareness, that is also manifest through sore muscles, this feeling of control when I successfully execute a movement that I found difficult is pretty invigorating. I used to feel clumsy and unstable. Now, there are hints that tell me that my body is somehow always ready to play. The other day, I was lying down on the grass, and my brother came on my side, standing up. I think I wanted to annoy him a bit as he approached me, so I grabbed his leg with my hand in a way that made him fall on the ground. Ok, maybe that was mean. But, honestly, I was impressed that I achieved what I wanted by only touching lightly his leg! I did not expect that to happen for real, and that would not have been possible if I had not discovered capeoira, and all these sweeping movements.
Of course, the path to cat-like reflexes is a long way. I still don’t instinctively know on which side I should bend to avoid a queixada–and I am definitively not happy about that!–but there is progress, even small achievements. But I can feel it in my veins, when I want to ginga because I am bored and my body wants to be active. In fact, capoeira and working out have an addictive aspect, don’t you think? And it is the body which talks in these occasions. But, I also ought to learn on how to be careful: I did many negativa recently, and I can tell you that several days after training my knees still are irritated. So, watch out! And do not push yourself beyond reasonable limits!
To conclude: Yes, taking control of my body is without a doubt my number one motivation. It was (and still is) the thing that I was looking for when I first saw people playing . I immediately understood that I would be able to achieve this thanks to capoeira, but I did not realize that it could take a lot of time! Oh, well, I am ready for it!
And you, what drew you to capoeira first? What is the thing that keeps you in the mood for capoeira? Why did you start, and why do you go on? Let me know!
Capoeira Experience 