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glossary
abada |
capoeira pants; a capoeira group |
| academia | gym or capoeira school |
| aluno | student; student of a capoeira master |
| angola | slower traditional style of capoeira performed closer to the ground; rhythm of angola |
| angoleiro | a practitioner of the angola style |
| apanhar | to be beaten |
| apelido | nick-name |
| arame | wire; wire of a berimbau |
| armada | navy; basic spinning kicks used in capoeira |
| arrastao | capoeira takedown, pulling both legs from under an opponent |
| atabaque | large drum used in capoeira rodas |
| ataque | attacking move or movement initiative |
| aú | cartwheel |
| aula | class |
| aviso | a berimbau beat, indicated what kind of game will be played |
| axê | capoeira energy or mana |
| Bahia | Brazlian state on the eastern coast (see Salvador) |
| bamba | a master of physical sparring and wordplay; also a capoeira expert |
| banda | band; movement to trip or flank an opponent |
| baqueta | stick used to strike the wire of the berimbau |
| barravent | a berimbau rhythm; alludes to a trance before spiritual possesion |
| base | the ginga, the fundamental movement |
| bater | to beat |
| batizado | the capoeira initiation ceremony; baptism |
| batuque | street capoeira |
| beija flor | humming bird (flower kisser); flourish |
| bensão | blessing; straight kick |
| beriba | wood for making berimbau |
| berimbau | one-stringed precussion instrument resembling a bow |
| besouro | beetle; legendary capoeirista from the turn of the century |
| Bimba (Mestre) | creator of the Regional style |
| brincar | to play like a child |
| cabeçada | an attack with the head |
| capoeirista | practioners of capoeira |
| cavalaria | cavalry; a berimbau rhythm formerly used to warn of a police raid |
| caxixi | rattle played with the berimbau |
| chamada | call; berimbau rhythm to call attention |
| chula | chant |
| chutar | to kick |
| cintura desprezada | acrobatic exercises to help capoeiristas land on their feet |
| cocorinha | squatting movement |
| compasso jogado | thrown compass; flourish |
| comprar | to buy; entering the circle by cutting in on another player |
| contragolpe | counter-attack |
| contramestre | one level below a master |
| cordão | big cord |
| corda | colored belt awarded to mark advancement in some academies |
| corridos | call and response songs accompanying action in the circle |
| costas | back (anatomy); co |
| defesa | defense; defensive move |
| desequilibrante | movement that unbalances the opponent |
| discípulo | disciple, student of a capoeira master |
| dobrão | old brazlian coin used to play a berimbau often substitued with a rock |
| é | is |
| ele | he |
| entrar | to enter; to enter in the roda |
| esquiva | escape movement [basic movement] |
| eu | I |
| faca | knife |
| fazer | to do; to make |
| fechado | to be closed; bulletproof |
| fechar | to close |
| ficar | to stay |
| floreios | acrobatic movements |
| folha seca | dry leaves |
| fome | hunger |
| força | strength |
| formatura | graduation ceremony for a new capoeira master |
| forte | strong |
| frente | front |
| frio | cold |
| fundamentos | basics; used to describe the philisophical roots of capoeira |
| galo | rooster |
| ginga | basic movement of capoeira which through continous motion allows an easy entrance to either offensive or defensive action |
| golpe | strike or blow; attacking movement |
| gunga | large bass berimbau |
| iai?, ioi? | terms used by slaves for daughters and sons of the master |
| iuna | rhythm for slow elegant play by graduate students |
| ladainha | introductory solo of roda or game, usually sung by a master |
| lutar | to fight |
| macaco | monkey; flourish |
| macaquinho | little monkey |
| macul?l | rhythmic perfomance stick fighting, often associated with capoeira culture |
| malandragem | double-dealing or cunning |
| malandro | crook or streetwise person |
| malícia | deception, trickery, double-dealing |
| mandigueiro | sorceror; healer; synonym for capoeira player |
| martelo | hammer; straight kick |
| meia lua de compasso | "compass half moon"; spinning kick |
| meia lua de frente | "front half moon"; spinning kick |
| mestre | master, senior capoeira teacher |
| moeda | coin |
| morena | dark skinned woman |
| morrer | to die |
| mortal | deadly; backflip (somersault) |
| navalha | straight razor |
| negativa | "negative"; ground equivilant of ginga position |
| onça | jaguar |
| pandeiro | large tamborine played in capoeira or samba |
| parafuso | "screw"; an airial spin [flourish] |
| passada | footwork, especially in the ginga |
| Pastinha (Mestre) | "little folder"; famous deceased teacher of angola from Bahia |
| pé | foot |
| pé do berimbau | position in front of the berimbau |
| peixe | fish |
| pesado | heavy; strong, hard |
| pião | "top"; headspin [flourish] |
| pião de mão | "hand top"; handspin [flourish] |
| pisão | "big step"; side kick [straight kick] |
| pisar | to step |
| ponteira | straight kick to the vitals [straight kick] |
| puxar | to pull |
| quadras | four verse songs in a call and response format, typical of regional music |
| quando | when |
| que | what |
| queda | stumble, mistep |
| queda de rins | "kidney mistep"; movement balancing hip on elbow [flourish] |
| quexada | "chin kick"; a basic cross-step kick [spinning kick] |
| quilombo | fugitive slave community |
| rabo | tail |
| rabo de raia | stingray tail; kick |
| rasteira | a sweeping trip and trademark capoeira move [sweep] |
| rasteira em p | sweep without using hands [sweep] |
| reco-reco | ribbed bamboo scraper, sometimes shaped like a fish |
| regional | fast athletic style of capoeira developed by Master Bimba |
| relógio | watch; spin on one hand [flourish] |
| roda | circle; circle made of people where capoeira is played |
| roler | "to walk around"; turning movement using hands with feet on the ground [basic movem |
| S dobrado | "folded S"; movement that takes a capoeirsta from the negativa to the ginga [flourish] |
| sabedoria | knowledge |
| saída | exit |
| Salvador | capital city of Bahia; birthplace of Capoeira |
| samba | brazilian rhythm and dance |
| santo | saint |
| são | saint; they are(verb) |
| senzala | slave house; a capoeira group |
| sinal | sign |
| ter | to have |
| terra | land |
| tesoura | "scissors"; sweep with both legs [sweep] |
| tocar | to touch; to play music |
| toques | the various rhythms (angola, regional, banguela, etc.) played by the berim |
| vadiar | to be up to no good; synonym for capoeira |
| verga | main shaft of the berimbau |
| viola (violinha) | the highest pitched berimbau |
| volta ao mundo | "around the world"; circling the ring when one or both of the players is tired |
| zumbi | legendary king of the quilombos |
This book shows you basic techniques, styles of movement an the elements of defence and attack. Find out more 