Berimbau & Batizado

Last week was a special week in my Capoeira training. I finally got my own berimbau, and more importantly, I got my first cordao in capoeira!

The berimbau is that bow looking thing on the left. It is the primary musical instrument in capoeira music. One of the capoeiristas in my group was leaving for another country, he did not want to bring his berimbau with him. Wanting one for so long, I jumped at the chance to purchase it from him. It is a simple instrument, with only 2 basic notes, made by tapping the metal string with the stick and using the stone as tension. The tempo in which the berimbau is played dictates the pace of the capoeira being played. No 'roda' (capoeira circle) is complete without a berimbau at the head.

The green cord on the right is my first belt in capoeira. Finally, my months of training paid off in a mini batizado. A batizado is a capoeira grading ceremony. To earn my belt, I had to 'fight' 3 capoeiristas of significantly higher grade than me, including my mestre (master) without any rest in between. Normally when we play capoeira during practices, it is fun and we have a chance to show the moves we had just learned. However, in a batizado, the people you fight try to catch you off-guard and are generally aggressive, so if you do not perform the correct escape or counter-attack, you will be hit and/or taken off balance. It was difficult, but I passed, and the reward was the green cord that I can now wear with my abada (capoeira uniform). I am not sure how many belts there are, but I do know that it takes many years to earn the highest belt, which is white in color.

I doubt that I will ever earn a white belt, but this green belt is a good start... hopefully after a year I will be ready for the next batizado, when I will be graded for my next belt (green/yellow combination)!

Life is Beautiful!