Capoeira and the Olympic Games?

So I had a discussion months ago with someone about Capoeira being in the Olympic games at some point in the future. I've been thinking about it more and more (probably because the Winter Olympics are coming up), and I'll probably get some flak for this, but I think they should be included.

I've been looking it up, and there are only a handful of main arguments against it:
1) Capoeira will lose its edge.
2) Capoeira isn't about competition.
3) There shouldn't be winners and losers.
4) There's no way to score it.
5) The culture will be lost (its a way of life, etc).

For each of those, I've found counter-arguments and come up with a few of my own.
1) For those who say Capoeira will lose its edge, I hate to break it to you but it already did when they de-criminalized it back in the day. Do you see scythe ends on a berimbau these days? No? How about the participants holding razor blades and trying to cut each other up (that song Zum Zum Zum...yeah, its about the sound of razor blades swishing through the air and someone killing another in the roda)? No? Well, then, there you go. Capoeira has already been tamed down to where it is ineffective as a fighting style unless you've been practicing it since youth, which most of us haven't. In short, there really is no edge to lose at this point.

2) Now I've heard that Capoeira isn't about competition, and to a degree it isn't. It is about the conversation...but at the same time, you want to make yourself look better in the roda than the other person. That is a form of competition, folks. Like it or not, there is a competitive edge to Capoeira and it is part of the game. Prove me wrong.

3) There shouldn't be winners and losers. Okay, this sounds like the refrain from those who were picked on by the jocks in high school (and yes, I was one of those kids that was picked on and didn't play any sports). So you had a bad experience when you were 14 and don't want to play in a game where there are winners and losers. How will this being an Olympic sport affect your home-town roda if the mindset for winners/losers isn't present? Oh, it won't? Then live and let live; some of us like the competition.

4) There's no way to score it. Bullshit; there are ways to score sparring in any martial art and Capoeira is no different. "But Nick, there is no sparring in Capoeira." Um...yeah there is, it is called playing in the jogo. It may be a little more ritualized (i.e. you try not to hurt the other person for real), but it is still sparring as you are still trading blows and dodging.
Here's an example of a tournament's rules (yes, its for Capoeira):
http://arnoldmartialarts.com/pdf/2010/rules/capoeira_rules.pdf
Now I might lighten up on some of the formalities (apelidos, belonging to a single academy, etc), but I think they're pretty solid.

5) You'd lose the culture behind Capoeira/Capoeira is a way of life. So are other sports and so is Tae Kwon Do (a martial art which made it to the Olympics). You think that you finding balance and meaning in Capoeira excludes the ability to find the same things in volleyball, swimming, the triathlon or anything else? If so, you are sadly mistaken; any sport can become a way of life. Martial arts are by their nature sporting events, and those who practice them are athletes. Just because you think your sport is superior doesn't make it so.
As for culture, so long as they keep the music and malicia (which is a very important part of the game...I don't think a good game can exist without it), I think it'll be fine. Capoeira is already transcending cultures by enriching the capoeirista with knowledge of Brazilian culture. We learn Portuguese, we learn to play the berimbau and we learn about aspects more hidden in the culture like mindsets and whatnot. We learn history and I think that by including Capoeira in the Olympic games, it would be even more of a cultural ambassador for Brazil than it already is.
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I fully support bringing Capoeira to the Olympic games, and I will be training as if it was already in the games. My workouts are currently designed to strengthen the areas I need to do some of the more advanced movements later on, and I'm working on larger amounts of cardio to increase my stamina in the game. I'm using my Yoga and other resources to help become more limber and focus on things that will help my game, too. My workouts are all focused on making me a better capoeirista, and should that day come when they do include it in the games, I may try to make it on the team.

This is my dream as an adult-onset athlete: to make it to the Olympic games playing Capoeira. It sounds lofty and it may not happen (its all up to the IOC), but I will still train with that intensity, that feeling and that dedication.

The Olympics hold a very dear place to me (just watching the opening brings tears to my eyes every single time) and yeah...who wouldn't want to train for that?

Um...I'm getting more emotional at this point, so I'm just going to let it go at this point before this turns into rambling.

**Edit: And yes, I know I'm far from being competition material, but having that goal to focus on is half of the battle. By having that, I will know what I'm up against, how I have to train, what training I will need and motivation. Its probably hard to understand, but yeah, that's how it works for me. I start at the end, work backwards to see what it'll take and plan accordingly.

