Learn Capoeira in Brazil Essential Info
Live in and learn Capoeira in one of the coolest cities in the world, near Ipanema beach! Capoeira is a combination of dance and martial arts is a highly energetic fitness holiday experience!
With this programme not only will you be able to study Capoeira in Brazil, and help out with a youth education project but you will also be immersed in Brazilian afro culture.
During your stay you will have the opportunity to take a tour a Favela (slum) and meet the with the inhabitants with our Xtreme gap year rep and you also have the option to fly in a hang glider through Rio. On your down time, you can soak up the city on world famous beaches, experience the incredible nightlife and fantastic and great value restaurants.
The Capoeira organization CorpoMovimento was founded and is coordinated by Contramestre Sidney Tartaruga who has been training and teaching Capoeira for decades, developing a very effective methodology appropriate for children and adults alike.
Apart from getting into shape, giving you a feeling for your own body, and making you more flexible, Capoeira also trains your musical ear and you will learn some of the songs and play the typical instruments.
Capoeira
Capoeira was developed by the African slaves in Brazil as their fight for liberation and preservation of their cultural heritage. It was illegal in Brazil until the 1930's.The ritual game begins with two players squatting in a circle, or roda, of spectators. The players rest at the feet of a single-stringed instrument, or berimbau, and one player sings a commencement song. The goal of the game, or jogo, is to catch the opponent off-guard using guile, technique and gymnastics.
Players can fake each other out using rapid kicks, cartwheels, handstands, leg sweeps, flips, jabs, dodges, and turns.
The base movement, and the one most often used by beginners, is a side-to-side motion in a semi-crouched stance called ginga. Unlike most martial arts, strikes are admired most when there is no physical contact. A player gains the most applause when the other player has been skillfully baited into a vulnerable, off-balance position, but has not actually fallen or been hit. Although there is no point system, and no official winners or losers, players can be disqualified for falling into a seated position or, in some forms of Capoeira, using their hands to strike.
Training
The first training session you do serves as an assessment to set up a personal training plan.
You will have one-to-one classes in the mornings and group classes in the evenings, five days a week, from Monday to Friday. Class duration is 2 hours, this includes warm up, stretching, workout and drill in Capoeira movements, apart from rhythm and instrument studies. You also do sequences and two-by-two training. Also part of the Capoeira training and belonging to the same African cultural heritage are Maculelê, an African stockfight and dance, and Samba de Roda, the archetype samba that was brought to Rio de Janeiro from Bahia.
Apart from the scheduled lessons more classes can be booked individually, for example on the weekends, for those who are looking for total immersion and don’t want to get side tracked by other extreme sport activities, parties and social life, beach life, and culture.
Optionals
Outdoor activities
- Surfing: take surf classes at Arpoador beach, or just rent a surfboard if you already are a good surfer. Take the surfbus on the weekends to get to Prainha, one hour from the south zone and one of the best surf spots in Rio.
- Hiking: different level hikes are available in the city from easy Tijuca Forest, the Pico da Tijuca, or the more demanding Pedra Bonita, Corcovado, or the quite challenging Pedra da Gavea. Duration varies greatly, be prepared for a whole day out for some destinations. There is also great trekking available within two hour from Rio. These trails take a whole day or even several days.
- Nature walks: easy walks are possible up the Fortress in Leme on the weekends, up the Catacumba sculpture park, or up the Urca hill.
- Running: If you seriously want to get into shape, do it like the Carioca and run along the beach early in the morning. You can take the beach promenade or try the soft sand. Copacabana beach is a stretch of 4km, Ipanema and Leblon 3.5km.
- Waterfalls: There are various waterfalls in the forest of Tijuca in the middle of Rio de Janeiro and they represent a fantastic alternative to the hot beaches in the heat of the mid-summer sun.
- Rock climbing: There are various climbing areas available within the city, Babilonia hill is a standard one, Sugar Loaf mountain is for the more experienced ones, you can climb the Corcovado, the Gavea Stone or go outside of Rio and climb in the Serra dos Orgãos or Itatiaia national parks.
- Abseiling: for those who rather go down than up, abseiling is a great way to experience heights.
- Cycling: cycling trips are a great option for half day excursions, for example around the lagoon or through the Aterro de Flamengo. The more hardened ones can do a whole day mountain bike tour on Paineiras street that goes along the hillside of Rio’s south zone that has great views and is particularly recommendable on weekends when the street is closed off for cars.
- Diving: diving trips can be arranged to the Cagarra Islands, a fish and bird sanctuary five kilometers off Ipanema beach. Also Arraial do Cabo Marine Reserve is a great place for diving. It is two hours by car from Rio de Janeiro and you will be picked up and brought back to the hostel.
- Kitesurfing: good winds, great beaches, the kitesurf spot in Rio is Barra da Tijuca. Outside of Rio de Janeiro you can do kitesurf in the lagoon of Araruama, in Cabo Frio, and Búzios.
- Hang gliding and paragliding: get the ultimate adrenaline rush jumping off Pedra Bonita and gliding or flying down to São Conrado beach. Don’t worry your tandem pilot will be with you so you’ll land safe on your feet again.
