I had the same dillema with taekwondo. It was derived from older fighting systems and was practiced in the military.I remember this from the other thread. I would say that Capoeira would be civilian combat derived from older Tribal warfare and combat methods. It is different from what most people are familiar with in that it retains aspects of the various African cultures that were blended to become what it is today. It is not strictly a physical method. The music and rythmic aspects are reflections of the African cultures, and these points are common within all aspects of those cultures. I.e., the Africans would sing and use music as a way of making a day of hard work in the fields go easier. This kind of thing is prevalent in everything, and not slotted to a separate "music time". So it makes sense that music and rythm would be found in the practice of their fighting arts as well. Understanding this about African cultures is important in understanding where this fits within capoeira. Nobody set out to create a fighting dance. It is a fighting method, and cultural music is blended as an integral part of the method.
But the vast majority of schools teach it as a sport and as a lifestyle/fitness art aimed primarily at kids and teens.
Haidong gumdo ended up as strictly a lifestyle/fitness art. It was made up in the eighties and is based on Shimgumdo which was made up in the late sixties. Neither have any prewar roots and both have a goodly amount of 'history' that only exists within their own organizations.
Capoeira appears to be a lot of things wrapped up in one. In that sense, it is very much in line with Japanese gendai budo. Capoeira has a folk game aspect (music/dance and cultural roots), a competitive aspect (at least by the way I read this thread), and a self improvement aspect.
The reason that I don't include TKD in civilian combat is because, outside of a handful of schools, nobody is teaching it that way. Virtually every TKD school that I have visited in different parts of the country that claim to be SD oriented are simply grafting on hapkido techniques and maybe some moves culled from BJJ and MT and look more like they're trying to adapt TKD to MMA rather than to practical SD use.
I am open to the idea that capoeira qualifies as civilian combat (meaning outside of a sporting context), but I have to ask you; is actually taught that way outside of maybe a handful of schools?
Daniel