ALBERT

Capoeira means a lot to me and in a short space of training I have grown to love it. I first heard of capoeira from a friend who trains down in Brighton. I was interested in the moves as I had done gymnastics intensively as a child and could get with some of the acrobatic moves quickly. What originally led me down this path was seeing the break dancing back in the eighties when I was no older than 4 years old. So for sure capoeira had me before I ever knew it. My next experience wasn't till 2 years later when I visited Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. It was a short visit no time to get on any real training anyway I had other interests at the time. But I dipped into the culture and as an observer I realised that music, comradeship and the roda (circle) were all a part of capoeira. It amazed me to see grown folks singing together in a way that reminded me of my experiences in the village in Nigeria. My lasting memory came when I saw a group of capoeirists standing together in the main square of Pelhourinho and out of nowhere one hench brother kicked one heel back so fast he did a straight front somersault and came back to standing like nothing happened! Even with my knowledge of gymnastics that was something I couldn't fully overstand. What sort of level had this guy reached and all from capoeira?! I have tried karate before and as a child became bored with the rigidness very quickly. But it is in my blood as an Ishan warrior that I should fight well and so it came to be that I was drawn to the ever-flowing African-Brazilian martial art and culture of capoeira.

I did my first session one time at Tooting Common in the sunshine with some friends. I enjoyed the workout and flinging some moves on the grass but it did tear my foot bottoms to shreds. A few months later I met this photographer who told me to watch his trailer for 'let the circle be unbroken' on youtube and I finally got it. I now had enough pieces of the puzzle in my head to know this was me. I decided the gym wasn't doing it for me; I needed something to grow with. Capoeira has given me that and much more. The training is tough and pushes me to a new level of fitness.

Now I train at every opportunity with a group that's tight like family and Sabu who can be militant like you couldn't really imagine. Agora eu falo un puco de Portuguese and I'm slowly getting to know my berimbau which I'm determined to tame.

I love going to the park to bus a couple moves. It's a good opportunity to connect bare foot with the earth which is something I know is good but never really did much before. I aim to be creative, continually bring new things to my game and just keep it moving remembering to breathe well. When I get in the roda I try to relax and be inspired to express myself. The singing and music of the roda holds our groups collective energies within and builds me as I play capoeira. Capoeira has bought me so much blessings and improvement: strength, flexibility, balance, good friends, culture and tough foot! The future holds new challenges as I know I've got a long journey ahead with caps. I hope to share capoeira culture with as many as I can and to play a part in passing on the knowledge to the youth. I listen to the tunes in my car, check out different capoeira styles on video and sometimes find myself doing a jenga down the road it's addictive like that! But to take it back to its origin the roots of capoeira are resistance against slavery and oppression and this must surely therefore have the deepest relevance to any of us who are awake today. So it is good, good, good! The inspiration is with me now to travel and meet other capoeirists, go back to its source and learn more secrets from the mestre.