By ALEXANDRA COUMBIS
STAFF WRITER
A Fight Club has come to Fordham. Advertisements have been posted around campus. You have probably seen the advertisements, but you do not remember.
It is known as Capoeira, a martial art originally from Bahia, Brazil. It is rapidly becoming popular in United States metropolitan areas. The new Rose Hill gym added capoeira classes to the roster this month.
“Going into it I didn’t know what to expect,” Jonathan de Guzman, FCRH ’15, said. “I’ve seen Brazilian street fighting, dancing before — it was very fluid motions, and I didn’t think I’d be able to do it. After a few minutes into it, I got the hang of it.”
Capoeira is a dialogue between players that combines fighting, dancing and singing. Two players enter the center of a circle composed of other players who sing and clap to the rhythm of the Capoeira music. The two players have a conversation in which they read one anothers’ body language to anticipate the other’s move. Generally, there is not body contact between the players (especially for beginners) — but there is a lot of close contact due to the sweeping movements and defensive ducking.
Fordham’s capoeira instructor, Kamal Robinson, compared capoeira to the film, The Fast and the Furious. “They explore the underground world of racing,” he said, “but then after you see that movie you’re like, ‘Oh! Everybody has these cars! I didn’t notice that it’s everywhere.’ Capoeira is like that.”
Robinson has been training in capoeira for eight years. He has practiced in New York, Philladelphia, Delaware and Los Angeles. “He’s a very good teacher,” said de Guzman. “He’s very encouraging. He kept telling us to throw our egos out the door.”
“You’d be surprised by how many people actually train in it,” Robinson said. “But you don’t know, because it is an underground world, it’s also like Fight Club, because people have nicknames and their night personality. When you train in Capoeira, you train with all walks of people from all professions. You really have no idea who you’re training with.”
In this beginner’s class, students learn the vast presence of Capoeira. “It’s cool! He [Robinson] keeps saying that we’re part of the capoeira world without realizing it,” Kim Naples FCRH ’13, said. “If we walk into a park and a bunch of people are doing capoeira, we can just join in and it would be totally okay.”
Throughout the class, Robinson reiterates the importance of the Capoeira music. He even has the students say the Capoeira position they are practicing in Portuguese and other African languages. Capoeira has become a culture in itself with its own language. At the end of each class, students practice singing a simple Capoeira song.
Robinson offered some background on the history of Capoeira. “Capoeira is a combination of fighting and dancing and singing,” he said. “It was born in a resistance, just like karate and other martial arts, but through the years it became a solid game using martial arts techniques.”
For people who are easily bored with the standard weight lifting workout, capoeira is something new to check out. “It’s a workout without really being really painful and long. I feel like I get more out of it than I think I’m getting when I’m in there,” Naples said. “I’m sweating a lot, without realizing that I’m working really hard. Until the next day, I wake up and my legs are feeling really sore — it’s my hips and my thighs and even sometimes my arms from throwing them around and jumping around.”
“This class is quite challenging and fun and I’ve definitely learned a lot each time I’ve gone,” Mairead Lawyer, FCRH ’13 said. “I walked into it not knowing what to expect. My friend called me and told me to take this class ‘involves a lot of a squatting.’ Needless to say it was a lot more than that. It’s a class that challenges you.”
Many students return to the bi-weekly capoeira classes. Samantha Marinucci, FCRH ’13 is one of the regulars. “It is my favorite class at the new gym,” Marinucci said, “you really work out your whole body while having a ton of fun. You even get to sing at the end. It doesn’t feel like a structured class, instead you learn how to do cartwheels and crab walks. It is a great time.”
“Capoeira is for everybody,” Robinson said. “It’s fighting, it’s dancing, and it’s singing. If you come into dance, then you’ll find your lane in the game. If you come in as a fighter you’ll be able to find your place as well. If you’re a singer and you really like to play instruments, then you’ll be spending most of your time with instruments. It’s really for everybody, all ages, it’s fine. You don’t have to do 20 back flips you can just be the guy that just gingas, when it comes time you sing like a canary.”
Check out Kamal Robinson’s Movie at FightDanceSing.com
Capoeira classes are offered on Monday at 6:15 – 7:15 p.m. and Wednesday 8:15 – 9:15 p.m. in the Rose Hill gym.