Hi everyone,
I must admit at first, I didn’t know how to write this article… because I know that if I wrote it by myself, it would be a bit… biased.
Now some of you might be wondering, “Whatever do you mean, John?”
Well, let me explain.
In case you haven’t noticed, I am a man. And as a man, I can only write from my own perspective, which is a MALE perspective. Which means that anything that I post about women in capoeira would be from that perspective, which I feel would not be a TRUE way to approach this subject.
So, I’ve decided to give this page to our sisters, and mothers, the women of Capoeira.
I’ve decided to ask women capoeiristas, no matter which style, how long they’ve been in the game, or whether they still play Capoeira or not, about their experiences in the capoeira world, good, bad, ugly, or beautiful.
If you’re a woman, and a capoeirista, or have been a capoeirista in the past, this page is for you.
The first 3 who answer these questions, I will post on this page, and any others who answer after that, I will post in the blog that is a part of this website.
You can access the blog and the archives by going down to the bottom of this or any other page on this website… At least until I figure out how to make my Blog page the home page.
Now some of you may be thinking that I’m being lazy here, trying to get other people to write this page when I can do it myself, but it’s not like that.
I feel that the best way to learn about what it’s like for a woman in capoeira is to learn it from a actual woman’s perspective.
And like I said, I can only write this article from only MY MALE perspective. Not to say that my, or any other male perspective isn’t valid, but hey, we’re not women.
Now some of you may be wondering where I got this Idea. Well, it came from several sources.
The 1st source is this AMAZING book series written by Maria Liu Lang, a Canadian Capoeirista who… Well, I’m not gonna give her story away, You have to buy her books. All I’m gonna say is that this series is a fascinating view of the capoeira world through her eyes.
To buy the books, click on the titles below.
Book One: Bimba’s Rhythm is One, Two, Three: From Resistance to Transformation Through Brazilian Capoeira
by: Lang Maria Liu
Book Two: Bimba’s Rhythm is One, Two, Three: The Many Faces of Capoeira
by: Lang Maria Lui
Book Three: Bimba’s Rhythm is One, Two, Three: Closing the Circle of Capoeira
by: Lang Maria Liu
The 2nd is this article called “There are women in the roda: Female empowerment in capoeira”, from capoeirahistory.com.
Click HERE to read this article.
I was also inspired by the 2 mini-documentaries below.
I found them all to be very insightful views of this way of life we call Capoeira through a woman’s eyes.
However, I was most inspired by the women in the small group I belong to, “Solsinmotion”, and in other groups in the greater L.A. area and the inner empire. Women who are educators, homemakers, activists, often times all three. Not to mention poets, business owners, even an urban shaman or two.
Ever since I started training in Capoeira, I learned so much from them.
I realized that, rather than to write an article telling you about women in Capoeira, knowing that it would be a bit… skewed in my opinion, It would be better to reach out to women in the Capoeira world, and ask them to tell all of you about their experiences, in their own words.
Okay, now before I post my questions, I have a couple of ground rules.
- list your name, Apelido/Capoeira nickname (If you have one), and the name of your Capoeira group (If you have one). Introduce yourself to the community! We don’t bite. Well, except for the times when we do….
- While I encourage and trust everyone of you to post a truthful account of your experiences, good, bad, and beautiful, please DO NOT post any personal attacks or offensive comments against any individual, or group! I realize that your experiences are YOUR experiences, and not all of what you post will be positive, but I hope you can all at least be respectful, and civil.
- NO PROFANITY! Well, there’s nothing I can add to that.
Now for the questions. These questions don’t come from me. I got them from my fellow members of CAPOEIRISTAS FOR CHANGE, who used these same questions in a podcast they had earlier this year.
You may access the Questionnaire HERE.
You don’t have to answer all of these questions at once, or in the order they were presented, but I ask you that you please answer at least 4 of them. You may answer these questions in a few ways…
- On the Questionnaire
- In a video essay or vlog (YouTube preferred, because it’s easy to post on this website)
Look at the choices above as “options”, not necessarily hard set “rules”.
Now, I published this page before it’s completion.
As I said before, I will complete this page with the first 3 women who answer the above questions, then any more after that, I will post on the blog attached to this website.
There’s no time limit on when to answer these questions. If you want to answer in a video or vlog format, for now, Please send your answers to my email at jhnashton@gmail.com.
I will update where to send your answers soon.
Jogo Corpo Fechado 