Two men, dress in a white, baggy pants crouched face to face in front of a musician with a berimabau. A rhythmic melody began playing. The two men clasp hands, bow their heads and began spin slowly as if in a quiet trance. Then, they slowly spin away in a cartwheel like manner, tumbling into the middle of the floor. One of them pauses in the mid of his cartwheeling arcing into a handstand, the other rolls on his shoulder to create momentum to stand up.
The berimabau is a simple instrument made of few parts - a bow, string and a gourd, which was now beginning to pick up tempo and the two men, reaction to the music began to move in increasing speed, unleashing a series of flashy, high-difficulty kicks at each other. However, none of the blows actually lands on the other. Each man ducks, flips or rolls out of the way, successfully dodging the kicks. The moves look like a well-choreographed contemporary dance, only, it wasn't.
This is the beauty of capoeira. And, the beauty of capoeira is irresistible.
The tempo of increases again, now, the two men are moving at such tremendous pace, it had progressed into a passionate tango. It was ferocious. Then at the peak of the exchange, they suddenly stop and shake hands and another entered the circle to take their place. This is what capoeira is.
The complexity of the game comes from the cocktail of music, dance, violence and ritual, which derived from the necessity of brazillian slaves to disguise their practice as a dance. They could not train in broad daylight and thus disguised their fights as a dance. Therefore, players are all in harmony with each other. There are no winners, no scores to be kept; it was all the fun and cardio, of course.
Capoeira is perfect for those who wishes to pick up a new sport - or have not previously been active. It is fun, exciting and beats the monotony of many of the exercises available out there. It encourages one to be creative and innovative. Also, the community in capoeira is encouraging, positive and always welcoming. There will be no strict, stern russian teachers of your ballet nightmares or judgemental stares of the machine-hoarding girls. Capoeira encourages its students to play in fairness, to come with an open heart. Nobody gets hurt and everyone gets a good workout.
Intrigued by capoeira, you can start by finding out more about Capoeira at Capoeira Moves where you will find a huge array of videos, links and merchandises. You can start learning how to capoeira and what capoeira is there.