Martial arts, sports, and music or how to enjoy rainy summer in Poland?

Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century. It is known by quick and complex moves, using mainly power kicks and quick leg sweeps, with some ground and aerial acrobatics, knee strikes, take-downs, elbow strikes, punches and headbutts.

Marcin Wiśniewski is 23 years old student of English philology at Koszalin University of Technology. He starts doing capoeira 2 years ago. I met Marcin and ask him to tell me more about this martial art.

- Why did you decide to do capoeira?

Actually, at that time I had nothing to do and I knew my girlfriend used to do capoeira in the past. She wanted to continue this, but said there is no group of capoeira in Koszalin, so it was my goal to find one and when I did I just joined and started having fun. :)

- Where do you organize your training?

Our group had its beginnings in 2008. We are part of one big UNICAR Polska family – the biggest capoeira group in Poland. We also are in cooperation with TKKF and working as its section. We were training four days per week but from this year we have only three trainings. In our group there are 40 people from the age of 10 to 60.

- What did you know before to start practice capoeira?

I did not know anything about capoeira before I started practicing it, and I believe if You want to start You do not have to know anything.

- What do you know now about it?

Now is different. I know how to behave in roda (fight at the end of every training), I know to fight, how to live, because it’s style of life.

- What did you learnt from capoeira?

I learnt that despite difficulties everyone can have fun on trainings and outside them. Capoeira taught me how to enjoy my free time.

- Do you participate in some capoiera competitions or demonstrations?

Yes, we try to take part in such demonstrations to, let’s say – lure, new people or to help develop capoeira in Poland.

- Do you have some summer camps?

Yes, for few years there is a camp in Mielno, a well-known tourist destination with sandy beaches on the Baltic sea coast, for the whole July. The objective is to teach and show capoeira to new people.

- Except capoeira, do you do other sports?

I used to train aikido in high school for 3 years, but when I started college I moved out of my home city and at that point my adventure with aikido ended for now.

By Valya Ivanova

Photos: Marcin Wiśniewski