- Rafting: boost your adrenaline rafting down wild water rapids. This is a whole day trip and you will be picked up and brought back to the hostel.
Carioca Culture / revelry
Sightseeing:
- Do the classic sightseeing tour to the Sugar loaf and the Christ, experience the city centre with stops at the Maracanã, the Sambadrome and the Cathedral, or get to know different parts of the Tijuca Forest and the pittoresque borough of Santa Teresa. Tours of the historic centre on foot are also recommended.
- Samba city tour: this is the place where the big samba schools have their secret workshops. The tour shows you what is behind the biggest carnival parade in the world and you will gain thorough inside and be probably even more thrilled about carnival than before. The Samba City holds a special event on Thursday evenings that starts with a pagode (slow samba) concert and explodes into a mini carnival celebration ending with fireworks. This will provide you a spectacular outside season carnival feeling.
- Maracanã: watching a soccer game in Maracanã stadium, one of the biggest in the world, is a must if you have any liking for the ball game and even if you don’t. The Brazilian way of football cheering is passionate and will get everyone of his feet. Tickets can be organized including pick up and return to the hostel.
- Samba school rehearsals: in the second half of the year, samba schools start rehearsing and different events mark the countdown to carnival: selection of the samba song for the carnival, selection of the costumes, presentation of the master of ceremony, flag bearer and queen of the percussionists, etc. By December the rehearsals are boiling with participants and this is a great opportunity to hear some serious samba percussion and see some hot babes shaking their booties and showing off everything they have.
- Night out in Lapa: Your Rio de janeiro visit is not complete if you haven’t been at least once to Lapa, the centre of night life in Rio. Whether you just take part in the street party or go into one of the club houses that play samba or any other danceable rhythm, you will definetely get in touch with a lot of people, a lot of drinks, music and flirting.
- Feira de São Cristóvão dinner and night: The northeast market is in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro close to the Maracanã stadium. It opens its doors on Friday evening and goes non-stop until Sunday midnight. There, you will find typical products from the Northeast of Brazil, you can eat typical foods and, above all, you will hear lots and lots of Forró, a rhythm from the northeast and second most popular in Brazil after the Samba. You will be able to see lots of couples dancing Forró and if you have a little talent for picking up dance moves, you might just be dancing with various partners, or the same, the whole night long.
- Samba classes: Dancing classes can be arranged individually with a teacher from the local dancing school. There are also group classes for couple dance.
- Percussion classes: Samba percussion workshops happen every Tuesday and Thursday from 8 to 10pm in the local Samba school.
Full backup and support during placement
You will be properly introduced into the Rio life style with a full briefing from the locally based Xtreme Gap representative who will also be on hand to offer any advice needed when on placement.
English is not widely spoken in Brazil but this will not hold you back. We will back you up every step of the way. Our locally based English speaking Xtreme Gap Rep will be there to collect you from the airport, show you round Rio and the Favelas, tell you the in's and outs of the city.
We will take you out on your first night, introduce you to the training academy and make sure your programme runs smoothly. If you have any questions you can have peace of mind that someone will be there, happy to help.
Accommodation
There are 2 accommodation options:
Hostel:
The Xtreme Gap hostel is located walking distance between Ipanema and Copacobana beach. A really cool place to hang out in between exploring the marvelous city and busting some Capoeria moves! Accommodation is on a shared basis.
The hostel is very secure and low profile with great amenities. It comes complete with Living room, TV room, Veranda, Spring garden, Barbecue corner, Snooker bar. When you are done with the gorgeous beaches and incredible shopping on your doorstep there are comfortable lounges with Cable TV, Internet. Also a Kitchen with fridge and microwave available. Breakfast included in the price.
Getting There
Fly in to Rio De Janeiro where you will be met at the airport by our rep and transfered to your accommodation. If you would like assistance with your flights, we can assist with sourcing the best value flight options, just indicate on your booking form.
When to Go
All though Brazil is a year round destination the seasons are reversed from the UK. The hottest months are between December and March, with temperatures way above 30 degrees (Celsius) in the day and hot nights. The rest of the year is cooler. Temperatures regularly rise to near 30 degrees (at midday) but the nights cool off. Rainy season is officially from December till March, but recently the big rains occurred rather in April and May. June, July and August are the so-called winter months, often dry and sunny during the day. September and October do not have tropical rains but can have periods of grey skies and drizzle.
The Carnival is particularly popular (usually in February) but already from the end of December onwards, Rio is set for party, holiday, and carnival preparation with samba rehearsals and concerts towards the end of the week and on weekends.
Why Xtreme Gap?
This programme is exclusive to Xtreme Gap. We have a locally based multilingual (English, Portuguese and German) Xtreme representative to look after you and ensure your experience is hassle free.
Price and Dates- 2 weeks € 799
- 4 weeks € 1299
- 6 weeks € 1799
- 8 weeks € 2299
Programmes start on the first Monday of the month, however there is some degree of flexibility.
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