By Rosalie Westenskow
What do you get when you mix martial arts, singing, Portuguese, exotic musical instruments and a whole lot of enthusiasm? Capoeira.
Several times a week, members of BYU''s Brazilian Capoeira Club meet to learn and play the game of Capoeira.
The movement looks simultaneously asthetically pleasing and dangerous. Participants of the club, or capoeristas, throw spinning kicks, jump into no-handed cartwheels and sweep their feet from side to side, shifting their weight as they pulse in and out of low stances.
'It''s very primal in a way, but it''s also transcendent,' said Kevin Blankinship, a member of the club. 'When you''re in the middle of it, it''s intoxicating.'
The art form - which combines martial arts, Afro-Brazilian music and dance -originated among Brazilian slaves, who were brought to the country from Africa beginning in the 16th century. Although its exact roots remain unclear, Capoeira is believed to have derived from the cultural mingling that occurred among African slaves in the marketplaces. The new form of self-expression and self-defense was cultivated in Quilombos - communities that harbored escaped slaves.
'Capoeira is a martial art form/dance for the oppressed, rather than the elite,' said Blankinship, a senior majoring in comparative literature. 'Because it was created by slaves, there''s this mutual understanding through suffering.'
Because of Capoeira''s defiant nature, the Brazilian government outlawed it and did not officially lift the ban until 1955. In the past several decades, Capoeira has become increasingly popular in many parts of the world, including the United States.
Music plays an essential role in Capoeira. The games are accompanied by Brazilian musical instruments, particularly the berimbau.
At last Saturday''s practice, club president John Rice, a senior majoring in exercise science, demonstrated how to string a berimbau, which has a bow-like shape. Wedging one end of a slender, curved piece of wood between his foot and the wall, Rice thrust his other foot into the middle of the bow. He pushed on the wood until it bent enough to string a length of wire between the shaft''s two ends.
'Originally they used monkey intestines as the string,' Rice said. 'Now they use the radial wires out of the inside of tires.'
The rhythm of the music determines the pace and style of the game, which is a match of skill between two people.
'Different games have different purposes,' said Carma Martino, a graduate student studying marriage, family and human development. 'In some you want to knock them over, in some you want to have good communication between the two people.'
Unlike many other martial arts where physical contact is an integral part of all confrontations, in some of the Capoeira games, the goal is to move the other person out of the way.
'You''re trying to control the movement of the other person,' said Martino, a member of the club since October. 'Whoever dominates the space is considered the better player.'
Most club members practice several times a week, and many also take classes at local Capoeira schools. In addition, many of the club members participate in a program where they teach the art form to troubled youth every Friday night at Capoeria Escola, a Capoeira school in Provo.
The youth who participate on Friday nights belong to The Journey: Blazing New Trails, a rehabilitation program for teenagers who have recently been released from juvenile detention centers but remain in the custody of the state.
Teaching the teenagers Capoeira improves their life skills and provides a more productive outlet for their energy than drugs and violence, said Niki Covington, a member of BYU''s club and the director of the Capoeira program with The Journey.
'It teaches you so much about self control, self-respect, respect for others and respect for authority,' said Covington, a sophomore majoring in illustration.
The program has also helped to build healthy relationships between the teenagers involved.
'I think all their life they haven''t ever felt like they really belonged or were loved,' Covington said. 'By coming to Capoeira and putting a lot of energy into it, they learn to help each other and as they do so, they build a camaraderie and they finally know what it feels like to belong to a group, be accepted and be loved.'
For more information about the Brazilian Capoeira Club, visit the club''s Web site at clubs.byu.edu/capoeira.