Capoeira Safety

By: J.J. Richards
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:26
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Capoeira is very hard on the body, especially the knees and joints. Beginners often find out that after a short time of practicing capoeira moves, their bodies become tense and sore. Therefore, it is very important to stretch thoroughly after warming up, and again after your capoeira workout. Make sure that you go all the way down the body from the neck to the ankles. Make sure to pay special attention to the waist, hips, hamstrings, quads, knees, ankles, and especially the lower back.

It is also important to get out of kicks the right way. When practicing sequencias and even in the roda, make sure that your back is always to the kick (unless you are more advanced and doing this on purpose). At first this can be very hard, since there are so many things to think about in the roda. But even if you are a little late, make sure that you turn your back to the kick, so that you can train your mind and body to react the “right” way when faced with pressure.

Another thing to be aware of, especially in capoeira regional, is that generally, kicks should be aimed above your opponent’s waist. Therefore, when you see your partner doing an “au”(cartwheel), or a cocorhina (crouching defensive move), don’t try to kick his/her head off. It sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised how many times people get kicked while in very low positions. While this is not an official rule of capoeira (regional), it is a good way of not letting a fun game degrade into a fight.

J.J. Richards is the co-owner of http://www.capoeiracapoeira.com .Visit CapoeiraCapoeira.com for Capoeira Moves and Capoeira Music.

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