Capoeira, and the Art of Physiological Self-Mastery

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Published on Jun 22, 2023

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Competitive sports reenact and activate the mental processes associated with defending/acquiring territory. They are bullish, aggressive, devious, dramatic, violent, and physically demanding. We love them for this reason. In a way, when two teams meet, they engage in the ancient human behavior of warfare, and everyone is a participant in the ritualistic mammalian mob behavior that leads to “beating” the opposition.

When people and cultures reach a certain level of territorial stability, they begin to explore the motions of the body, and the mechanisms of the sensory-perceptual apparatus not as it relates to warfare but as a means of self-discovery and self-actualization. Yoga, dance, surfing, acrobatics, and some martial arts are designed for the adept to gain control of sensory processes and direct body-somatic energies to more kine-aesthetic experiences. They are non-competitive because the focus is on the sensual mastery, the transcendence of territorial behavioral norms, and the short-circuiting of robotic movement. These techniques are a way to liberate the body-mind system from the gravity of earthly life by tapping into the primal essence of the human “spirit”.

Grupo Axé Capoeira is an international capoeira organization, which according to Wikipedia was “founded in 1982 by Mestre Barrão in Recife, Brazil,” and has its headquarters in Vancouver. I recently had the pleasure of seeing their performance at the Italian Day festival (see my report), where they were conducting a demonstration of their skills.

Capoeira is a dance created in Brazil that combines dance, martial, arts, and music. The dancer performs a series of demanding body movements designed to challenge gravitational vectors. What makes capoeira different from other forms of aesthetic dance is that it has a communal aspect to it. The dancer not only masters the movements within himself/herself but also in relation to other companions who are dancing or singing in a circle. Capoeira has the semblance of fighting, and its roots as an afro-indigenous form of self-defense bear this out, but competitive fighting is not the point. The point is to control the instinct to attack and instead direct the somatic energies around each other in a dynamic flow, yoga in action, being aware of one’s movement as well as those of others while keeping a rhythm with the auditory vibrations emitted by the singers and other participants. It can be a powerful transformative experience for those who practice it.

Thankfully, I arrived just as the group was beginning their performance, so I was able to record some excellent and beautiful moments of their dance. At some point, I mistakenly hit a button on my phone and everything went blue. I did not have time to fix the issue because the performance got underway, so if you notice a blue tint, now you know why. The dancers were actually dressed in white, which made them look very angelic in form and movement.

The dance is participatory in the sense that it’s not just about the dancers or even the musicians, but also the audience whom participates through applause and song. It’s an ancient tribal tradition that seeks to structure energy around a communal nexus. Very powerful and beautiful. I hope you found it so.