Mestre Celso

ACER Capoeira Mundo in South London

The Associacao de Capoeira –  Engenho da Rainha

(The Association of Capoeira Engenho da Rainha) was founded by Mestre Celso in the 1970′s . Now 40 years later his son Contra Mestre Bicudo continues his father’s tradition of authentic Capoeira which is continiously evolving and developing in both the complexity of its discipline and the simplicity of its philosophy.

To begin with here’s a brief explanation of what Capoeira is:

Capoeira is a Brazilian Martial art with its roots firmly in Africa and the African Diaspora. It was developed by slaves over the last 400 years and passed down from teacher to student often in secret. In the 1960′s  Capoeira Masters such as Mestre Bimba , , Mestre Artur Emidio , our own Mestre Celso and many others refined and developed the art into a solid fighting form often referred to as Capoeira Regional . Other Mestres (Masters) Such as Mestre Pastinha concentrated on keeping capoeira true to its African roots and preserving the Capoeira culture. This form of Capoeira is sometimes referred to as Capoeira Angola.

Origins of the Name:

The word Capoeira is lost in myth , legend and history but some possible explanation are:

• It’s a Native American Indian word meaning circle or clearing in the forest.
• It’s named after a Capoeira bird which uses feints and mock attacks
• It’s named after a form of grass which sways in the wind
• It’s named after baskets which were used to sell fish and often sold by people playing the berimbau (one stringed musical instrument)

Capoeira is played like a game of chess. It’s full contact but rarely makes contact, this is the enigma of Capoeira . Is your opponent setting you up to attack you or just playing with you?

Capoeira ,  like many martial arts such as Wushu and Thai Boxing, is  played to music,  the following instruments are used:

• Berimbau – one stringed percussion instrument which comes in three forms Viola , Medio and Gunga (high pitched to bass sound)
• Pandeiro – Skinned Tambourine
• Atabaque – African – Asian skinned drum played from Africa to Polynesia
• Agogo – Cowbells sometime made of wood but usually metal

Other Instruments can be used and some groups use the following to a lesser extent

• Caixa – double headed snare drum
• Reco-Reco – A scraper which produces a rasping sound
• Djembe African / Arabian Drum
• Shekere – An African Shaker
• Dhol – Turkish / Indian Drum

some groups will even use instruments such as guitars or basically anything which increases the energy of the game

Capoeira is played like a game of chess in a circle known as a roda

During its development Capoeira has incorporated and influenced many other martial arts and disciplines. Many elements have been adopted then adapted into the unique Capoeira style. In the formative years of Capoeira , Mestres (Masters) were like hungry kids feeding from every source and developing and refining this beautiful art.

Some possible influences on Capoeira are as follows

• Tae Kwon do – Some extreme kicks have similar movements to Capoeira such as Armada Dupla (see glossary)
• Wu Shu – Mariposa for example is a movement adapted from Wushu
• Jiu Jitsu – Capoeira take downs have many similar elements to Jiu Jitsu
• Kickboxing – Once again shares many kicks and strikes with Capoeira
• Bboying (Breakdance) – Capoeiristas have undeniably incorporated movements such as halos and swipes
• Yoga – Many flexibilidade movements are adopted from Yoga
• Gymnastics – Extreme acrobacia and particularly movements such as the manna from gymnnastics are part of Capoeira
• Acrobatics – A myriad of acrobatic movements are part of Capoeira
• Savate – Early French sailors allegedly brought French kick boxing to Brazil which was then incorporated into illegal Capoeira games played on the docks
• Ballet – Mestre Celso always insists that Capoeiristas move with the grace of a ballet dancer
• Wrestling – wrestling take-downs are frequently a part of Capoeira games
• Karate – Solid Karate kicks were influential particularly in the art Mestre Bimba developed

In the same way,  Capoeira has influence many Martial arts and practices

• Bboying (Breakdance) - Although Capoeira developed parallel to breaking’s inception in the 1970′s,  by the late 80′s there had been a lot of cross fertilisation. However its not true that Bboying came from Capoeira , Bboying developed from James brown , Gymnastics and Kung Fu Movies however,  what is undeniable is that modern bboying has lots of elements of Capoeira.
• Karate / Kung Fu / Tae Kwon do – Due to Capoeira’s flamboyant style and massive appeal the principle martial arts have had to adapt and become more dynamic in appearance to compete with Capoeira. All martial arts serve a purpose and no martial art is more effective than another . Many Capoeira movements such as meia lua are now part of other martial arts given different names such as whipping the dragons tail. That being said however, the human body is limited and someone somewhere will have thought of something similar at any given point in history. What defines Capoeira is its style and its implementation, this is unique to Capoeira and undeniably vibrant and exciting.
• Parkour  / Extreme Kicks – Many Capoeira movements can be seen in these disciplines.
• Jiu Jitsu - Undeniably influenced by Capoeira and the Gracie families roots helping to create the practically unbeatable Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

ACER CAPOEIRAMUNDO

Literally translates to ACER Capoeira world. It is the continuation of the philosophy of the Association of  Capoeira Engenho da Rainha .

Engenho da Rainha – roughly means the Queens Farm and is named after a particular slave farm in Brazil. The organisation was founded by our beloved Mestre Celso Carvalho Nascimento. Mestre Celso is one of the oldest active Capoeira teachers and recently celebrated his 70th birthday and over 50 years teaching Capoeira. He was directly taught by the legendary Mestre Artur Emidio and received the Cordel Branco (white Cord) from him . He is one of the few people who hold this honour

ACER CapoeiraMundo style is in the tradition of Mestre Celso who states that Capoeira is evolution Capoeira is improvisation. Our style lives in the area between Capoeira Regional and Capoeira Angola. As a result of this dynamic philosophy  ACM has a solid grounding in the basics and structure of Engenho de Rainha whilst at the same time we teach students to develop and create and become well rounded Capoeiristas. The principle requirement for our style of Capoeira is love for what you are doing. That’s the philosophy of our founder who dedicated his  life the that of austerity and Capoeira.

Now this dedication is passed on to you our beloved students and prospective Capoeiristas

please see our teachers section for more info on teachers and also our glossary of movements and terms…