Minha Velha: Capoeira Music Practice

Mixture of leading and harmonizing. Big sound with 7 people; sounds like there's more instruments than there actually are.

Capoeira Angola: Contra Mestre Gato Preto (GCFA) e Contra Mestre Reny (Oke Aro)

Seems like they escape so fluidly that they must stop to appreciate.

Mestre Gato Preto e CM Jorge

Crazy flying cartwheel at 5:50.

Treinel Onça Branca (Ngoma) e prof. Negao (Capoeira sem fronteira)

Example of how someone with more experience can make it easy to play beautifully together.

I'm starting to train capoeira again with some new groups and thought to reflect on how many different places I've done this.

My accountant brain enjoys a good spreadsheet, so it naturally manifested in this list:

order	group	place
1.	🔁 Kadara Capoeira	Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
2.	🔁 🎟 Capoeira Raiz	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
3.	🎟 Xará Capo	Göttingen, Germany 🇩🇪
4.	Pressinha	Mannheim, Germany 🇩🇪
5.	Arte Nacional	Stuttgart, Germany 🇩🇪
6.	Capoeira Corrupio	Freiburg, Germany 🇩🇪
7.	🔁 🎟 Capoeira de Besouro	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
8.	🎟 Senzala	Stuttgart, Germany 🇩🇪
9.	Capoeira Angola Bangkok	Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭
10.	Associação de Capoeira Angola Dobrada	Freiburg, Germany 🇩🇪
11.	Capoeira São Salomão Roma	Rome, Italy 🇮🇹
12.	Mojubá	Los Angeles, United States 🇺🇸
13.	Terrêru	Belo Horizonte, Brazil 🇧🇷
14.	Escola de Capoeira Angola Ifé	Recife, Brazil 🇧🇷
15.	🔁 Centro de Capoeira São Salomão	Recife, Brazil 🇧🇷
16.	Nzinga DF	Brasilia, Brazil 🇧🇷
17.	Capoeira Angola Toronto	Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
18.	🔁 🎟 Mojubá	London, England 🇬🇧
19.	UR Capoeira	London, England 🇬🇧
20.	Capoeira Bemvindo	London, England 🇬🇧
21.	🔁 Oxford Capoeira Society	Oxford, England 🇬🇧
22.	Dendê de Maré	London, England 🇬🇧
23.	Academy of Capoeira	Goa, India 🇮🇳
24.	🔁 Axé	Goa, India 🇮🇳
25.	Semente do Jogo de Angola	Montreal, Canada 🇨🇦
26.	Escola de Capoeira Angola Irmãos Gêmeos de Mestre Curió	Basel, Switzerland 🇨🇭
27.	Preservação da Mandinga	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
28.	🔁 Grupo de Capoeira Filh@s de Angola	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
29.	Associação de capoeira angola navio negreiro (ACANNE)	Lyon, France 🇫🇷
30.	Mucambo Capoeira Angola	Brighton, England 🇬🇧
31.	🔁 Associação de Capoeira Angola Relíquia Espinho Remoso (ACARER)	Porto, Portugal 🇵🇹
32.	Academia de Capoeira de Lisboa	Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
33.	Memórias De Angola	Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
34.	Ngoma	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
35.	Mukânda	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪

These groups are in 21 places across 11 countries; 🔁 means trained regularly, and 🎟 means participated in a workshop or special event.

I'm not sure how to make sense of time versus experience.

My first class was on December 13, 2021, which amounts to about 4 years ago at time of writing, but regular training in groups and solo during that time probably amounts to about a year and a half.

But also some training is more impactful than others, so what is the best measure of experience here?

I think about two quotes.

One is "Do you have ten years of experience? or ten of the same year?" which I heard from Jess Martin.

It can certainly be valuable to have a broader perspective from diversity of experiences, but, also…

when it comes to the body, maybe there's more potency to practice Bruce Lee's single kick 10,000 times.

I'm far from good at this, and as with other aspects of my life, my skills would be deeper if I stuck around and solidified a kind of 'base'.

I do like how this shows an aspect of how I travel to connect with people rather than tourist attractions, more-so than my list of cities; Mestre Mago told me it shares the idea that capoeira lets you feel familiar in unfamiliar places.

I definitely value meeting so many great people, and feel grateful for being welcomed into so many places to be part of the movement, music, and camaraderie.

Someday I'll have a nice game I can share. For now here's me practicing and singing on my own.

---

If you're interested to learn more or try capoeira, there's probably a group near you even though it's invisible to most people. Here are some games I like:

I'm starting to train capoeira again with some new groups and thought to reflect on how many different places I've done this.

