Tips from Capoeira Masters

When you stand in the presence of great teachers or masters, you know you are going to learn something. Not only are you going to learn something profound about martial arts, but about life. This past weekend I spent a great amount of time with my Capoeira teacher Mestre Sucuri and Professor Takeshi Ichikawa (Linguica). Here are some amazing nuggets of knowledge and wisdom that I added to my life:

GOOSE BUMPS

One of the most profound statements I have ever heard about Capoeira came from Professor Takeshi Ichikawa. He is considered the best berimbau player in Japan, and I got to spend a large amount of time working on my berimbau abilities alongside of him. However, what he said truly opened my eyes.

He said, "When you play berimbau you everyone should  have goosebumps."

He spoke about how Capoeira is unique in the fact that most martial arts teach you to disregard your emotions, but Capoeira embraces emotions.

CHESS GAME

Mestre Sucuri says to me that, "Martial arts is just like a chess game, you can't go straight for the check mate, the check mate comes through careful movements back and forth until some yells BOOM CHECKMATE. The reason so many people "lose" is because they try to force it. Let th game develop and like Professor Linguica added, you will see the many opportunities that people pass up all the time.

I thought this was profound for many reasons, but the main reason was that as emotional beings we tend to miss the point that the other person in the Capoeira roda, or life, is trying to control the outcome as much as we are, and can manipulate our emotions until we come charging in and make a mistake. Realizing that it is a chess game and becoming a master at it is the key to Capoeira, martial arts and life.

TATEMAE, THE MASKS WE WEAR

Professor Takeshi also spoke about how each Capoeira game is different and how we all wear masks. Everytime we go into the roda with even the same person, it is different. Maybe today you are sad, or you are angry, or I can tell you are out to get me.I have to be able to FEEL this. Or I can see how hard you are playing everyone and while I am waiting to jump in I have formulated a plan on how to play you, because you have revealed your state of mind and emotion.

He went on to share that as we approach life or the roda we come with masks on to try and hide our true feelings, our bad or good day, and even our intentions. However, the masterful player is going to get beyond those masks, with a swift kick to the stomach, or dominating the game to the point of you frustration, or even calming the game with a chamada. This really hit home because he is Japanese, and Japanese people are well know for their Tatamae, the ability to conceal ones emotions in a public setting at will.

These are only a few of the lessons I learned in an incredible weekend with Mestre Sucuri and Professor Linquica. I am always looking forward to spending more time training with them and the Capoeira Zoador family in Tokyo.