Tag Archives: Training

Practice It

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Woman dances, spinning on one foot as she holds a spear and shield with vigor.

Instructora Gatinha leading the Danca Gueirreira rehearsal.

Form doesn’t seem that important as you work on it.

You don’t notice until you already have it. It takes a split second where you notice something very, very small an opportunity with a small gap of time; a transition that wasn’t possible before; a potential injury that was avoided just in the nick of time.

This is its purpose.

All movements, arts, crafts start with a foundation that launches those future participants.  It’s how all of these things get better. Things are perfected, then improved. The improvement requires endless repetition.  After that, comes the innovations.

This is the concept of knowing the rules before you break them.

Art grows faster when it has structure. How rigid the structure varies, but if the artform can’t stand on its own, people cannot lean on it. People must build upon it. That’s why the foundation is so important.

Just keep in mind that practice builds that foundation.

 

Show Up

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Three men wokring on a movement, balancing on one arm and one leg.

Rutgers Capoeira students workingo n movements

Reading about habits makes it seem so easy.
 
That’s like saying imagine if all you had to do was show up. Show up to that empty dance space, and suddenly, your arms are stronger. You have more balance in your handstands. Your kicks require less effort, and you can finally link them together. The first time in years you’re able to execute a macaco.
 
It’s not a farfetched as it seems.
 
Getting there’s the battle. It’s not having enough time, or forgetting to pack something you need there. Showing up is the first step. How else you are you going to have the space?
It’s a trick question- you don’t really need space.
 
You do need switch the style up. Angola is something that can be in tight quarters, focusing on staying low and closed, moving around a partner with a closeness that is absolutely necessary. That also means in that in most cases, it can be done in most rooms. Adding a chair usually helps a work out.
 
But even just forcing your self to go can do so much for your training, especially if the struggle is starting.

Kickin’ It

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Boemio, Rutgers Capoeira

Graduado Boemio throwing an armada

You learn a lot from getting kicked.

It creates a check list of different thoughts after the impact:

  • Did that just happen?
  • Am I okay?
  • Was it my fault?
  • Why did it happen?
  • Could I have esquiva’d lower?
  • Was my timing off?
  • When was the last time I trained?
  • Am I training hard enough?

You don’t get more points for the amount of yes answers.

It’s a part of the game, and it’s why this is a martial art. The potential of that impact is why we train, why we learn to dodge, and why we protect ourselves when we dodge. Worse of all, it hurts.

If the injury is significant, I hope recovery is the only concern. I’ve been lucky enough not to sustain a big injury while I played, but I must never pretend like it never will. Even with the best training and fitness available, it’s always a possibility.

Always know it can happen, then you can be comfortable with the risk.

 

Keep Going

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Rutgers Capoeira warming up

It took a long time for me to be comfortable with my capoeira.

Of course, I was excited about it. I wanted to share it with everyone I knew. For as long as I could remember, if you knew who James E. Green III was, you also knew he did capoeira as well (maybe not what it is or even what it looks.) It consumed me as I learned it, and it’s why I still study and practice it today.

The excitement of training resonating with my friends who trained also, and we had tons of fun in class, at events, and even when we occasionally trained on our own. We called them Capo Chills. We went out to public park-esque portion of our dormitory, working all everything. We worked music, movements from class, and made sure to work on our games as well.

With a lot of that gone, I can’t rely on others for that excitement. I have to create myself. I have to hone my skills to make sure when I play, I can play confidently. I have to make sure to play comfortably. Kicks thrown with insecurity create a dangerous environment for everyone. You learn the kicks, and it doesn’t take long to know how it’s done correctly, but throw those kicks with proper form on instinct takes time and repetition.

Comfort came from consistency. It came from practice.

Now I must be persistent to regain my comfort.

 

Keep It Together

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Keeping it together is understated.

Life is known for throwing random occurrences, obstacles, and overall doubt with the pathway to greatness. The journey almost requires it, and when a destination is reached, you can look back and marvel at how you got there the luxury of hindsight. As you travel, you have to deal with the muck.

The muck is everyday responsibilities, along with the procrastination that curses those roles, along with the people who depend on you. Those people love you, and you love them, but they get in the way. Life goes on without them, but life is harder with them gone (so you keep them.) This is another dangerous bend on the path to the top, keeping the people who go with you in check, carrying them for as long as they need you to.

Sometimes, it’s just being patience as you recruit people to come with you.

It takes a village to do anything, and building it is a painful task. It’s possible, and been done millions of times, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Great things come with struggle, but even knowing that doesn’t make the struggle easier.

It does keep the path in sight.