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Chapters

Were you aware of the moment your life started entering a new chapter? Or are these moments always a product of hindsight? As another year comes to a close I have felt something stirring inside. Something akin to the turning of a new page, the start of a new chapter. One built on the dark words that stain the bright pages of the past that now lead into the story that is about to unfold. To give continuity to this cliche of a life I have lead, this change starts with what else, but a story about a girl. Who she is, is less important than what she represents. She is that leading sentence at the end of a passage that welcomes you into the next act. Desire is like a ninja. It always hits you when you least expect it and it overwhelms before you can truly come to grips with it. It took this girl(almost ten years my junior) to finally wake me up. No, not from that all too common tunnel vision that is created when the heart finds the object of its affection. It is an awakening from t
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Teach Capoeira?

"Capoeira que é bom não cai
Mas se um dia ele cai, cai bem"
~exerpt from "Berimbau" by Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes

 So, it looks like I am doing it. I've been avoiding it for a long time and recently, coyly flirting with it. But it has happened...

 Some Context

I started Capoeira in 2009 and graduated in 2013. 4 years, I know, it is very quick. To my defense, I've done plenty of martial arts in the past which gave me a lot of body coordination and awareness. To Capoeira's defense, I was studying Capoeira Regional under two excellent teachers which made the learning process that much quicker.

Why Now?

Well, to be perfectly honest, I didn't actually want to teach. Rather, I wanted to train after a long hiatus. My Mestre(Master in Portuguese) closed our academy in 2013 shortly after the Formatura(graduation) of his seven senior students. Of the seven Formados, not one of us wanted to become a professor. You might be asking yourself: Why don't you just go train at another academy?First, I study Capoeira Regional. The old school kind that Mestre Bimba created. It is probably the least practiced form of Capoeira. I live in Los Angeles and the closest Regional would be in the Bay Area which is 7ish hours away. Second, I graduated. Of course, it doesn't mean that I have nothing left to learn but it does mean that part of my development could most benefit from teaching. It would force me to pay attention to the details and start looking at the art with much more scrutiny. I have nothing against other capoeira groups, I am simply Regional. For example, I really enjoy playing with Angoleiros and am genuinely interested in learning more about Capoeira Angola however, I was born, raised and formed in Regional. It is simply the approach I have to the art.

The path of the teacher

I'll be honest with you, I am nervous about this evolution in my life. To me, a teacher has a lot of responsibility. Individuals who may or may not know much about the art, will be putting their faith in me to effectively transfer my knowledge and understanding of Capoeira to them. It is a trust I do not take lightly. As I mentioned earlier, my Mestre closed our school so I must create my own group. I have to now find a way of drawing students in without commercializing and diluting the art. This also requires me to take a harder look at what it is and what it isn't and how to transmit this to a public that may not know anything about it or have some preconceived notions of it. 



 I started teaching Capoeira.
So far I have one permanent student. 
We'll see how it goes...

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