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Hope you can join us soon! Axe!
We had such a great time working out in Malcolm X Park (aka Meridian Hill Park) the past two Saturdays, that we will continue having Saturday morning capoeira classes outdoors in Washington DC!
Please meet us at All Souls Church, 1500 Harvard St NW at 10:30 am; it is a short 2-block walk away from the Columbia Heights metro. From there, we’ll walk another quick 2 blocks to the northern entrance to Malcolm X park.
A few tips, as practicing in an outdoor environment has its own challenges:
In return, you’ll get these primo benefits from an outdoor workout:
Bring a friend, pay $10 each!
Bring a friend and you’ll both pay $10! That’s right, 2 students can pair up to pay just $20 for all 90-minute Saturday morning classes outdoors in the park. Otherwise the drop-in rate is the usual $15 per person, per class. (We also offer all-included monthly unlimited passes for $125.)
As always, we still have capoeira classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 – 8:00 pm at All Souls church, 1500 Harvard St NW, Washington DC.
Due to the Memorial Day Weekend, capoeira classes will not meet on Sunday, May 27th at BloomBars (Columbia Heights, Washington, DC).
Instead please join us on Saturday, May 26th at 10:30 am – 12:00 pm; or Tuesday, May 29th at 7 – 8 pm. Both classes will be at All Souls church, located at 1500 Harvard St NW, Washington, DC. (View Weekly Schedule)
You can also bring your kids to learn capoeira every Saturday from 9 – 10 am at BloomBars.
I took a few videos of the roda we participated in last Saturday afternoon with Oficina da Capoeira.
This week, during our normal weekend capoeira class at All Souls (10:30 am – 12:00 pm on Saturdays) we spent our time learning an important aspect of capoeira beyond kicks, sweeps and ginga: the music.
For those of you learning the music, the video below demonstrates some of the typical toques or rhythms of the capoeira pandeiro (tambourine):
If you’d like to learn more about capoeira music, check out Capoeira-Music.net. It’s got plenty of videos, recordings, written lyrics and tutorials for how to play the instruments we use in capoeira.
We would like to offer capoeira music classes on a regular basis that does not interrupt our regular schedule. Please let us know what schedule will work best for you by voting in this poll:
Continued from What is a typical capoeira class like? Part 1
Capoeira, South Bank by Dale Harvey
If you’ve ever checked out youtube videos of capoeira you have probably thought something like, “That looks really cool, but there’s no way I could ever do that!”
Here’s a comparison: Do you ever watch the NBA and decide that basketball is too difficult to play? Or see the Super Bowl and think, “Nevermind about that co-ed flag football league, football is too hard!” Or even… watch the World Cup and quit your kickball league? Ok, maybe not that one.
But you get my point — there are all levels of capoeira, just like any sport, and we all start somewhere. That starting point in any capoeira class is learning the basic kicks, blocks, sweeps and other moves. As you advance in your skills, you will improve your technique and flexibility, accomplishing more complex moves and combinations.
In a typical class, after we finish the warmup the students will practice the basics, which are the building blocks of capoeira regional: the ginga, au, role, esquiva lateral, cocorinha, martelho, ponteira, bencao, queixada, meia lua de frente and meia lua de compaso. Not sure what those are? Beginners receive special instruction on the first few kicks to start learning the names and proper form.
After that, we will drill combinations of these moves, such as combining au and martelho or quiexada and meia lua de frente. We also frequently do partner exercises where one capoeirista will practice an attacking move and the other will practice either a counterattack or an evasive maneuver. This type of practice helps you learn how to react when you are facing an opponent in the roda.
Finally we finish the class with some stretching and ab exercises. Sometimes we will do a practice roda among students too.
Our classes are 60 minutes long on Tuesdays and Thursdays evening classes are both 60 minutes long (they start at 7 pm!) and so are the classes at BloomBars on the weekends (view the kids and adults capoeira class schedule here).
If you are looking for more impact, check out our Saturday morning classes. They are 90 minutes long, so we have extra time to practice new moves, drill the basics, and work with our fellow students.
Do you have a question about capoeira classes? Please let us know!
Barro Vermelho Capoeira of Washington DC 