MOVEMENTS
amazonas (au batido): one hand cartwheel kick; trademark capoeira move
armada: basic upright spin kick
arrastao – capoeira takedown, pulling both legs from under an opponent
aú: capoeira style cartwheel
bananeira: handstand or headstand
banda: movement to trip or flank an opponent
bencao: “blessing”; a front kick
cabeçada: headbutt
chamada: literally to call; ritualized movement across roda (mainly used in Angola)
chapa/pisao: flat footed kick to the side
comprar de jogo – to buy a game, entering the circle by cutting in on another player
entrar: to enter
esquiva: escape movement
floreios – acrobatic movements
ginga: basic movement of capoeira
jogar: to play
passape: outside to inside crescent kick
negativa: literally “negative”; basic defense
macaco: “monkey flip”; a low back handspring
meia lua de compasso: low spining kick with hands on the ground
mortal: backflip
piao de cabesa (de mao): spin on the head (spin on the hands)
pontape cruzado/martelo: “roundhouse kick”; strike with the top of foot
queixada: circular kick; strike with the outside of the foot
rasteira: a sweeping trip; trademark capoeira move
role: “roll”; basic defense
tesoura: “scissors”; a takedown
volta ao mundo: “around the world”; circling the roda
GENERAL VOCABULARY
Angola: traditional capoeira; usually played slow and close to the ground
angoleiro: a practitioner of the capoeira angola style
atabaque: a drum
ataque – attacking move or movement initiative
axe: life force; energy of capeira
batizado – the capoeira initiation ceremony; baptism
beriba: wood for making berimbau
berimbau: one-stringed precussion instrument
Besouro: a famous capoeirista who had legendary mandinga, a beetle
Bimba: a famous deceased capoeira mestre; father of capoeira regional
cabaça: gourd resonator of the berimbau
capoeirista: one who plays capoeira
camará: comrade
caxixí: shaker played with the berimbau
corda: “cord”; capoeira belt used to show advancement
corridos: call and response songs accompanying action in the circle
costas: back (anatomy)
defesa: defensive movement
dobrao: coin used to play the berimbau
esquiva: escape movement [basic movement]
fechado: to be closed
fechar: to close
frente: front
gunga: bass berimbau
hora: hour; time
jogador – player
jogo: game; a game of capoeira; the verb is jogar
ladainha: introductory solo of roda or game, usually sung by a mestre
maculêlê: stick fighting dance
malandragem: double-dealing or cunning
malandro: crook or streetwise person
malícia: deception, trickery, double-dealing
mandigueiro: a tricky capoeira player
mangangá: sorcerer, healer in the Afro-Brazilian tradition
mar: ocean
medio: middle pitched berimbau
mestre: master, senior capoeira teacher
moleque: street urchin; punk
nome de guerra – nickname given to a player in the course of his training, sometimes as part of a batizado initiation
pandeiro: a tambourine
Pastinha: famous deceased teacher of Capoeira Angola from Bahia
patuá: amulet worn around the neck for protection
pé do berimbau: position in front of the berimbau
reco-reco: ribbed bamboo scraper
Regional – innovative, modern style of capoeira, associated with Mestre Bimba
roda: circle; circle made of people where capoeira is played
Salvador: capital city of Bahia; birthplace of Capoeira as we know it today
samba: brazilian rhythm and dance
sequencia – sequence of moves learned by players in Regional style
solta: no hands; a jump (au solta)
tocar: to touch; to play music
vadicao: loafing, hanging around; synonym for capoeira
vaqueta: stick used to strike the string of the berimbau
viola: the highest pitched berimbau
Glossary adapted from Ring of Liberation and Capoeira Angola Club (Boulder, CO).
ABOUT MOVE NAMES:
Every capoeira school uses different names for certain moves. An au batido in one school may be an amazonas in another school. For the most part, I’m going to be using the names that CapuraGinga uses. Many of these are common across all walks of capoeira life, but some may not be. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be too confusing. When I talk about a certain move I know is named differently in CapuraGinga, I will try to point it out.
