When in 2003, walking through a park in Riga, the then 15-year-old Roland Anderson accidentally met his peer from Israel, who was practicing capoeira in the park, he hardly imagined that today this acrobatic and danceable Brazilian martial art would become his own occupation and lifestyle. At that time, Rolands approached the guy, talked and received an invitation to join other capoeira enthusiasts that the young man he knew had started to train in Riga. Later, the coach went back to Israel, but Roland got to learn from other coaches from Brazil, became a capoeira instructor himself, and in 2006 founded a club together with Kārli Upīti Capoeira Latvia. Now the club’s branches operate in Riga (on the territory of VEF and in Ågenskaln), as well as in Jelgava and Tukum, and both children and adults enjoy capoeira in them. “Currently, we are already starting to hold competitions and forming a federation so that capoeira is also a recognized sport in Latvia,” Rolands reveals.
A fight hidden behind the dance
Although it is difficult to call capoeira a “pure sport”, visually it also resembles a fight, a dance and a game at the same time. What is more – it depends on the place where you are, on the situation and circumstances, says Rolands. For example, in Brazil, where the urban reality is a high crime rate, poor neighborhoods, gang wars, etc. etc., capoeira is still one of the aggressive survival skills and is used to fight. On the other hand, in Europe it is more a form of self-development. “But primarily it came about as a fight hidden behind a dance,” Roland says.
Capoeira originated about 300 years ago in the plantations of colonial Brazil, where slaves were brought from Africa. “At that time, it was a way for slaves to escape from reality for a while – from hard work 24/7 in a strange environment among strange people. Slaves were specially taken from different African tribes so that they could not talk to each other. Of course, they still had common cultural things, and they exchanged these experiences. Since no master wants his slaves to fight, the slaves disguised the training of martial arts strikes behind dance. Modern capoeirists, who have studied the origin of capoeira, have found ways of fighting in several African tribes, which could be the basis of capoeira,” says Roland. Capoeira itself is pure “Brazilian”, and it contains the same mixture of cultures from all over the world as, for example, in Brazilian cuisine.
Slaves who escaped from their owners built their own cities in the jungle, where capoeira began to develop as a tool of self-defense, of protecting their freedom. It featured knives and also more musical instruments. When Brazil was one of the last countries to abolish slavery, in the cities capoeira began to be associated with banditry, survival in various illegal transactions, and for a long time the capoeirista was synonymous with a criminal, a homeless person. The law stipulated that anyone practicing capoeira on the street could be shot or arrested as a dangerous element. There were no capoeira schools, but people continued to cultivate this skill in market squares and other public places, playing it in so-called capoeira circles.
The aforementioned law was abolished only around 1940, and two capoeira masters have great merit in it. Master Bimba In 1932, he started serving capoeira and created one of its two basic styles – Capoeira Regional with an emphasis on performance, show, performance and incorporating elements of other forms of fighting. On the other hand Master Pastinha founded an academy in 1941 and highlighted the tradition and historical aspect of capoeira, calling this style Capoeira Angola. Both managed to prove that capoeira is a whole culture and not just a fight. 60-70 capoeira groups, clubs began to form in the 1990s, curricula, belt system, structure were created. Today, there are many such groups and many Capoeira styles, types, rhythms, and songs to sing along with all over the world.
It will not be cemented
Today, the process of capoeira can be enjoyed by entering any of its circles or groups. However, capoeira trainings in many places are increasingly taking place according to a certain program, and children and women are also widely involved in them – this was not the case in the past, because capoeira was dangerous. Various projects are implemented around the world that help poor areas by practicing capoeira. Rolands explains – capoeira today is a global movement that changes all the time, adapts to what is happening around it. “There are no rules or prohibitions in Capoeira. There are traditions that every capoeirist and coach adheres to or not. How many attempts have there been to put capoeira in some structure – it cannot cover the whole community. As soon as strict rules are created, the freedom that is the essence of capoeira will disappear,” says Rolands and adds – that’s why capoeira can be practiced both as a sport, and this direction is currently developing, and as a free physical practice for your own pleasure. For Roland himself, capoeira helps him to live with society’s norms, to look at things differently. Capoeira is a bit of a parallel reality.
An integral part of the capoeira tradition is its musical side – in the capoeira circle, the participants play musical instruments and sing special songs about history, slavery, today, about capoeira itself, there are songs with which you can tell about yourself, joke, etc. This genre also continues to evolve, not cemented in the past. “There are trainers who try to cement something, but capoeira still takes off and moves on. And it’s charming!” Roland smiles.
The pseudonyms of the participants also belong to the capoeira culture. In the past, slaves were given new names that were easier for their masters to remember. When capoeira was an illegal street activity, none of its practitioners called themselves by their real name. Finally, a pseudonym is also like a nickname for a fighter or a soldier, a nickname that, for example, characterizes a capoeirista. Roland is Professor Shark or in translation from Portuguese – shark. There are not many other capoeiristas with this name in the world, and he is recognized by it in many places.
