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I find capoeira to be a beautiful, challenging, and fulfilling activity. However, it is somewhat factious, not well documented, and difficult for a beginner to pickup. In particular, I struggle with the non-unified naming of the various moves between capoeira groups. (Give example). The goal of page is to document most every capoeira move (defense, attack, movement, etc) and present them in a way that makes it easier for a beginner to better learn the moves and the names associated with them.
Capoeira basics
Movements
- Passage
- Role (rolls)
- Bananeira (handstand) (Both legs up, scissored, kicks, etc)
-
- Aú Aberto (straight legs)
- Au fechado (tucked legs)
- Queda de rins
Esquivas (Escapes)
- Baze
- Quebrado. also known as Esquiva agachada or Esquiva de costa
- Esquiva lateral (side lean in horse)
- Esquiva de costa
- Esquiva baixa aka Equiva de frente (back or standing lunge with rear leg going back)
- Esquiva diagonal (front lunge)
- Esquiva back lean
- Negativa (forward negativa. step forward, sink on back leg)
- Negativa de frente (back negativa. step back, sink on back leg)
- Negativa lateral (side negativa)
- Negativa angola (extreme side, head to floor)
- Queda de Tres/quatro - fall back into a crab-walk position.
Strikes
- Bencao - push/stomp kick
- Ponteira - snap kick
- martelo - round kick
- Chapa - side kick (also called pisao)
- meia-lua de frente (forward, outside to inside)
- Queixada (esquiva alta, step forward, then kick inside to outside)
- Armada - spin kick
- meia-lua de compasso - spin heel kick (both hands down or one hand down)
- Gancho - hook kick
- Martelo Passano
- Chapelle de choro
Counters and take downs
- Rasteira
- Negachiva de Bimba
- Step on foot
Legend
- Bold font - Common moves that every capoeirista should be familiar with.
- Nonbold font - Rarer moves that not everyone will have seen.
- Green - Beginner (Most beginners can learn within a few months of regular capoeira practice)
- Yellow - Intermediate (Most beginners can learn within a year of regular capoeira practice)
- Red - Advanced (Most beginners likely won't be able to learn this until at least a year of regular capoeira practice)
Movement/Acrobatics
- Passagem
- Role (rolls)
- Feints
- Queda de Rins
- From standing
- Fall back
- Queda de tres
- Swap legs
- Troca de Pé
- Bridge
- Handstand
- Bananeira (headstand = head + both hands. Both legs up, scissored, etc)
- Handspin - Pião de Mão
- Headspin - Pião de Cabeça
-
- Aú Aberto (straight legs)
- Au fechado (tucked legs)
- Aú sem mão (no hands)
- Au De Frente (Front Walkover)
- Au kick
- Au Batido - “L”-kick
- Flips
- Handsprings
- Macaco from floor and from Ginga. Means “monkey”
Defense
- Esquiva (escapes)
- Esquiva lateral (side lean in horse)
- Esquiva baixa aka Equiva de frente (back or standing lunge with rear leg going back)
- Esquiva diagonal (front lunge)
- Negativa
- Negativa (forward negativa. step forward, sink on back leg)
- Negativa de frente (back negativa. step back, sink on back leg)
- Negativa lateral (side negativa)
- Negativa angola (extreme side, head to floor)
- Queda de Quatro - fall back into a crab-walk position.
Kicks
Crescent kicks
- meia-lua de frente (forward, outside to inside)
- Queixada (esquiva alta, step forward, then kick inside to outside)
- Armada - spin kick
Spinning heel kicks
- meia-lua de compasso - spin heel kick (both hands down or one hand down)
- Meia-lau de chao or Chibata (ground) - (au spinning heel kick followed by negachiva)
- Rabo de Arraia - spinning heel kick with no hands on the floor
Front/straight kicks
Round kick, martelo
- martelo - round kick
- Martelo de Negativa or Martelo do Chão, Chapeu de Couro - martelo from the ground (esquiva de frente or negativa) with or without a small hap to start
- Martelo rodado or Parafuso (tornado kick)
Side kick (chapa)
- pisao - side kick (also called chapa)
- Chapa Giratória or Pisao de Costas (spinning side kick)
Au kicks
Misc
- Gancho - hook kick
Handstand
- L-kick (au batido) also here
- Au cortada
- Handstand front kick - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhkqHmELjcc
Misc advanced kicks
Arm strikes / punches / close range
Take down / sweeps
Unsorted patterns
- 10 patterns - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk8-9T6uMI8
Unsorted beginner moves
Unsorted advanced moves
Ranking
Every group has their ranking or even emphasis on ranking. Most fall roughly into the four following bins (some with finer delineation).
- Aluno - Student
- Aluno Graduado - Advanced student - Help teach the less advanced students.
- Instructor or Assistant instructor - Helps run classes but does not lead a group.
- Professor - Runs their own group.
- Mestre - Master.
Terminology
Similar lists (with videos) of movements
private/writeups/capoeira.txt · Last modified: 2022/09/25 13:09 by admin
