Hand techniques in Capoiera
- Thread starter samurai69
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Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
There are hand techniques but they are fairly simple and generally not stressed in the context of the Roda. The Roda is kind of a game, even tho it can get aggressive and rough. The game involves a physical dialoge that creates a never-ending flow of movement. Throwing hand strikes often breaks up the rythm of the game so in a friendly roda they aren't used much.
Hand techniques would be used more in a fight with capoeira, which is different from the Roda. In a fight, it is a fight, and anything goes.
The techniques are fairly simple open-handed and fist strikes, while the hands may also be used to assist in making throws or sweeps. They don't tend to be developed into the complex techniques that many of the Asian arts use. Capoeira avoids blocking, as this also disrupts the physical dialog and the flow of the game. Instead, we dodge and avoid attacks. However, the hands are used defensively if it becomes impossible to avoid the strike. We use defensive postures with the hands to protect the head, and these can turn into something like a block. It is better to avoid the attack and not disrupt the flow of the game, but it is better to block a strike then get hit if you can't avoid it.
I have seen "friendly" rodas get nasty, and people start pounding on each other. Sometimes they end up on the ground grappling, and it turns into jujitsu. Once that happens, they are no longer doing capoeira.
Hand techniques would be used more in a fight with capoeira, which is different from the Roda. In a fight, it is a fight, and anything goes.
The techniques are fairly simple open-handed and fist strikes, while the hands may also be used to assist in making throws or sweeps. They don't tend to be developed into the complex techniques that many of the Asian arts use. Capoeira avoids blocking, as this also disrupts the physical dialog and the flow of the game. Instead, we dodge and avoid attacks. However, the hands are used defensively if it becomes impossible to avoid the strike. We use defensive postures with the hands to protect the head, and these can turn into something like a block. It is better to avoid the attack and not disrupt the flow of the game, but it is better to block a strike then get hit if you can't avoid it.
I have seen "friendly" rodas get nasty, and people start pounding on each other. Sometimes they end up on the ground grappling, and it turns into jujitsu. Once that happens, they are no longer doing capoeira.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
I had some further thoughts on this. What I described above is based on modern capoeira. I suspect that back in the days of colonial Brazil when this art and its predecessors were used for real life and death survival, it probably had much more extensively developed hand techniques.
Weapons techniques too, I'd imagine. It's obviously pretty specialized right now.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
arnisador said:
Yes, in the new book that recently came out (can't remember the title now) he discusses the evolution and the warfare that happened in the early days. Many of the transplanted Africans were fighting with spears, bows and arrows, swords, broadswords and the like. They had very complete martial arts from Africa that handled all aspects of combat. these art the arts from which Capoeira grew.
