Capoeira Video

[If you have loud speakers you might want to turn them down before starting this video because the sound quality isn't very good!]
Ok so in that last post I talked a bit about capoeira, but you really can't get a feel for what it's like unless you see it. I searched online to try to find some good videos of the group I'm in... but I have yet to find one that is of very good quality and that demonstrates what I really want to show you. But this one is the best I could find because it shows how the music is played and aspects of the etiquette of the game. The person playing the berimbau that the camera zooms in on in the beginning is Mestre Joao do Pulo. The whole group of people playing instruments is the bateria. Notice how the players stay crouched listening to the music for a good while before actually entering the roda... this is all part of the etiquette and the respect the players hold for the mestre, the music, and the roda itself. The video is pretty dark so I can't really point out all the people I know, but I think one of the first two people playing is a friend named Pinto, and then the boy who enters later on is Petroleo. When Petroleo comes in, he is "buying" a game. This means he's entering the roda and starting to play with someone already in motion. The same etiquette rules apply when you're buying a game as when you're entering to begin the game; you have to get permission from the mestre and you have to get the attention of the person you are playing against. Both of these modes of entry confuse me to death and are some of the main reasons I'm extremely reluctant to enter the roda so far. I've gone in quite a few times already, but I look silly and timid trying to enter when I really don't know what I'm supposed to do. But all of capoeira is a learning experience and trial and error are really the only way to advance the learning :)