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Books About Capoeira
The Afro-Brazilian Martial Art
Brazilian Sound
Books About Capoeira, the acrobatic and spiritual Afro-Brazilian Martial Art, Dance, Fighting Game, and Art Form, practiced to the rhythm of a berimbau, that is gaining popularity all over the world.
Capoeir: The History Of An Afro-Brazilian
Martial Art
by Matthias Rohrig Assuncao
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art now spreading over the rest of the world, and is the only sport from Brazil that seeks Olympic recognition. Originally the preserve of the underclasses in Brazilian society, capoeira is now practised amongst the middle-classes, and even taught as a sport in schools. The author explores the history of capoeira and explores the conflict between traditionalists, who view capoeira as their heritage descended from the maroons, a weapon to be used against injustice and repression; reformers, who wish to see the spread of the sport internationally; and academics, who are attempting to discover the true history of capoeira as opposed to the myth. --book description
Capoeira: Roots Of The Dance-Fight-Game
by Nestor Capoeira
Capoeira: Roots of the Dance-Fight-Game covers
a broad range of topics -- philosophy, history, training -- related to the
increasingly popular martial arts style. The author discusses capoeira's
evolution from Brazilian street play into a way of life. The philosophy of
capoeira, and the practical and spiritual benefits of that philosophy, are also
discussed. Instructions and exercises in intermediate and advanced skills take
up where the author's previous book left off. The book includes 100
black-and-white photos and illustrations. --book
description
Ring
Of Liberation: Deceptive
Discourse In Brazilian Capoeira
by J. Lowell Lewis
Based on eighteen months of intensive
participant-observation, Ring of Liberation offers both an in-depth
description of capoeira--a complex Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines
feats of great strength and athleticism with music and poetry--and a
pioneering synthetic approach to the analysis of complex cultural performance.
At once game, sport, mock combat, and ritualized performance, it
involves two players who dance and "battle" within a ring of musicians and
singers. Stunning physical performances combine with music and poetry in a
form as expressive in movement as it is in word. J.
Lowell Lewis explores the convergence of form and content in capoeira.
--book description
Capoeira:
The Jogo De Angola from Luanda to Cyberspace
by Gerard Taylor
The first in a two-volume series on capoeira, Volume One
traces the origins of the popular martial art and dance form from the
beginning of the slave trade in the Americas in the 1500s to the early years
of the Brazilian Republic in the 20th century. Focusing on the people and
events that shaped the art form in Brazil prior to the "academy" period of
the last century, Capoeira: The Jogo de Angola from Luanda to Cyberspace
explores the subject from many vantage points. Author Gerard Taylor explains
how the fighting techniques of African forces laid the groundwork for
capoeira movements. He shows how work songs, religion, and various
percussive traditions and instruments shaped capoeira music over the years.
Drawing on archival sources and historical accounts, the book paints a vivid
picture of capoeira’s dramatic evolution from the sugar plantations of
Pernambuco through the brutal backstreets of Rio and the Minas Gerais
goldmines on its way to becoming a world-class practice.
--book description
Learning Capoeira:
Lessons In Cunning From an Afro-Brazilian Art
by Greg Downey
Learning Capoeira: Lessons in Cunning from an
Afro-Brazilian Art is a provocative look at capoeira, a demanding acrobatic art
that combines dance, ritual, music, and fighting style. First created by slaves,
freedmen, and gang members, capoeira is a study in contrasts that integrates
African-descended rhythms and flowing dance steps with hard lessons from
the street. According to veteran teachers, capoeira will transform novices,
instilling in them a sense of malicia, or "cunning," and changing how they walk,
hear, and interact. Learning Capoeira is an ethnographic study based on author
Greg Downey's extensive research about capoeira and more than ten years of
apprenticeship. It looks at lessons from traditional capoeira teachers in
Salvador, Brazil, capturing the spoken and unspoken ways in which they pass on
the art to future generations. Downey explores how
bodily training can affect players' perceptions and social interactions, both
within the circular roda, the "ring" where the game takes place, as well as
outside it, in their daily lives. --book description
Capoeira and Candomble
by Floyd Merrell
Capoeira is a unique music-dance-sport-play
activity created by African slaves in Brazil, and Candomble‚
is a hybrid religion combining Catholic and African beliefs and practices. The
two are closely interconnected. Capoeira and Candomble‚
have for centuries made up a coherent form of Brazilian life, despite having
been suppressed by the dominant cultures. Both have apparently familiar
elements, but this seeming conformity with the dominant cultures was for 400
years a strategy of resistance by Brazilian slaves. The author offers his own
reflections about Capoeira and Candomble, combining
personal experiences with anecdotes, historical facts, and research as well as
religious and philosophical interpretations, both Western and non-Western. The
result is informative and entertaining, a description and analysis that allows
readers to get a feeling, understanding, and even experience of the spirit of
Capoeira and Candomble. --book description
Capoeira,
A Brazilian Art Form:
History, Philosophy, And Practice
by Bira Almeida / Mestre Acordeon
Mestre Acordeon's book has long been praised for its clear
writing, for his thoughtful coverage of the history, philosophy, and artistic
traditions surrounding this art-form. Other reviewers (see below) have noted
that the book was among the first in English to introduce readers to these
aspects of Capoeira, while also offering a glimpse into this one mestre's
personal and life-long journey.--an Amazon reviewer
Capoeira Conditioning: How To Build Strength, Agility,
and Cardiovascular Fitness Using Capoeira Movements
by Gerard Taylor
The Little Capoeira Book
by Nestor Capoeira
Capoeira is a synthesis of dance and personal defense from Brazil. The Little Capoeira Book presents some of the popular theories of how and why capoeira began and profiles the most famous capoeiristas and their contributions to the art. The book contains diagrams showing various positions and movements and discusses attacking and defending strategies and the critical aspects of feinting. Over 100 photographs and illustrations are included. --book description
A Street-Smart Song: Capoeira
Philosophy and Inner Life
Nestor Capoeira
Capoeira:
A Martial Art & Cultural Tradition
children's book for ages 9 - 12
by Jane Atwood
Also See:
Books: Gracie Family (Jiu-Jitsu)
The Brazilian Sound (U.S. Edition)
The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa and the Popular Music of Brazil includes history about aspects of Afro-Brazilian culture such as the slavery era, candomble, capoeira, samba, and Bahian music.
Global Books from Culture Planet