Mestre Cabea: Capoeira is life

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 06/25/2006 3:45 PM  |  Life

The popular martial arts form of capoeira, native to Brazil, is the iconic sport of the country and has spread all around the globe -- even to Indonesia. From April 10-16, the first ever Jakarta International Capoeira Festival was held at Plaza Semanggi, Central Jakarta, featuring capoeira masters from the Rio de Janeiro-based International Sinha Bahia de Capoeira (ISBC) in open workshops and sparring sessions.

The Jakarta Post's Nichola Sarvangga Valero spoke with ISBC international president Mestre Cabea on capoeira, his path to becoming a mestre, and on his thoughts as a life-long capoeirista.

An agile jinga, gracious kicks, glorious somersaults and a large dose of Brazilian Samba would not usually be the day-to-day activities of 44-year-old Brazilian Nilson Clementino Hanszman.

Yet this is not the story of the man who is better known as Mestre Cabea, International President of the International Sinha Bahia de Capoeira, the headquarters of which is located in Rio de Janeiro's Macae district.

The grupo (""school"" in Portuguese) founder, whose grupo is now the fusion of the previous Grupo Sinha Capoeira and the Grupo Bahia Capoeira school, said that capoeira had become the most important aspect -- and could even be said to have become all-important -- to the life of this capoeira mestre, or master.

""Capoeira is my family, my soul, my heart, my blood, and my life,"" said the father of one daughter.

The Rio de Janeiro native explained that even though there are numerous schools and styles of this Brazilian martial art, all schools shared the same core values and principles.

""There is not much of a difference, because capoeira is capoeira,"" said Mestre Cabea about each school's version of the jinga (capoeira's basic stance-step) or the moves that follow it.

Cabea said that each school practiced all the same techniques, but their slightly different applications were what differentiated each school from another.

Capoeira is a martial art that has its roots in Africa, from where it was brought to Brazil via the 16th-century slave trade. Slaves from Angola practiced the self-defense form as a means to settle disputes and to fight oppression. In order to fool the eyes of their slave masters, the slaves disguised the martial art as a form of recreational song and dance.

Following the emancipation of all slaves in 1888, several underground gangs of former slaves, left without work or civil support, arose and turned to crime, and capoeira was outlawed in 1892. The martial art went deeper underground, and the tradition of adopting capoeira names emerged during this period as a way of concealing the true identities of capoeirista, or capoeira practitioners.

Today's popular form of capoeira, with its constricted closed-arm movements, developed because it was first used by slaves whose hands were bound by shackles. The hand movements are a significant contradiction to the glorious unbounded leg movements.

Capoeira itself was only acknowledged as a registered martial art in 1937 through the efforts of Manoel Do Reis Machado, better known by his capoeira name Mestre Bimba, and Brazilian president Getulio Vargas, who wanted to promote it as a national sport.

Only then was Capoeira was studied in buildings with students wearing uniforms bearing the emblem of their grupo.

About 40 years after capoeira's official birth starts the story of Nilson Clementino Hanszman's journey to becoming Mestre Cabea.

His story is not that of a typical child entering adolescence. That is, a child who was inspired by watching actors displaying the art and achieving unimaginable feats at the movies, and who would inevitably enroll in a martial arts class in order to be considered one of the so-called ""cool"" kids at school.

Instead, Mestre Cabea's journey to greatness began 36 years ago at an orphanage in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1970 at the age of seven, the young Hanszman was sent to an orphanage where he faced unwanted and difficult situations. This childhood later brought to him a life-changing experience that paved the way toward his future life.

""I got bullied a lot by larger boys and would always lose when I tried to retaliate,"" said the mestre about the hardships he experienced during adolescence -- a common occurrence in the everyday life of a student.

But being at the orphanage led him to an opportunity, when he watched a bedazzling capoeira demonstration that offered him a solution to his troubles.

""Then I saw Mestre Poeira perform at the orphanage, and could not get ... the amazement I felt out of my head,"" said Mestre Cabea.

After this moment of enlightenment, he then vowed to dedicate his time and strength to imitate and learn the magnificent moves of Mestre Poeira.

The young Hanszman then began heading out to the plantations to diligently practice the moves he had witnessed during the demonstration. After feeling sure about the moves he had practiced and after working up the courage to address Mestre Poeira, asked the mestre for the names of the moves.

Mestre Poeira, sympathizing with the young man's dedication and sheer will, granted the boy's wish to perfect his technique by accepting Hanszman as one of his students. He was eight.

Hanszman, after achieving the first step of his dream and training under Mestre Poeira, returned to the orphanage a new person with renewed confidence.

Mestre Cabea said that the bullies at his orphanage then lost all interest in intimidating or terrorizing him, fearing a student of Mestre Poeira.

""It gave me security without the need of having to fight,"" said the mestre.

After nine years under the guidance of Mestre Poeira, the teenage Hanszman, having been given his capoeira name Cabea, finally rose to the rank of instructor and started teaching his juniors.

Mestre Cabea does not limit his efforts in teaching the art to his students, but also commits his school and the art of capoeira toward community development and social welfare.

He uses his skills and status as a mestre in empowering Brazil's underprivileged youth, by teaching them capoeira to keep them from harm's way and to keep them away from crime.

""I also organize voluntary work for poor kids,"" said Mestre Cabea.

He expressed his surprise and delight in the current capoeira boom, which has swept the world with its attractive acrobatic and sometimes lethal moves.

""What was once small is now gigantic,"" said the mestre about the present state of capoeira, extending his arms in a sweeping gesture. ""Capoeira breaks all borders and barriers.""

""It is amazing, because Capoeira in the 1970s was only studied and practiced by the underprivileged African ethnic groups in the shantytowns of Brazil,"" he added.

His most memorable moment in promoting the martial art form was when he participated in the 1998 Copa do Mundo (Brazilian for World Cup).

Mestre Cabea, along with his 36 students, as Brazilian cultural ambassadors, had never felt prouder as a capoeira mestre when he received positive support and international attention at the world-class sporting event.

""Capoeira is a sport, a therapy, a form of education, musicology and finally, a martial art,"" said Mestre Cabea, referring to the aspects and requirements for mastering the martial art.

What differentiates capoeira from most mainstream martial arts is that it requires its students to master the musical instruments and the songs, as well as the moves and philosophy of the martial art.

The mestre also expressed his admiration for Indonesian students of capoeira and his hopes for the emergence of future Indonesian mestre.

""The kids here are very dedicated ... they are the beginnings of great masters,"" he said.

""I am also very happy because I have never received a warmer response than this. There is just no word to describe it.""

The International Sinha Bahia de Capoeira has official branches in Australia, Spain, the United Sates of America, Spain, Indonesia and of course, in the many states of Brazil. A Singapore branch is currently being set up.

""The beauty of capoeira is in the roda (pronounced ho'da), the circle where capoeirista play capoeira, because each capoeirista must discard all prejudice in order for the truest form of his or her soul to be able to shine in the circle.""

Sinha Bahia de Capoeira's Jakarta branch holds classes at three locations:
* Body Life Fitness Center, Pasaraya Grande 7th floor, South Jakarta. On Wednesdays, 8-9:30 p.m., and Sundays, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
* Clark Hatch Fitness Center, Wisma Metropolitan II 17th floor, Central Jakarta. On Saturdays from 4-5:30 p.m.
* Sanggar Senam Boyke, Jl. Bisma 1 No. 8, Sunter, North Jakarta. Fridays from 7:30-9 p.m.

www.capoeira.cc; www.capofest.com

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