A brief history of Capoeira

Capoeira was developed in the 17th-century brazil by Angolan slaves as way of keeping fit. They were forbidden to take exercise or fight and their hands were shackled (often maimed), so they had to develop an exercise system that could be disguised as a tribal dance, using their legs, heads, hips and shoulders and shifting their weight. In its most common modern form, actule developed by Maestre Bimba in the 1930s in Brazil, it is a contemporary dance form. The idea is to mirror your partner's moves, to echo active form - a duck or a roll - before striking back, so that the movements appear to fold over one another, gaining momentum. Given that the slaves carried razor blades in their feet for self defence, it's easy to see how the cartwheels, backflips and headstand kicks could have been used with lethal effect. The sport was illegal in Brazil until last century and is still considered subversive.

Any one can do capoeira: 'You don't have to be strong or super fit. It respects limitations of the individual,' a long as the novice knows the 11 basic moves, they can theoretically play with a master in the ring or ('roda'). But learning the sport is no mean feat and it is not to be entered into lightly. It requires four hours of classes a week comprising intensive workout, and the novice can expect no to able to sit down for the first month. It takes six yars to come close to an advanced state, but when experienced capoieristas are playing in the roda, it is bewitching to watch

The Music: The music of the berimbau (bow), ataque (drum) and pandeiro(tambourine) helps the players to focus spiritually, getting faster and faster until it reaches fever pitch, when the players are spinning effortlessly like a pair of compasses around the confines of the circle. Its hardly surprising that some students. For many it's the chance to fulfill their dreams of being The Capoeira Kid.