Meu primeiro batizado

I'm in Seattle right now waiting for the last night of my first batizado. For those who don't know, a batizado is a yearly event primarily in capoeira regional schools where the new students are initiated and other students are given their new cords after they've been tested by the profesor or mestre. They're usually huge events that take up a weekend or longer with workshops, fun, open rodas (games) by the ton and of course the troca de corda (changing of cords).

Here's a rundown of mine so far:
Friday: I show up right when we were supposed to start, but luckily everything was going a bit late so it was okay. I was nervous as hell because I've never trained with this group (I train with a small group in Spokane) and well, quite frankly it was intimidating. After meeting some of the people, Mestre came and and I met him.

Mestre led class for a while and when he spoke it was always profound. Look a bit down, there's a post with some of his words of wisdom.

We then split into two classes; higher cords and crua/crua and crua/azul and trained even more.

Then came the roda at the end. It is the largest roda I've ever been in and was flat out amazing. There is literally no way to explain the energy, the feel and the bond of that roda unless you've been in one.


Saturday:
Workshops all morning where we were pushed to our limits and beyond. I learned so much in those hours that I'm amazed at what I can do now. Yeah, it was that intense.

Then another open roda...mestre played against his son in an angola game. It was seriously the most awesome thing to watch. There were some other angola games, then we went to regional style for everyone. The energy was even higher this time around.

Tonight: the troca de corda and maybe another roda. I'm anxious but calm at the same time.
***Edit***
So I got there a little early and received my shirt. I was nervous as hell that they'd attempt to call me up to get a new corda, but they didn't yet. At the same time, I sort of wish they had to just test my skills and prove myself. Its hard to explain so I'm not even going to try, but yeah, its not a good or bad thing really.
There was a roda for the higher up students and that was also very fun to be in/near.

After that, Kelsey, Thomas and I went to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant and not even a few minutes after we showed up, Mestre, Profesor Coquino and many of the other higher-ups came in the door. They all started singing and playing instruments while we were eating. The kicker: Prof. Coquinho came up to my table, sat down and talked to me for a few minutes. He's a man of very few words, so I'm very grateful for his gesture. I made sure to say good-bye to everyone at that table, and Mestre just looked at me and gave me a giant grin. It was a great close to the weekend.

Oh, my Portuguese is inteligible :) That is a good thing to know (I ordered in Portuguese at the restaurant).
***end edit now***

Tomorrow: I return to Spokane with new skills, knowledge, inspiration and hopefully a thing or two to share with my grupo.

Fear and capoeira

Show no fear; vem jogar.

Inevitably, all of us will run into something in capoeira that we fear. Accordingly, we'll have to work hard and overcome whatever that fear is. For some it'll seem (or even be) easier, but I believe these moments are some of the most defining moments in training.

My biggest fear is keeping me from some of the basic acrobatics like plantadas and even an aú. My fear which holds me back is this: somewhere along the line I saw a video of a guy doing capoeira and he fell and broke his neck. Yeah...I know a few people who are paralyzed from neck breaks and I admit that I'm scared of doing that. I've never really been comfortable being upside-down either, and never really did cartwheels and such as a child. I'm learning all of this cold, for the first time, and it is a huge challenge.

I'm learning to overcome some of my fear, little by little. I'm able to get into an assisted handstand now and sometimes even hold it for ten or fifteen seconds. This is very significant to me as I've never been able to do this before, yet here I am and I'm making very visible progress every class.

For me, the only way to get over my fear is to do things over and over again, at my own pace (moving slow and steady to gain confidence in myself) and learn on my own that what I fear shouldn't hold me back. As I go on, I admittedly get very frustrated but I channel that into determination to do my best and learn these difficult things.

I've heard stories of injuries causing fear when re-learning a move or learning other moves, and I'm curious as to how some of you got over those fears. If you're comfortable, please feel free to respond and tell your story.

Axé!

Progress

So I made some major progress last night in class with my plantadas.

I was able to do an assisted handstand last night, not once but three times. It is better than I've been able to do yet, so I'm very happy about this.

I also learned a few things to help my game out, which is always a good thing.

Not much else at this time; just preparing for the batizado.

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!