Watch a few capoeira videos and you will see two very different-looking games: one slow, low and close to the ground, the other fast, upright and full of kicks. They come from capoeira's two great traditions, Angola and Regional.
In the early twentieth century, in Salvador, Bahia, Mestre Bimba developed a faster, more athletic style he called Luta Regional Baiana. He organized the teaching into sequences and a structured program, and in the 1930s opened an academy often described as the first officially recognized capoeira school. Regional games tend to be quicker and more upright, with a strong emphasis on technique and timing.
Mestre Pastinha became the great guardian of the older tradition, which became known as Capoeira Angola. Angola games are usually slower and lower, played close to the ground with an emphasis on strategy, cunning, ritual and the music of the bateria. The game can be gentle on the surface and full of tricks underneath.
Both are played in the roda, to the berimbau, with songs in Portuguese and the same roots in Afro-Brazilian history. Both value respect for the mestres and for the tradition. In 2014 UNESCO recognized the capoeira roda as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Many groups today, often called contemporânea, teach elements of both: the speed and structure associated with Regional, and the ritual, music and low game associated with Angola. The berimbau's rhythm tells players which kind of game to play at any moment.
For most beginners the best choice is a good teacher and a welcoming group nearby. The style comes with time, and most capoeiristas end up learning to play more than one kind of game. For more of the history, read What is Capoeira?
See the game for yourself at a class in Thousand Oaks with Conejo Valley Capoeira. See the schedule or request a first class.
