Capoeira – VMU Brazilian martial art club
Capoeira is an art form of Brazilian origin that encompasses combat, dance, rhythm, and movement. It was understood as a dialogue between two players – a form of communication through movement, whose meanings could take on various nuances.
Debates about the origins and development of Capoeira remain a topic of interest among historians, but it is clear that African slaves played a crucial role in creating this art form. The most widely accepted version of Capoeira’s emergence suggests that slaves working on plantations, using music and dance as a cover, learned martial arts and self-defense movements. Most of the Capoeira styles known today were formed in the first half of the 20th century from two main branches. Capoeira was legalized only in 1932 through the efforts of Master Bimba – the so-called father of Regional Capoeira – which marked a significant turning point in the history of this art form.
Unlike many other martial arts, Capoeira was understood more as a game than as combat. In Portuguese, it is called jogo. The game took place within a circle (roda) formed by two capoeiristas, with other players and spectators surrounding them. Jogo was characterized by intensity, dynamism, and constant movement, supported by the ginga – the basic, dance-like motion. Attacks were more often executed with the legs than with the arms, and elements of grappling were incorporated, while active blocks were replaced by evasive and retreating movements. The wide range of movements allowed players to communicate with each other, and acrobatic elements, called floreios, added expressiveness and visual impact to the game. Capoeira demanded deep body awareness and control, as Ido Portal famously said: “control your body or go home.”
The VMU Capoeira group previously invited everyone interested to explore this harmony of movement and rhythm through direct experience, practice, and collective play.
The collective was led by Audrius Kiuberis.