Every so often when people watch me dance, they get the idea from the way I move that I know at least one form of martial art, and possibly more. One person even came up to me after I left the dance floor at one point and named off no less than seven different forms that he thought I’d had some amount of experience in. As flattering as this was, it amused me, as the extent of my martial arts training so far is a few weeks of karate when I was in my pre-teens.
Still, I like the movements that I see, and have likely incorporated them into how I move when I’m dancing, so it’s not terribly surprising to get comments like that, even if it does make me laugh. I’ve been interested in exploring some form of martial art for quite a few years now, though I’ve yet to have the available time to take classes — having worked swings/nights for around a decade now, I’m usually earning my pay when classes are going on.
Over the years, there have been two martial art forms that have caught my interest, and it was more than a little amusing to see both of them pop up tonight in my daily reads.
First came yet another in the never-ending stream of silly ‘net quizzes: What Martial Art Style Calls to You?
Capoeira is your Way. An African-Brazillian form developed by slaves, Capoeira is a rhythmic, aggresive style known for its dance-like forms and unpredictability.
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I’ve been fascinated with Capoeira for years, likely dating back to the mid-90’s when one roommate or another brought home Only the Strong, which would be your basic cheesy martial arts flick except that it chose to use Capoeira as its signature style.
Originating in Brazil, Capoeira came about when the ruling classes at the time forbade their slaves to practice any form of fighting. To get around the restriction, the fighting style developed from and was incorporated into the slaves’ dancing, resulting in an absolutely beautiful combination of dance and fighting skill. It’s a truly amazing thing to watch if you ever get the chance.
Later on, I read that DeAnna stopped by last weekend’s Asian festival in Seattle’s International district, where she got to witness demonstrations by the Chinese Wushu and Tai Chi academy. Tai Chi is the other of the two styles that I’ve been interested in learnings, and as it turns out, the academy isn’t terribly far away from my apartment. While I don’t currently have evenings free, with any luck that will be changing in the near future, and I just might actually be able to pursue one of the many interests that have been rattling around in my head for quite a few years now.
iTunes: “Tschirm Tschikwirk” by Bigod 20 from the album On the Run (1992, 5:23).
CJ
Brandon
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Capoeira, eh?
Funny you should mention Capoeira. I once attended a master class through the UAA department of dance. Well, I had taken a couple of the master classes previously and so I expected it to be geared toward dancers, right?
Well, I will never be taking a Capoeria class. Don’t get me wrong, it is amazing to watch. But as an American with a heavy dose of Russian ballet training, the free-spirited approach of that art isn’t for me. First of all you must sing… in Portuguese. They don’t tell you the words, you just wing it. They also don’t have Capoeria moves… it is made up as you go along.
The master class was hilarious. There was a room full of dancers lined up ready to learn motion, when they put us in a circle, told us to sing and then pointed to two people and said, “you and you, cartwheel into the circle… let’s do some Capoeria!” We were stunned. Apparently, in Brazilian culture, learning is done through trial and error, not through the kinds of instructions that we are used to.
And I also just watched a documentary on fighting forms that covered Capoeria. It is unique in that it is a constantly evolving form. New moves are added all of the time due to the encouragement of improvisation and the general playfulness of the form. And it does look like fun, but as I should never be allowed to sing and prefer structure to improvisation and chaos, so it is not for me. But I did see a school in the phone book.
Aren’t you into the whole Industrial scene? I thought everybody at those clubs danced like they were fighting - well, except for us New Wavers who are just way too wussy.
Capoeira is very cool, and I was lucky enough to see some people demonstrate at a recent festival - I’ll send a link to photos if I find any. The style that always interested me, however, is Aikido.
DeAnna — you may have hit upon part of exactly why Capoeira appeals to me: the free-form aspect. As I lack that Russian Ballet background (let alone any formal dance training), when I’m dancing I tend to just go with what “feels right”, rather than any formalized moves or steps. Finding a martial art form with a similar approach might be right up my alley.
Of course, from what I understand Tai Chi most definitely does not have that aspect to it, which is fine, too.
Indieb0i — well, sure, I’m into the industrial scene…though I’m also into the New Wave side of things, along with a ton of other stuff (at times, I think my music collection brings “eclectic” to a whole new level). I suppose that a fair majority of the dance styles at the clubs I frequent do have more of a “fighting” element than at more mainstream clubs, though it varies greatly from person to person.
Without meaning to sound too terribly egotistical about it, at one point someone told me that the difference between how I dance and how some other people dance is that I look like I know what I’m doing. <shrug /> I don’t, of course, but apparently that’s the impression I give.
Hi, I’m Karate. Nice to meet you.
But actually, I train http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Chun“>wing chun kuen. The moves look nice on the dance floor as well. Chi sao (“sticky hands”) is pretty mesmerising to look at on the body floor. I’m an EBM/industrial guy myself.
Wing chun can be either very strict and traditional, or freeflowing and improvised. It all depends on your personal preferences. You have a basic set of moves; you mix and match them to your liking.
What made me fall for wing chun is that it’s not a totally offensive or totally defensive style. You attack by defending and defend by attacking; parrying with one hand while striking with the other. It also focuses more on speed than power; I’m tall but thin and not very strong, so this suits me nicely.
Disclaimer: I’ve only trained it for a couple of months, so don’t take me for an expert.
Capoeira looks very impressive, but it is a fighting style that requires lots of arm strength. One of my friends took a few classes, and they began each session by walking around the room on their arms for ten minutes…
That’s one of the things that does worry me about trying Capoeira out. While my legs are in great shape, it’s definitely upper body strength that I’m lacking in, and I’m not sure that I could do a handstand at all right now, let alone walking around for ten minutes!
Still, that doesn’t keep me from drooling over the exhibitions of it that I see.
hey everyone, Capoeira, huh, i’ll tell ya what. i’m a Marine and it runs Me through a workout. it’s enjoyable though and god wanna talk about a blast. The Hoda (the Circle of people mentioned earlier on the posting) will wear you out in a matter of minutes. unpredictibality is the name of the game, learn to shift with your opponent. Our Maestre teaches us to throw em off by doin one of 2 things: a: keep your hand in either their face or their groin b: keep your foot in either their face or their groin as warped as it sounds it’s a challenge. because the Jinga doesn’t allow for a really planted hold like most other styles of martial arts. But i do recomend trying it. and it does have it’s combat advantages as well, few styles move around an opponent so easily or keep the opponent so confused.