It’s capoeira between us. Conversations with capoeiristas. Part 1

Zumbi: This big group existed for one year. Many people already knew about me and my club but some of them couldn’t participate because they were affiliated with the competitors of my employer.

That was one of the reasons why I decided to form a real group and to start giving paid classes in a dance studio. It happened in 2012. Believe it or not, but in that studio, I had just 6 people. I think most people just didn’t take it seriously and gave up capoeira because they had to pay for the classes.

Curiosa: How do Koreans see capoeira? Why do they choose capoeira?

Zumbi: Koreans are a very busy nation where the people are highly competitive in studies and in the work place. They are always busy with crazy hours at work or with their families. Korean people have many sports to choose from, but they don’t really need a hobby. Some find their passion and follow it. But majority just try things out and drop them for things of a higher priority such as work or family.

So, for me, it was a time to learn this bitter truth, but I also had mainly foreign students who naturally wanted to have a hobby and a community to socialize with. And yes, they were ready to pay for this. So, I was back to over fifty students again.

I worked hard to attract people at that time. I made many street rodas and distributed some flyers. And from a small number of foreign students, my group grew to fifty-five people, half of whom were Koreans. Those were the best years for the group: I held 10 events with many masters including Chicote, Acordeon, Tico[25 - Something small, a piece of something.], Cobra Mansa[26 - A peaceful cobra.], Kibe[27 - A kebbe, Levantine dish, bulgur cutlets popular in Brasil.] and many other. At that time, I had two students with yellow belts and one monitor in my group.

But, in around 2015, there was a major change when I had to leave often to see my sick father. I wanted to be quiet at that time and stopped going to the parties. The way I taught capoeira changed as well. I focused more on capoeira wellness rather than on fighting aspect. I introduced meditation sessions before the capoeira classes. They were optional and free. Students started to leave. I think only those who genuinely liked me and capoeira stayed with me.

In 2017, I made a decision to close the studio. It was a sad time.

I found a new passion though. This was my work with cryptocurrencies that I still have as my main occupation today.

But as for the students who remained in my group, we moved from place to place every 2—3 months.

Curiosa: Are there any the legal requirements for teaching capoeira in Korea? Did you need to provide any documents in order to give classes?

Zumbi: As for the legal requirements are concerned, I formed a legal company. To be a capoeira teacher in Korea, you don’t have to have special education.

Curiosa: What are the main competitors to capoeira in Korea?

Zumbi: I stopped thinking about competition between capoeira and other sports. You just have to inform people about capoeira and let them decide whether they want it in their lives.

Curiosa: You don’t have a master next to you anymore. How do you stay motivated and develop your capoeira?

Zumbi: I don’t really need anybody to motivate me. I am developing my capoeira through teaching.

Chicote put no limits on my creativity as long as the result of my teaching methods were good. However, when the master was around, it wasn’t easy. He saw and mentioned all the mistakes.

Nowadays, I am working with Mestre Xangô. Xangô comes to my events every year.

We haven’t set the date for this year yet because my students haven’t completed their curriculum yet.

Curiosa: Do you students have a curriculum?

Zumbi: Yes. I’m not just teaching capoeira – I am teaching life skills. If they can’t set a goal and commit to achieving it in capoeira, they won’t be able to do it in life either.

I require all my students to start giving classes with yellow belt. I only give them a goal, the way to achieve it, they choose themselves.

Curiosa: How do you see the future of capoeira in Korea? Are you planning to stay in Korea for the rest of your life?

Zumbi: I plan to stay in Korea for the foreseeable future as well as expand and grow my group again. I want to teach capoeira in the USA and Jamaica as well.

I received the professor’s belt in 2015 from Mestre Acordeon in Paris and I am completely satisfied with it. I don’t really want to get the next belt because of the responsibility that comes with it.

Curiosa: What place does capoeira take in your professional and personal life?

Zumbi: From 2000 to 2011, capoeira was my first priority. But, as of 2012, the first place has gone to meditation. My priority shows in my commitment.

My everyday schedule shows it in the best way: at 6am I start meditation, then at 7am I train capoeira, and then go to work. Relationships and other stuff come after. Capoeira is a big hot fire. And you need to know how to manage it. Capoeira enhances one’s life but one should be careful not to let capoeira become a burden.

Interesting facts

– Zumbi doesn’t teach kids. He says he is very much into the discipline and doesn’t have enough flexibility to have kids’ groups.

– He got his apelido[28 - Apelido is a nickname, a name in capoeira.] because he was “big, black and scary”.

– He has a Brazilian student. Yes, a Jamaican is teaching capoeira to a Brazilian guy in South Korea. (It made me smile).

China

Welcome to our second stop and the most difficult journey in my life.

