Capoeira! There is no better martial art for quickly increasing strength, agility and flexibility of the entire body, for bringing the sexes to equal ground and for cultivating community and respect for peers.
Classes focus on strength building, perfecting the attacks and evasions, acrobatics used in sparing and live sparing. Call and response songs as well as instrumental music accompanies all classes and is learned as well.
Although early written records are hard to come by, we know this martial art was formed out of necessity by the African slave population held by the Portuguese in the 1500s. It was used to escape plantations and fight against well armed mounted colonial agents. It has been made illegal with brutal punishments, legalized and now declared an intangible cultural heritage (UNESCO) of Brazil.
Instructors
Kate Haber (Instructora Pimenta): teaches ages 5-11 and assists with adult classes.
Joey Haber (Professor Santo): teaches 11-14 and Adult/Teen Capoeira
Joey and Kate travel to Oahu regularly to study with Mestre Kinha and he also visits us in PDX annually/biannually.
Visit our Kids’ Capoeira Page
10 Benefits of Capoeira
Stress Relief: Hear the bright afro-brazilian music and engage in blood pumping cooperative exercize! There are few better ways to release those feel-good endorphins.
Cardio: Capoeira uses the entire body in dynamic, stabalizing and explosive movements. It wind even seasoned athletes! Guru Dan Inosanto tells his workshop attendees that he no longer runs much- he does capoeira instead! (Guru Dan learned capoeira from Professor Santo and Mestre Batata)
Strength: The dynamic, stabilizing and explosive movements that define capoeira occur standing upright, with 4 points of contact on the ground, in inversions like handstands and moving through these positions! Capoeira builds the small stabalizing muscles around the knees, core and other joints as well as the larger muscle groups like glutes, quads, paraspinals, abdominals and triceps.
Flexibility: Capoeira strengthens your body in a thorough manner. It trains expansive sweeping kicks, flexible ground evasions and can generate power through phenomenal centripetal force. This open new ranges of movement in your hips, spine and shoulders.
Metabolism: The constantly moving stance and the nature of the art burns phenomenal amounts of calories. Regular practice of capoeira improves your metabolism and
Local Community: Capoeira is the friendliest martial art on the planet. It is warm like it's country of origin, Brazil. By joining a capoeira group you become a member of a family. Capoeira events are attended by people from your city, far away states and even other countries.
Live Authentically: Capoeira games challenge your stamina, strategy and emotions. The deeper into the game you go, the more you learn about yourself. These skills give you confidence and are easily applied in your day to day life.
Music: No matter how poor your sense of pitch or rhythm is, your contribution to the music is valued. Everyone learns the Portuguese call and response songs and eventually develops skill on the pandeiro, atabaque, and berimbau.
Culture: Capoeira's familial structure is firmly rooted in its origin cultures of Africa and Brazil. There is no cookie cutter dojo in capoeira. Familial lines and and social support drive relationships between capoeira schools and much cross pollination occurs. Martial art, music, Portuguese language, food and celebration are all part of capoeira.
Global Community: With your capoeira skills you can attend classes in any country in the world and forge friendships despite language barriers. It's truly rewarding and a great way to anchor your travels.
Kids Classes:
Calisthenics
Games
Music: percussion, clapping, songs in portuguese
Roda: Live sparing
Teachers
