vessel

my body is a vessel on this spiritual journey called life.

S and i are taking capoeira lessons from her boyfriend, himundo. capoeira is a ancient martial art/acrobatic dance developed by slaves to combat thier masters. two words: beautiful and amazing! it incorporates so much. from a viewer´s perspective there is the gravity defying turns, jumps, handstands, etc. but also thee dancing looks both ancient and like some modern breakdancing/popping. then there is teh singing, drumming and string instruments that accompany the two fighters in the circle. the actual hitting is only a part of this stuff.

from the perspective of a capoeirista (sp?), so much is mental. like being able to anticipate your apponent´s moves, making your moves all the while staying on beat. lol. physcially you have to be quick and agile. I would also have to say you have to be fearless. when you enter the circle you have to remove the heavy coat of apprehension.

for me this is the biggest challenge. i can remember taking ballet/tap/jazz as a young girl and always feeling awkward. lol. i have to "study" things in order to perform them well. sponteneity (sp?) is not mine. so if a whole bunch of instructions is being thrown out at me i get very discombobulated. total confusion.

himundo is a very patient and encouraging teacher. actually he is almost at teh level of master. wow. through portuguese and sign language he taught me a few basic moves. the most basic is a step called "jenga". i think that´s what it is called. this is a move you do throughout the match to maintain alertness and so forth. what´s cool is that in one school of thought, you actually can/should throw in some dance moves while you jenga. lol. you know like shaking your tail feather.

i also did some kicking. i cant believe himundo let me kick him!! i have a pretty kick. i point my toes. and land delicately. i totally have to work on my balance though. and i have to learn to let go of this fear of looking straight-up crazy. himondo told me "you just have to do it so you focus mentally." that´s right. that´s what intrigues me most about capoeira anyway. the whole mental aspect. i imagine that it is similar to chess or bid-wiss.

we´ll see.