China is not an easy country. There are too many people here, and this is not just statistics. Shanghai airport and railway station are overcrowded. Just to get into a taxi, I had to wait in line for 40 minutes. Roads, overpasses and bridges are multi-level and multi-lane. There are separate lanes and even tunnels for scooters and bicycles, because there are too many of them as well. The traffic is confusing, chaotic. Everyone runs and drives, and it seems that if you stop even for a second, you will be run over or trampled. Prices range from ridiculous to sky-high. And many foreigners believe that all products in China are counterfeit. Kinder and Nutella are not tasty here, for example.

There are too many McDonald’s and Starbucks cafes here for a country that has blocked almost all major American sites and apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. When I say they are blocked, I mean you literally can’t download or use them unless you have a good VPN and some luck! Imagine this. I was devastated because I couldn’t talk to my family for almost two months.

There are also many foreigners here. Everyone has to learn Chinese, because there is no other way to survive. The Chinese do not speak English in taxis, shops or cafes. Catching free Wi-Fi is almost impossible, without a local SIM card and VPN it will be difficult to use the usual Internet. All life, communication, payment for absolutely everything: food delivery, taxi and even government services are concentrated in the WeChat application. If you don’t have this app – consider that you do not exist in China either. Even homeless people here accept money on WeChat!

And what about capoeira? The history of capoeira in China began in Italy. Yes, in Italy. And I will have to learn that history when I go to Italy, because the person who brought capoeira to Shanghai, and then spread it to several more cities, returned to Italy years ago.

Nonetheless, I attended the local group of Capoeira Mandinga in Shanghai and was pleasantly surprised by the number of students there. There were about 20 of us. The teacher’s name is Nico or Instrutor[29 - Instrutor (a) is a capoeirista with a blue belt according to the CDO system.] Virtual, he is originally from France and was giving the classes in English. There were 2 more girls from other countries, the rest of the students were Chinese. The level of playing in the roda was very impressive – a good base was visible.

Notes from China

After the Saturday roda in Shanghai, I went to the city of Shenzhen located on the border with Hong Kong. This city is considered the capital of watchmaking in China. I found out about this little detail by translating an article about the manufacture of replica watches in China for my work – a funny coincidence. I don’t often work on texts that are so directly connected to my life.

So, I came to work as an English teacher in an early learning center – where there were no children yet – it did make my life a lot easier. I would create lessons and use a lot of ideas from capoeira classes, which I conducted, together with my teacher, Professor Biruta[30 - Biruta is a windsock or doll that is inflated with a strong stream of air from below.] in Rostov-on-Don. I chopped a bamboo branch with a kitchen knife, hanging from the second floor, repaired the printer (in Chinese, yeah), painted a photo corner for the Mid-Autumn Festival and tried to put my colleagues on the right path in terms of healthy eating (well, you can’t just eat fried, spicy and salty stuff every day, even if it’s vegetables). For some reason I showed 2-year-old children a presentation about Vietnam, although they don’t even understand what a country is. There, I also had to learn to read fairy tales in English beautifully and expressively while recording all of them on video.

The city was very green and hot. There was also high humidity and tropical showers, Tesla cars passed every 5—10 minutes. Every now and then I met foreigners. Unlike South Korea, where all foreigners live mainly in Seoul, in China they can be found almost everywhere.

The guys from Shanghai gave me some contacts of capoeiristas in Shenzhen. It was already great luck that capoeira existed there.

The first person I wrote to was a guy named Matthew from France, who previously worked with the Capoeira Ginga Nago group, and at the time of my stay in Shenzhen – in the Capoeira Brasil group under the direction of Mestre Chumbinho. The master was originally from Australia and at that time lived in Hong Kong. And yes, every Sunday he came to another city, and actually to another country, to give a capoeira class.

In my first week in China, three things happened:

– I found two more capoeiristas: a guy from Portugal from the Rabo de Arraia group named Tiago and his girlfriend from Belgium from the Beijing branch of the Mandinga group named Yuni. Tiago taught free classes in the university lobby twice a week. I met them on the Friday.

– I was invited to a Brazilian party on Saturday night and was added to the city capoeira chat where this very party was discussed. The master asked who was going there, and I was the first to answer. Furthermore, the first six people who volunteered to perform could receive tickets to the buffet. Brazilian food. Any. Even churrasco. For free. I was ready, but nobody had known me yet, so I was not included in the list.

– On Sunday, I went to train with Mestre Chumbinho. Capoeira Brasil are classic representatives of the Regional[31 - Regional or capoeira-regional is one of the main styles of capoeira.] style. Well, there were a lot of kicks, trips and a kind of “the last survivor” – who will last the longest in the game. I was participating in the last round with one guy, but when the game became completely monotonous and ugly, and my head was throbbing and was about to explode from overheating, I gave up.

And now, everything in order.