About Capoeira

Because the history of Capoeira was passed down as an oral history for hundreds of years, ten people will tell you ten different stories about its origins. When slaves were brought from Africa to Brazil starting in the 1500s, the slave owners often tried to split slaves up from similar areas to prevent cohesion among them. Whether Capoeira was actually brought from Africa, or it was an amalgamation of fighting styles that came together in Brazil is up for debate. It was incorporated with music, and thus the slaves could continue to practice fighting and self-defense under the guise of a song and dance.

Capoeira continued to evolve over hundreds of years until slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888. Capoeira continued to be an activity of the oppressed, particularly in the favelas (ghettos) surrounding most major cities. Capoeira became a gang activity, and was therefore outlawed in 1890. Capoeira remained an underground activity. This is where the practice of giving apelidos (nicknames) comes from.

Capoeira was legalized in 1918. An important next step in Capoeira came when Mestre Bimba set up the first Capoeira academy in 1927. He added some movements from other martial arts, as well as a belt system also modeled after Asian martial arts. This came to be known as Capoeira Regional. More importantly, he worked hard to remove the negative image that Capoeira held. In 1937 he and his students performed for the president of Brazil, Getulio Vargas, who promptly declared Capoeira the national sport of Brazil.

In 1942, Mestre Pastina opened the first academy dedicated to Capoeira Angola, a style that is generally slower and more ground-based. This represented a movement towards more traditional forms of Capoeira.

Today there are thousands of academies all over the world practicing all different styles of Capoeira. Many now teach all styles together, and simply call it Capoiera.