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About Capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian blend of martial art, game, and culture created by enslaved Africans in Brazil during the 16th Century. Participants form a roda (circle) and take turns playing instruments, singing, and sparring in pairs in the center of the circle. The game is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints, subterfuge, and extensive use of groundwork, as well as sweeps, kicks, and headbutts. Throughout the game, a player must avoid a sweep, trip, kick, or head butt that may knock him or her on the floor. Less frequently-used techniques include elbow-strikes, slaps, punches, and body-throws.


Capoeira History
From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Portugal shipped slaves into South America from western Africa. Brazil was the most common destination for African captives, with 42% of all enslaved peoples shipped across the Atlantic.
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Mestre Pastinha
Mestre PastinhaVicente Ferreira Pastinha - Mestre Pastinha - was born April 5 of 1889, in Salvador, Bahia (Brasil). He is known as the father and protector of Capoeira Angola.
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Mestre Bimba
Mestre BimbaManoel dos Reis Machado - commonly known as Mestre Bimba - was born September 23 of 1899 in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil). He would later be known as the legendary founding father of Capoeira Regional.
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