Capoeira is an art form, fighting method, self-defense, social struggle, sport, dance, folklore, culture and cultural resistance. It is also music, poetry, party, game, philosophy, and wisdom. Above all, it's a martial art and a cultural and artistical expression of the oppressed black people of Brazil, capoeira represents the quest for survival, freedom, dignity and identity.
Capoeira is one of the many Brazilian art forms that are a result of the slave trade. Developed as a fight-sport and practiced with the sound of the berimbau, capoeira was adopetd by the Brazilian people as its method of self-defense. This physical activity integrates a harmonic sense that provides the capoeirista the suavity of the crane, the agility and the skills of the feline, and the resistance and resilience of the ruminants.
Capoeira differ from other Martial Arts because of the strong African components: the rhythm of the music, the call and response of the songs, and the Ginga, the mobile guard of Capoeira hat resembles dance steps. Capoeira is a delightful sight, fun, relaxing, and empowering.
Capoeira is not only a method of self-defense; it symbolizes the resistance and the struggle for liberation of the Afro-Brazilians.