Capoeira is The Most Beautiful Martial Art You Will Ever See

Capoeira a traditional Brazilian martial art that incorporates self-defense, gymnastics, acrobatics, music, and culture. Capoeira is more than a martial art, it is a game of human chess with live music and energy. A game of capoeira involves two players, at time sparing and reacting to each other’s attacks by escaping and moving around their opponent to launch their own counter attacks as they attempt to catch their opponent off guard and place them on the ground. Every kick is meant to be a final blow, but with enough control to be stopped at any moment and demonstrate a player’s mastery of their own body. Contact is not the goal of the game, demonstrating your prowess and creating beautiful interactions is our goal.

Capoeira is not only a martial art, it looks beautiful. Between kicks we often use “floreios” or "beautiful movement” like cartwheels, back bends, ground movements, and even back flips to connect and transition between movements to create physical dialogue with our partner. However, you do not need to do amazing gymnastics movements to play capoeira, each player finds what works best for them and learns to express them self with what movements they do best.

Practitioners of capoeira never fight, they play. Though capoeira is home to some of the most powerful strikes of any martial art, if we broke our partners, we would have no one to play with. Capoeira is about so much more. A good capoeirista uses trickery, traps, and strategy because the mind is the greatest weapon

Capoeira is very social. Unlike other martial arts, different capoeira schools routinely visit each other for special events like belt graduations, rodas, and play capoeira together even if their styles are slightly or very different. Respect and interaction among different schools is a key principal in capoeira.

Our Teacher

Lagosta runs the Portland School and oversees the Salem and Hood River Schools.. He holds the rank of Instructor, has studied capoeira since 2012, and has ten years of experience in other martial arts. Beyond that, he is a K-8 school school Music Teacher with a Master’s Degree as well as studied and taught abroad in China. He has traveled the world playing capoeira and is known for his abilities as a teacher and as a musician. He is a regular capoeira guest teacher for kids and music at capoeira events. Lagosta is CPR and First Aid trained for kids and adults, as well as goes through yearly child safety and mandatory reporter trainings as a school teacher.

Our Teacher’s Teacher

Instructor Lagosta is a student of Mestre Mindinho (Master Mindhino). Mestre Mindinho has over thirty years of experience playing capoeira and holds the rank of Mestre, or Master, which is the highest rank in capoeira, like a 10th degree black belt. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, he now resides in Palm Springs where he teaches and travels extensively. He is a highly sought after teacher because of his energy, technique, and high level of mastery. He has been invited to teach in Mexico, France, China, Singapore, Netherlands, and Spain to name a few. His legacy continues to grow as his students now teach across the world in the USA, Mexico, New Zealand, and more.

Our Teacher’s Teacher’s Teacher

Mestre Paulinho Sabiá (center) is one of the three founding members of Grupo Capoeira Brasil (GCB). Prior to founding GCB, Mestre Paulinho Sabiá was part of Grupo Senzala, the first organized large capoeira group. He was a student of Mestre Camisa who studied with, among other people, Mestre Bimba (the creator of the first modern capoeira school) in Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. In 1987 Mestre Paulinho Sabiá along with Mestres Boneco and Paulão Ceará created their own school in Rio de Janeiro, finally naming it Grupo Capoeira Brasil in 1989. Capoeira Brasil is the second largest capoeira group in the world. Mestre Paulinho Sabiá is a lifelong martial artist and is known for running a very organized international group with schools across the globe, with hundreds of teachers, and thousands of students under his guidance.