Rutgers Practice 9/27/11

Keywords: Meia Lua de Frente, Mestre Bimba, Negativa de Bimba, Angola, Banguela, Sao Bento Grande de Angola

We warmed up casually, and with a ginga that had us spinning around the room. We added a esquiva to it (to spice it up) and proceeded to stretch. After the warm up, we started doing a sequence of eqsuivas that started with a spinning passada, the flowed into a esquiva da basica, finishing with a ponte or a meia lua de frente (with worked with both. ) 

We then split the class into two groups, cordals and non-cordals, but we faced each other. Then we started going over the first Mestre Bimba sequence. The first Mestre Bimba sequence focuses on the meia lua de frente. The kick is first thrown from the side, and then from the back, immediately following suit with an armada. Your partner counters the first two kicks with a cocorinha, and then a negative de bimba (a negative where one  foot is flat on the ground, and your other leg is straight, with the foot flexed, ready to hook somebody’s leg. You torso is almost touching the floor, and you’re supporting yourself with your hands.) After you land your armada, you escape the take-down (negativa de bimba) and Au. Your partner counters with a cabecada, while you counter with an negativa role.  Congrats on completing your first Mestre Bimba sequence.

We also took the time to learn how to play to a few of the different toques (rhythms) of the berimbau.

Angola is a game played close to the ground. When playing angola, you begin to play a game of chess with your opponent. This is where a lot of the trickiness of capoeira comes from. It’s played low to the ground, and usually slow (but not always) Angola has a lot of capoeira history embedded in to the game (which is why songs sung with it contain historic elements.)

Banguela is said to be the Angola in the Regional genre. Here contact discouraged, and this allows the opportunity for both players to show off their capabilities and control while still being engaged with one another. In the past, this type of game was used to keep the peace when groups visited one another.

Sao Bento Grande de Angola is the main rhythm of our capoeira. It’s the rhythm you hear the most. This is where you can play your game, as well as challenge your opponent. This game is less restrictive, but usually used to have players take on one another.

And this is just the tip of the ice berg.

Until next time

-Corvo

1 year ago  /  1 note