My accountant brain enjoys a good spreadsheet, so it naturally manifested in this list:

order	group	place
1.	🔁 Kadara Capoeira	Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
2.	🔁 🎟 Capoeira Raiz	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
3.	🎟 Xará Capo	Göttingen, Germany 🇩🇪
4.	Pressinha	Mannheim, Germany 🇩🇪
5.	Arte Nacional	Stuttgart, Germany 🇩🇪
6.	Capoeira Corrupio	Freiburg, Germany 🇩🇪
7.	🔁 🎟 Capoeira de Besouro	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
8.	🎟 Senzala	Stuttgart, Germany 🇩🇪
9.	Capoeira Angola Bangkok	Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭
10.	Associação de Capoeira Angola Dobrada	Freiburg, Germany 🇩🇪
11.	Capoeira São Salomão Roma	Rome, Italy 🇮🇹
12.	Mojubá	Los Angeles, United States 🇺🇸
13.	Terrêru	Belo Horizonte, Brazil 🇧🇷
14.	Escola de Capoeira Angola Ifé	Recife, Brazil 🇧🇷
15.	🔁 Centro de Capoeira São Salomão	Recife, Brazil 🇧🇷
16.	Nzinga DF	Brasilia, Brazil 🇧🇷
17.	Capoeira Angola Toronto	Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
18.	🔁 🎟 Mojubá	London, England 🇬🇧
19.	UR Capoeira	London, England 🇬🇧
20.	Capoeira Bemvindo	London, England 🇬🇧
21.	🔁 Oxford Capoeira Society	Oxford, England 🇬🇧
22.	Dendê de Maré	London, England 🇬🇧
23.	Academy of Capoeira	Goa, India 🇮🇳
24.	🔁 Axé	Goa, India 🇮🇳
25.	Semente do Jogo de Angola	Montreal, Canada 🇨🇦
26.	Escola de Capoeira Angola Irmãos Gêmeos de Mestre Curió	Basel, Switzerland 🇨🇭
27.	Preservação da Mandinga	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
28.	🔁 Grupo de Capoeira Filh@s de Angola	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
29.	Associação de capoeira angola navio negreiro (ACANNE)	Lyon, France 🇫🇷
30.	Mucambo Capoeira Angola	Brighton, England 🇬🇧
31.	🔁 Associação de Capoeira Angola Relíquia Espinho Remoso (ACARER)	Porto, Portugal 🇵🇹
32.	Academia de Capoeira de Lisboa	Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
33.	Memórias De Angola	Lisbon, Portugal 🇵🇹
34.	Ngoma	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪
35.	Mukânda	Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪

These groups are in 21 places across 11 countries; 🔁 means trained regularly, and 🎟 means participated in a workshop or special event.

I'm not sure how to make sense of time versus experience.

My first class was on December 13, 2021, which amounts to about 4 years ago at time of writing, but regular training in groups and solo during that time probably amounts to about a year and a half.

But also some training is more impactful than others, so what is the best measure of experience here?

I think about two quotes.

One is "Do you have ten years of experience? or ten of the same year?" which I heard from Jess Martin.

It can certainly be valuable to have a broader perspective from diversity of experiences, but, also…

when it comes to the body, maybe there's more potency to practice Bruce Lee's single kick 10,000 times.

I'm far from good at this, and as with other aspects of my life, my skills would be deeper if I stuck around and solidified a kind of 'base'.

I do like how this shows an aspect of how I travel to connect with people rather than tourist attractions, more-so than my list of cities; Mestre Mago told me it shares the idea that capoeira lets you feel familiar in unfamiliar places.

I definitely value meeting so many great people, and feel grateful for being welcomed into so many places to be part of the movement, music, and camaraderie.

Someday I'll have a nice game I can share. For now here's me practicing and singing on my own.

---

If you're interested to learn more or try capoeira, there's probably a group near you even though it's invisible to most people. Here are some games I like:

Capoeira Podcast

[Advice should be like snow: the more gentle it falls, the longer it stays.]

Berimbaus da Bahia: Camafeu de Oxóssi (1964)

Percussion layer with a few instruments becomes a solid rhythmic foundation for singing. Some tracks of chanting with what I call "vowels of African origin", followed by some classic songs from the Capoeira tradition.

'Capoeira should be fun' can extend to the game itself; the movement you admire is never in frenzy; always calma, giving time and space, not allowing someone else to make you hyperventilate; how can it feel more like effortless language exchange?

We can even extend this farther: how can everything be fun? more like that? fluid conversation with yourself and the stars.

Capoeira movements as drawing the form of their body through your movements. Maximize awareness of your self with surroundings. Maximize control (!) of your gestures.