Capoeira (Portuguese pronunciation: [kapuˈe(j)ɾɐ]) is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality.

[10] In the late 1970s, trailblazers such as Mestre Acordeon started bringing capoeira to the US and Europe, helping the art become internationally recognized and practiced.

[11] Martial arts from the African diaspora similar to capoeira include knocking and kicking from the Sea Islands, and ladya from Martinique, both of which likely originate from Engolo.

[17][18] Although the origin of capoeira is not entirely clear, many studies have supported the oral tradition, identifying engolo as an ancestral art and locating the Cunene region as its birthplace.

Despite their significant differences, both mestres introduced major innovations — they moved training and rodas away from the street, instituted the academia, prescribed uniforms, started to teach women and presented capoeira to a broader audiences.

It features a series of complex positions and body postures that are meant to get chained in an uninterrupted flow, to strike, dodge and move without breaking motion, conferring the style with a characteristic unpredictability and versatility.

The ginga (literally: rocking back and forth; to swing) is the fundamental movement in capoeira, important both for attack and defense purposes.

The attacks in the capoeira should be done when opportunity arises, and though they can be preceded by feints or pokes, they must be precise and decisive, like a direct kick to the head, face or a vital body part, or a strong takedown.

[27] Mestre Bimba included in his teachings a curso de especialização or "specialization course", in which the pupils would be taught defenses against knives and guns, as well as the usage of knife, straight razor, scythe, club, chanfolo (double-edged dagger), facão (facón or machete) and tira-teima (cane sword).

[28] This weapon training is almost completely absent in current capoeira teachings, but some groups still practice the use of razors for ceremonial usage in the rodas.

[36] While it may seem like a break time or a dance, the chamada is actually both a trap and a test, as the caller is just watching to see if the opponent will let his guard down so she can perform a takedown or a strike.

[37] The use of the chamada can result in a highly developed sense of awareness and helps practitioners learn the subtleties of anticipating another person's hidden intentions.

The chamada can be very simple, consisting solely of the basic elements, or the ritual can be quite elaborate including a competitive dialogue of trickery, or even theatric embellishments.

The volta ao mundo takes place after an exchange of movements has reached a conclusion, or after there has been a disruption in the harmony of the game.

Rhythms (toques), controlled by a typical instrument called berimbau, differ from very slow to very fast, depending on the style of the roda.

[49] In the 19th century Rio de Janeiro, the capoeirista was a malandro (a rogue) and a criminal, expert in the use of kicks (golpes), sweeps (rasteiras) and head-butts (cabeçadas), as well in the use of blade weapons.

It also contains all the ingredients of a game from the Kongolese perspective: a means to train and prepare for life, providing the experience needed to strengthen the body and the soul.

[54] Dancing in a circle holds significance, representing protection and strength, symbolizing the bond with the spirit world, life, and the divine.

This practice of appeasement and seeking divine assistance from the gods is mirrored in the capoeira tradition of kneeling before the berimbau during the ladainha.

[55] With this particular worldview, practitioners of African martial arts deliberately invert themselves upside down to emulate the ancestors, and to draw strength and power from the ancestral realm.

This act symbolizes a profound transition in Kongolese religion, where touching the ground with hands while feet are up in the air signifies the player crosses over to other worlds.

[57] Capoeira has been additionally shaped by the cosmic worldview of candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion that has engaged with various manifestations of natural energies.

Folklorist Edison Carneiro noted that the ladainha, sung before entering the capoeira circle, invokes the gods, adding a touch of mysticism to the ritual.

It is a task, and a lonely one, to find and develop your own style, breaking with the “correct” way of playing that you learned from your teacher, who many times presents himself as “owner of the truth.” But this can be done after one has experience and an idea of what capoeira is … maybe after ten or fifteen years of practice.

Although mestre Pastinha at his academy required students to wear yellow and black jerseys, some of his successors have adopted white only uniforms within their schools.

[69] Capoeira Regional began to take form in the 1920s, when Mestre Bimba met his future student, José Cisnando Lima.

Advised by Cisnando, Bimba decided to call his style Luta Regional Baiana, as capoeira was still illegal at that time.

After 1964, when a student completed a course, a special celebration ceremony occurred, ending with the teacher tying a silk scarf around the capoeirista's neck.

At this level, the capoeirista acquires an understanding of responsibility; he or she is expected to strive for justice in conducting his work and making her decisions.

In the tradition of Ciriaco, Sinhozinho, Bimba, and Arthur Emídio, contemporary capoeira fighters have expanded their training by incorporating various martial arts disciplines, including ju-jitsu, boxing, and taekwondo.