Capoeira Club Biriba Brasil introduces itself

Krefeld clubs and fringe sports
:
A fight disguised as a dance

–

Capoeira is also trained in the Krefeld city forest. Music is an important part of this sport.
Photo: Lammertz, Thomas (lamb)

–
–

Serie In this fight, not only the other is the opponent, but also yourself: Capoeira is a sport between dance, martial arts and acrobatics. The sport from Brazil has a special history.

Brazilian rhythms, people who sing, clap and play instruments, in their midst several capoeiristas who dance around each other – or fight? The kicks go nowhere, as if in a perfectly coordinated choreography, they move around each other, do somersaults, turn, swing back. This is capoeira. A fight disguised as a dance, as Tugce Yetim explains. “Capoeira came about because slaves in Brazil were forbidden to fight. They trained by passing the combat exercises off as dance.” The 27-year-old has been a capoeirista in the Krefeld club Biriba Brasil for four years. Tugce Yetim has been a member of the board for more than a year and organizes the training.

–

The Union “The roots of Capoeira lie in western Africa, from where most slaves were taken to Brazil during the colonial period,” says the association’s website. “The origins of our club, on the other hand, go back to the 1980s,” reports Yetim. “In 1989, at the age of 19, Mestre Requeijão followed his master from Brazil to Europe. He first lived in Amsterdam and then went to Germany, where he taught Capoeira in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Bochum and worked as a show artist.” In the years that followed, the brothers also went to Europe, and in 2002 they founded their own group and gave her the name Biriba Brasil. “Today, the group is represented in eight German cities, in France, Ireland, Israel, Ecuador, Spain and Brazil,” says Yetim.

–

The Krefeld club members thus have the opportunity to visit their club friends all over the world and to train with them in other countries. “It’s great to travel there and meet the people,” says the 27-year-old.

–

Tugce Yetim has been a capoeirista at Biriba Brasil for four years.
*Photo: Lammertz, Thomas (lamb)*

–

rhythm in the blood The Krefeld club used to have a children’s group, but today the groups start from the age of ten. “Unfortunately, the number of members has decreased due to Corona,” says Yetim. You can usually start with Capoeira, “as soon as the children can walk,” says Yetim and laughs. The youngest would simply have the mobility and would just do it. “The older you get, the more thoughtful you are.”

–

Music is an important part of training. “No Capoeira without music,” says the athlete. And so it is part of the warm-up training to first tune into the typical instruments: berimbau, atabaque, pandeiro – traditional songs are sung to this. “The music guides the capoeirista. It’s like a game in a circle. Sometimes they play fast, sometimes in a flow, everything is spontaneous and improvised, but often seems rehearsed,” says Yetim.

–

For body and soul Capoeira is a sport that not only improves fitness, endurance and muscles, says Yetim. Musical skills would also be improved, as would the sense of rhythm. There are no competitions in this martial art. “We call it batizado – that means baptism in Portuguese.” Once a year, the members of the association compete against each other, whereby the opponent is not only the other party, but also themselves. “You earn your next cord in the process,” explains Yetim .

–

costs and equipment It doesn’t take much to do Capoeira. “The club provides the instruments. If you want to get on board, you only need comfortable clothing at first. You train barefoot, so shoes aren’t absolutely necessary,” says Yetim. Training is twice a week. Many Capoeirista also train in between, “in the park or during a study break. The great thing is that you don’t necessarily need any equipment and you can do it anywhere.” If you want to do Capoeira permanently, there is a training uniform for you. Cost 40 euros, according to Yetim. White clothing is important because that is the color of purity. Members pay 35 euros per month, students and trainees 25 euros.

–

Leave a Comment Cancel reply