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Capoareira Mestres Pastinha and Jorge Amado, 1961.

Source: grupocalunga.blogspot.co.uk
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Valdemar Santana holding Regional Capoeira Mestre Arthur Emidlo above his head with one hand in the early 1960s.

Santana was a champion in Gracie Jujitsu and Capoeira, studying with Helio Gracie in the former and Mestre Bimba in the later. Santana is famous for being one of the few men to defeat his former coach Helio Gracie who he beat twice in Vale Tudo (no holds barred) matches, both of which lasted more than three hours.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Image Source: ejmas.com
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Ronda Rousey beat her opponent Bethe Correia on her home turf in just 34 seconds at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro to retain the UFC women’s bantamweight championship. Ronda and her team decided to play brawler Correia at her own game and she went out aggressively from the start. The Brazilian made her mistake when she tried to clinch her opponent near the edge of the Octagon which failed and left her scrambling. Rousey had no hesitation and delivered the knockout blow winning her 12th straight ...
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“What I do playing, you don’t even do when you’re mad”

~ Mestre Pastinha ~

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This picture of Mitsuyo Maeda (1878 – 1941) was taken around 1910. Maeda was a Japanese judoka who is reported to have won around 2000 no holds barred fights and along with Antônio Soishiro Satake, he pioneered judo in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and other countries. So important was he to the development of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he is often referred to as the Father of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.
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Mestre Bimba meeting the then president of Brazil, Getulio Dorneles Vargas, who is reported to have said to him;
“Capoeira is the only sport which is truly Brazilian”.

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A fight between Masahiko Kimura, Judo master and Heloi Gracie, the Brazilian Jujutsu legend from 1951

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This clipping from a Brazilian newspaper (c.1930) pictures Mestre Bimba, inventor of the Regional style of capoeira.
It states; “It is not easy to fight a capoeira player….he uses kicks and head-butts against an aggressor”.
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Mestre Pastinha (left) with some of his students playing capoeira near the Pelourinho in 1963. This historical neighbourhood in  Salvador, Bahia, was named after the whipping post (Pelourinho means Pillory) situated in its central plaza, which was where African slaves once received punishment for infringements that would have included getting caught practicing fighting techniques.
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Mestre Bimba teaching a student how to do the most basic movement of capoeira, known as the ginga.
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Title:  San Salvador

Date:  1835

Artist:  Johann Moritz Rugendas

Infomation:  Illustration by German artist Johann Moritz Rugendas, inspired by his time on an expedition to Brazil.

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An old sketch of Mestre Besouro Manganga fighting against a group of Brazilian police.
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A rare photograph of legendary capoeira fighter Mestre Jose Antonio do Nascimento
(1842 - 1936), commonly known as Nascimento Grande (Great Birth).
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Title:  Negros Fighting

Date:  c1824

Artist:  Augustus Earle

Infomation:  This painting is an early rendition of an illegal capoeira fight in Rio de Janeiro.
It was painted by English born artist Augustus Earle during his three year spell in Brazil in the 1820s.

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Here, the great master is preparing to throw his opponent using body leverage.



Pastinha aims a kick at his opponent (he was around 74 years old when these pictures were taken).



This move is a counter attack from a defensive position
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An engraving featuring Manduca da Praia and a group of capoeira fighters.


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Arthur Bento dos Santos & Manduca da Praia, taken in the 1940s (?)

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Title: Capoeira Drawings
Artist: Kalixto Cordeiro
Date:  c.1906
Info:  A series of drawings that depict a couple of well-dressed Capoeira fighters in battle.
Note the use of the ‘navalha’ (barber’s razor) in the centre picture, a weapon synonymous
with the ‘o malandro’ (criminal/bad boy)
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Name:  Negroes Going to be Whipped
Artist:  Frederico Guilherme Briggs
Year:  c.1832
Info:  This print by the young Brazilian artist was one of a set that depicted common people. Here, one of the unfortunate men that are being lead off to be whipped is carrying a sign that says Capoeira.

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Capoeira Angola being performed in 1930s Brazil

The Roots of Capoeira
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Reknowned Mestre Joao Grande and Mestre Joao Pequeno playing capoeira on a dock.

The Roots of Capoeira
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Title: Capoeira or the Dance of War

Date: c1823

Artist: Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802 - 1858)

Capoeira Home
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Mestre Bimba performing the ginga in the early 1930s
(His opponent is Asclépios Ferrer)

Capoeira Articles
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