My identity as a capoeirista part II

Over the past year I've grown in my game and become comfortable with it. My ginga now has its own style which suits me, and there are both Angola and Regional versions as I become better acquainted with both styles.

My kicks are taking on my personality as well as my facial expressions and when/how I time movements now.

Beyond that, I've taken a shining to leading songs while playing the gunga or pandeiro (depending on which I bring to class) or even simply while clapping. My game has taken on a unique flow that only I can create...and I love it!

A few weeks ago, my instructor put me in charge of the class permanently. That's right...I'm now teaching the foundations of capoeira to people from all walks of life, and it has been quite the journey to say the least.

Before he left, my apelido was changed to signify my growth...no longer Tourinho (the little bull), I am now Touro (the bull). I am strong, I am smart, I am fast, I am agile and I am creative...these mark my game, my teaching style and what I hope to inspire in others.

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For the non-capoeira portion of my life: I am now working with a personal trainer to help bust my plateau and inspire me to greatness! I may have my own drive, but sometimes a push from others is the key.

Interestingly enough, recently in my martial arts training, I reached a level where after my third hour training, rather than being tired, I was absolutely focused and my body performed exactly as I needed it to. It is insane becuase I'd never really hit 'the zone' before, so it was amazing! Knowing that my body is truly capable of that had inspired me to train that much harder to see how far and hard I can push myself...and it is still paying off.

I'm also starting a flag football team for the local league as well as a volleyball team (I am the running back and right/front respectively) and am in the middle of getting my personal trainer certification.

It is a challenging path, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

One interesting thing somebody close to me brought up is that people think I am trying to prove something to everyone else...while that may be partially true (I really do enjoy breaking gay stereotypes), I am mostly proving things to myself. Few may understand this, but that is how it is. Competition drives me to greater self-understanding. Such is the life of an athlete.

Wow...its been a while

Update time (short and to the point):
Went to another batizado (this one with Senzala) and I think I might be training with them when I move...it was just a really good fit.

Learned some new things, mostly sequences, kicks, ways to use a cabecada and how to do chamadas.

Still improving my game as much as I can, but we all know its tough.

Still not so comfortable with acrobatics, but I'm working very hard on that. I need to get better at them and I'm determined to do so.

I'm teaching music to my grupo now...we have enough songs for a good 10 minute roda now, maybe longer depending how it all goes, ya know? Its pretty awesome.

That's all for now.

My identity

I was reading the Capoeira Blog recently and came across a post about a capoeirista's identity. It was very interesting hearing how he got his apelido, as was hearing about how some of my friends got theirs.

Well, I was just given my apelido about a week ago now: Tourinho. It means 'little bull.' Two people worked together on coming up with it (we don't have a profesor or mestre up here) and after watching a video of a roda we had, I find that it is very fitting. The reasoning behind my apelido as given to me: I'm still a beginner, hence the diminutive -inho ending to make it 'little bull' rather than touro 'bull.' Also, I have a tendency to charge in...a lot, not only with cabeçadas (also another source of my apelido), but with some rasteiras and golpes like the benção and queixada (look at my user picture) which are rather linear movements. In retrospect, I also don't like being very high off the ground...seems fitting to me.

I have a feeling that the name will grow with me as I will grow with it. Only the future knows what will develop.

Until next time, muito axé!

Intro time

I'm Tourinho, and I'm preparing for my first batizado which takes place in less than two weeks.

I've been playing capoeira for a couple of months now, and quite frankly it has been challenging. It is a challenge that I'm more than up for, but a challenge nonetheless. I'm still having trouble letting go of some old fears and it is starting to show in my game. Still, capoeira is arguably the best thing that has happened to me; I've made some new friends, found out I can do things I didn't even think were possible, learned to play new instruments and above all else, I'm having a complete blast while doing it all.

I'm not exactly a fan of doing acrobatics...it is all pretty much related to a personal hurdle, so I'm not going to go too much into it here, but yeah...it is definitely a learning experience. Still, it is only a hurdle which I will overcome with enough work.

As of now, I have some good basics which I know will serve me well, and I'm working on improving them. I figure the more I do them and work on them, the better they'll bet and the better solid grounding I'll have to fall back on when need be.

I'm also just starting to link things together on my own. It is really fun to try forming sequences to see how they'd work, then learn from it. The hard part that I've found is then adding them to your game.

I don't have a whole ton else to say right now so I guess that's it for now.

Muito Axé!