It is typical for capoeirists to travel a lot. “Take a bag and travel around the world for a couple of years. He lives in different groups, with other capoeirists, trains a bit somewhere, works, then leaves for the next country,” says Rolands. “I have done that myself. Excellent! Very good memories! I was 22 years old, I had not been in Latvia for three years. It was hard, but cool because you travel non-stop. A bag, a sleeping bag, and that’s it. Great experience. Traveling opens a person’s horizons, and this is very important. My thinking changed a lot. In 60 years, you could leave like that again.»
Trainers and trainees
There are not many capoeirists in Latvia – around 400. Rolands says that there were more before Covid-19, but he likes that the time of the pandemic has weeded out trainers who approached capoeira as a fashionable form of fitness. Those who are close to all its aspects are left. Training teachers is not easy. “You have to train for at least five years and also understand if you want to train others at all. You must understand capoeira culture, speak or at least know the basics of four languages. You also have to find a balance, how to balance your life, capoeira, development, earning a living, family. In addition, it is very important for any coach what he is like as a person,” Rolands enumerates and adds – currently a fairly good number of current and future instructors are beginning to stabilize in Latvia, some of them are Rolands’ own students.
The development is also pushed forward by the formation of the Latvian Capoeira Federation and the organization of competitions. In 2024, the club Capoeira Latvia organized the Latvian championship for the first time, while two Latvian capoeira masters (both are Roland’s students) participated in the European championship in Hungary for the first time and won prize-winning places. Rainer Ikvilds won the 2nd place in the middle weight category, while Ilya Kulik won the 3rd place in the heavy weight category. Both athletes have been practicing capoeira for more than 15 years. On a daily basis, Rainers is a capoeira coach for children in Tukum, Ilya in Jelgava.
Rolands is happy that the development of capoeira in Latvia is gaining momentum and a good methodology is also being developed for training children, who are the majority in capoeira clubs in Latvia. «The lesson should include acrobatics, music, physical training, learning of kicks, it should be interesting, developing, safe, so that there is success, but it should not be forced. It is important that sports victories are not the only goal and that others in the group can simply develop. The goal of “professional sport” is often a short distance run – you destroy your body and that’s it, says Roland. After all, you can do capoeira all your life, and there are masters in the world who do somersaults even at the age of 60+, move perfectly and feel good.
Roland believes that capoeira can develop children’s body and self-confidence, provide knowledge of languages, musical skills. Also to give an understanding that training is worth it for its own sake and for its own progress. On the other hand, capoeira is an opportunity for young people and adults to try something new, to train their ability to talk to people and lead classes, helping a coach or organizing camps, as well as to develop self-discipline and a sense of responsibility. Slowly, a deep involvement in the capoeira community develops, and club members often perform in public, which is an additional source of income. Capoeiristas often take part in the filming of various videos, many of them are also professional dancers or wrestlers.
Will it also be in the Olympics?
Rolands himself currently trains capoeira enthusiasts between the ages of three and 45-50 years old, but as the trainers get older, the age limit of the participants will probably also shift further. “I used to have a lot of classes, now I try to balance. I use the free time from classes to do and learn other things that interest me, such as 3D animation,” says Rolands, who once also worked as a sports teacher at a school. “Until I realized – too many children. But it was interesting. I enjoyed teaching the lessons, but felt restricted in everything else. So many useless reports…”
To improve his capoeira skills, Roland regularly goes to other countries to other trainers, to seminars, events. “Gain experience and then work with it. When you feel that you need some new knowledge, leave again. At the moment, I receive guests at my place more than I visit.»
Roland thinks the coolest thing about all this is the lifestyle of a capoeirist – sportsmanship, team and community, a parallel world where you can get positive energy. On the other hand, the feeling of difficulty is related to the feelings of any trainer – you get to know, make friends with a person, invest in him, but then he stops coming to classes, and the connection is broken. And there are many such people, because Roland has been training for 22 years. He describes capoeira as suitable for all ages and fitness levels, but he gives advice – talk to the coach before you start, because a lot depends on him. You need to understand if the trainer understands you and your body.
Will capoeira ever be an Olympic discipline? “I think so. There is breakdancing. And part of the best modern breakers are current or former capoeiristas,” says Roland and returns to what was said about capoeira and freedom: “For it to be a recognized sport, capoeira needs to be put in some kind of framework, which in turn excludes the elements of freedom. If it happens – very good! If not, that’s fine too. Capoeira has existed for 300 years, and to spoil it all because of an Olympic medal… I think that it will not go only to the bed of sports, even though the world is going towards it at the moment».
Source: www.diena.lv
