Why Is Capoeira Alive?

"Capoeira is a game, a dance, a fight, a war, and a peace, a culture, music, a portion of things." This quote was said by a famous Capoeirista about the game of Capoeira. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art. It originated in Africa but became popular in Brazil when Africans were taken from their homes and enslaved in Brazil. They created Capoeira as a way to defend themselves, but disguised it as a dance since practicing self-defense would get them in trouble. Since then, Capoeira has become a very popular sport for Brazilians. Nowadays, Capoeira is used less as a way to fight and more as a way to express oneself, play with others, and have fun. Capoeira is a fun martial art that combines fighting and dancing into one, which is what makes
These are all factors that contribute to why Capoeira is so unique; It allows you to move your body freely and express yourself in different ways, you can create new relationships with other people and the community of Capoeira, and even its history is so different from other sports.

One of the diverse reasons why Capoeira is so special is the fact that it allows you to move your body freely. When playing a game, or even just practicing, you can move your body in any way. You can be moving low and sticking to the ground or you can do moves that require you to stay up high. One thing that is really cool about Capoeira is that everyone has their own style. The way you do your move can be different from how someone else does it, and that is
When the Portuguese colonists came to Africa, they landed in Angola, which is where the slaves came from. The poor Africans were taken from their homes to be brought to Brazil and enslaved. Capoeira was formed after countless years of being enslaved. The slaves were tired of not being able to fight back and being helpless so they created Capoeira as a way to protect themselves, but due to the circumstances back then, they had to disguise it as a dance. One thing that I find very intriguing is that in 1888, when slavery was abolished in Brazil, Capoeira became illegal to perform for more than 40 years. The people had to practice Capoeira in secret, otherwise they would be arrested. This was true until the legendary Mestre Bimba saved Capoeira and opened the first Capoeira school in Bahia, Salvador, in 1932. It is important to note that most of the time, people don't go by their real name in Capoeira. If your master thinks you deserve it, he will reward you with a nickname. That is why most mestres have weird names. One thing I think is interesting is the story of Besouro Manganga. His real name is Manoel Henrique Pereira. He was a legend in Capoeira, and he apparently had power which was called Corpo Fechado which means closed body. This prevented anyone from harming him in any way, even if guns and daggers couldn’t hit him. What led Besouro to his death was his inability to read. Someone had sent Besouro to deliver a letter and