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Capoeira draws on ancient art form; Afro-Brazilian workout combines music, martial arts

By Krista Jahnke, Detroit Free Press, Source: MCT News Service

DETROIT _ Few modes of fitness allow you to not only get in shape, but also preserve an ancient, multi discipline art form.

Capoeira is at once a playful dance, a form of martial arts, a game, a musical experience and a great workout. At least, that's the impression you get watching a class taught by Jose Dantas, who goes by the name Mestre Caboquinho. Caboquinho works full-time teaching the Afro-Brazilian art form to people in metro Detroit and Ann Arbor, Mich.

Capoeira traces its roots to Brazil 500 years ago when Africans enslaved by the Portuguese used it to train, undercover, in martial arts.

"When the Portuguese would see Brazilians practicing, they would say, 'Oh, are you fighting?'" said Roshiani Dantas, Caboquinho's wife, who translated for him. "Africans would say, 'No, no, we're not fighting. We're dancing.' There are a lot of tricks involved."

Those tricks happen in a roda, or circle, of people playing instruments like drums and a berimbau, which looks like a long rod with a wire and weighted ball strung on it.

Two people will meet in the roda to play capoeira _ they spin, do handstands and kick, all in apparent synchronization. One kicks high, the other ducks. One spins left, the other right. It's like a dance _ and that's the point.

There is no contact, no violence, only the hint that the same moves could be used to fight.

Beyond the physical, capoeira is a mental exercise. Caboquinho can't answer questions about the practice without becoming philosophical. Take his explanation of how quickly newcomers can pick it up.

"You have to put together the truth with the lies," Roshiani Dantas translated. "That's how life is, and he's saying it's the same thing in capoeira. "

Caboquinho says he's the only Brazilian mestre _ which means master _ teaching authentic capoeira in Michigan.

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About 25 people take his classes, which meet at various facilities in Detroit. There are also classes in Royal Oak through a group called Capoeira Mandinga Detroit. And Caboquinho said he will soon open another training space, the Brazilian Cultural House, in Detroit.

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Anyone can sign up, and it draws people both with and without Brazilian roots. Many, like Dione Robinson, come to get in shape and to experience something authentic.

"The music, the culture, the exercise," said Robinson, a 29-year-old student from Wayne State University. He has been doing capoeira for four years and said it has helped him lose nearly 100 pounds. "I'm witness to this, because I used to have a bad knee and my knee's not hurting anymore because I've been doing this."

One student came after witnessing the magic of capoeira in the fighting video game "Tekken." One character in the game is a mestre named Eddy Gordo. His animated moves prompted Chris Cooper to find local classes six months ago. Since then, the Costa Rica native said he has gotten his six-pack back.

"I used to be very lazy," said Cooper, 17, a student at Life Skills Center of Detroit. "It's changed my life a little bit. It showed me how to be more respectful and a little bit more calm and patient."

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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): capoeira