Whether you have something positive or negative to say about your experience in Capoeira, your participation is relevant to this project. Come and have your say about your concerns and experiences as a Capoeira artist, about the role of the Art-form within your community. Through discussions and comments we will learn more about the potentialities and shortcomings of Capoeira a social inclusive tool.
Be it commenting on posts, suggesting new topics, sharing your experiences, or promoting Capoeira-related programmes, your contribution will help the development of the knowledge on Capoeira and Social Inclusion. Once accomplished, the project will benefit the whole Capoeira community. The 4CapoeiraThoughts aims to create an online platform of communication among those interested in Capoeira as social inclusive tool in non-Brazilian contexts. This blog is a not-for-profit initiative, set as part of my PhD research programme at the Griffith Centre for Cultural Research (Griffith University, QLD, Australia).
Explore the posts and feel free to drop your thoughts, critics and comments about whatever comes to your mind. And please, don’t forget to spread the word out!
Axé!
Eurico
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For more details about the research please contact:
Eurico Vianna (Researcher): eurico_dot_vpc_at_gmail_dot_com
Griffith Centre for Cultural Research, Room 1.58, Macrossan Building (N16), Griffith University, Nathan Campus. 170 Kessels Road. Nathan, Qld 4111. Australia.
My experience in capoeira is very short. I’m now starting. Everybody knocks me down. But I’m a thinker ;)
I think the most beautiful is the dialog that is created between the people who practice this art. Not only inside the game (roda) but also outside.
The importance of this dialog, I think, is to help each other to identify, clarify and develop our beliefs, values, and attitudes. Above all, understand how those unconscious processes influence our perceptions and behaviors. Just then we can express ourselves properly. This dialog makes us look besides us.
It is in the relation with others that we know our self’s. And Capoeira is relation. And only persons like Eurico make us want to learn because he knows the importance of this relation.
“To teach capoeira to Elisabeth I need to do three things: I need to know capoeira; I need to know Elisabeth; and I need to promote and assist the interaction between the both.”
Many thanks Eurico.
Oi Sérgio, thanks for your message of support!
I agree with you, Capoeira is a perfect tool to foster otherness. And once we all gravitate around the feelings we draw from the jogo, we’re almost always reflecting upon an interaction; an artistic and magic moment resulting from the creativity of two people in a ritual made possible by some.
And I’m with you again when you say that teaching is about promoting and assisting interactions between people and a given matter; in this case people and Capoeira. No one can really teach something. The teaching/learning process is the outcome of both students’ and teachers’ effort and engagement; without one, the other can’t succeed.
Axé my thinker friend! Keep thinking, and training!
Eurico
Grande Eurico!!
Parabens pelo video e pelo trabalho que voce tem realizado do outro lado do mundo.
O teu esforco e tua dedicacao contribuirao para o desenvolvimento do esporte, da cultura e da arte da capoeira pelo mundo.
Fico na torcida, como sempre, para que teu exemplo e tua vida sejam inspiradores para muitos outros.
Abracao!!!
Obrigado pelo apoio Irmão!
Estamos juntos nessa caminhada!
Axé!
Ola Contra Mestre! Tudo bom? Eu gostaria de compartilhar algumas de minhas ideias sobre capoeira. In my opinion Capoeira is an art form that has one fundamental factor that drives it, which is freedom, be it freedom from slavery and oppression, freedom of expression or more importantly, freedom of the mind. Many people who see capoeira only see the external value of capoeira, but they do not see the deep intrinsic aesthetic value of the art. Capoeira itself is not just about the moves but also carries the values of culture,tradition and history, and those who can acknowledge and respect this fact can truly appreciate Capoeira. All these elements are embedded within the dialog, the conversation between two capoeiristas. The roots of the Afro-Brazilian art itself contains within it a merger of cultures, and with that fact,people from any culture or social background around the world can appreciate and experience this truly unique art form as long as the nature and birthright of the art is understood and respected.
Speaking of freedom of the mind, when two players are truly engaged in a game of capoeira, fueled by the music, there is no past, or future, there is only now. For the duration of the game the players are in focus, a state of presence, a state of timelessness, there is no thought about yesterday or tomorrow, something in which we are all slaves of in the modern world, a slave of the mind. Higher states of consciousness are often accompanied by presence and freedom from the mind. I always thought, Free your mind, and your game will flow. Social inclusion is heavily related to culture,religion and the mindset of people. We all have our belief systems and train of thought, but what capoeira inspires such as discipline, respect and presence, is generic and compatible to anyone around the world, such as myself, born and bred in Malaysia and a practitioner of Islam.
Well thats some of my thoughts on Capoeira, hope it inspires in any way. Look forward to play with you again one day Eurico :D.
Abracos.
Saracura,
You have some interesting thoughts on syncretism. This is capital to Capoeira and Brazilian culture.
Thanks a lot! Hope to see you soon.
Eurico
Mestre Fran once told me “Once capoeira becomes a part of you, you take it everywhere you go”. He said a lot of other stuff in that conversation, most of which I didn’t understand because my Portuguese is horrible, but that always stuck with me (assuming I understood it correctly). That is probably one of the truest statements about my life I have ever heard. If I were a superstitious person, I would have called it a premonition. Capoeira has come with me from my home in Houston, TX, to graduate school in Miami, FL, to my job in Seoul, Korea, and finally here to Toowoomba, Australia where I continue to train on my own despite a proper school. The last 6 years of my life have been an interaction with, longing for, and sometimes struggle against capoeira. Even after only studying for a little over a year, I chose my graduate school with the criteria that was a capoeira school near. Even though I could not speak or read Korean, I found a capoeira school in that foreign country. I’ve lost weight for capoeira. Capoeira has helped me end unhealthy relationships. Capoeira calms me when I’m sad/mad/or other. I’m not a spiritual person by any means, so you I don’t see anything magical about this ‘connection’ at all. To me it is a conscious, and correct, decision to make capoeira a part of my life not unlike stopping smoking or getting married. I don’t want to not have capoeira in my life. It is important to know what makes you happy in life, and it is equally important to continuously develop that which makes you happy in order to feel fulfilled in life. I have met many capoeiristas who tell me about this spiritual connection to capoeira, like they had no choice in the matter. That may be true for them, but it’s simply not the case in my life. Once capoeira became part of my life, I chose to take it wherever I went. Thank you Mestre Fran.
Peace to you, CM Eurico.
this was supposed to go in the narratves section. sorry