do capoeira for one month

I’ve completed my first month. Really, I did just a little over 3 weeks and then took a week off. I think I went 10-12 classes in 3 weeks. Unfortunately, the ligaments and tendons in my legs have been aching and I don’t want to over train myself into another injury. During the week off, I’ve been doing ice baths to help with the swelling and aching and hopefully I’ll be good to go again on Wednesday.

Capoeira is awesome. The work out is tremendous and the agility is off the charts. I have so much fun with the movements and I still can’t believe I’m getting compliments. Apparently I move very well for someone with less than a month of training. I hope I can keep up the pace of progress.

I will be continuing capoeira as part of my regular conditioning routine. With 4 classes a week to attend, I’m hoping to make 2 or 3 every week, barring breaks for healing. Maybe I’ll post some pictures or video of me making a fool of myself.

If there is a martial art you are interested in, and you have not tried it yet, get up now, find a class and try it. It will be one of your best and most rewarding decisions.

I’m two weeks into my first month of capoeira. I’ve missed 2 classes because I had something else going on, one for a good reason and one for a bad reason. I missed one class because there was no class on the 4th of July. That puts me at 5 classes in 2 weeks. I think I get a little extra credit because I’ve been practicing au normal (cartwheels, slow and controlled), bananeira (handstands, hold for long times, with wall for support for now), ginga (basic footwork) and cocorinha (squats, many at once, 50 – 100 at a time for now). I’m still holding off on push-ups in class because of my arm but at least I hold the starting push-up position while they do them and that isn’t exactly easy.

My cartwheels are already improving. I can slow them down a lot and I am gaining control over my body and legs as I finish them. Before too long, I hope to be able to move straight into a ginga the way everyone else does without losing a couple beats. Right now, the pause when I finish an au normal leaves me trying to catch up in the ginga.

I’m still trying to figure out how capoeira is going to affect my overall workout regimen. It is a strange mix of high cardio and strength. Also, as my body adapts to the new uses, I think the feel of a class will change. Already, I don’t feel quite so wiped out / winded during class. I sweat like crazy though. It is too bad classes aren’t outside on a lawn because I could water a lot of grass. Regardless, I’ve yet to see an out of shape capoeirista who wasn’t just starting out. This is a great start on that gymnast’s body I’ve always wanted.

The real trick for me will be keeping it up. Michele’s interest is already waning, if not completely gone. I have to learn to sustain my own interest and to force myself to go when lazy saps my strength and leaves me wanting to sleep in bed instead of going to humiliate myself in class. It would have been great if Michele wanted to do it with me but I’ve got to learn to take more responsibility for my life and my lifestyle.

I will try to make at least 2 classes a week for the rest of the first month. Maybe even 3 or 4 some weeks. That means going to the mixed level class tomorrow night so I have to go. There are no excuses.

Last night was my third class. It was my first “beginner” class. My first two classes were mixed with advanced student and beginning students intermingled. At my conditioning level, the beginner class was harder than the mixed class. This seems counter-intuitive but let me explain.

In the mixed class, when I feel overwhelmed, I stop and I don’t feel too bad. I think to myself, this is the hard stuff so it is ok for me to stop. This reduced mental block on stopping makes it easier for me to give up mentally, before I’m forced to give up physically.

In the beginner class, I feel much worse about stopping. I think to myself that I should be able to at least do it, even if not well. If I stop in this class, I feel I am letting myself down. This gives me the motivation to push through pain that would otherwise shut me down. Even when I do stop, I start again as soon as I feel I might be able to, sometimes only seconds after I give out.

In last night’s beginning class, my legs were totally destroyed. At least twice I collapsed on the floor because my leg gave out. Even when I collapsed, I was back up and moving, trying to keep up, in probably under 30 seconds. I pushed so hard to keep the pace. By the end, my ginga was horrible but I was determined to just keep moving. In the brief pauses, I tried to stay standing and when I stood I had to focus on keeping my lower body slightly tense to keep the blood from pooling in my legs and leaving me light headed. I swallowed bile and used mind over body when I thought I might puke. I had very little awareness of the rest of the class and my vision went partially black several times. The only exercise I was asked to do that I completely skipped was push-ups. Until I resolve my nerve issues in my left arm, push-ups are completely off limits. Sometime during class, I left a piece of myself on the floor. I ignored the pain in my feet through class and cleaning the open blister on my right foot wasn’t much fun when I got home.

Today is the eye in the storm. My muscles in my calves, front and back thighs, lower, mid and upper back, shoulders, abs and sides, and in between my ribs all feel weak and like something I can’t quite name, almost jittery or rubbery. My whole body is screaming that while I don’t hurt yet, just wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a long day but another class awaits and I won’t let my body conquer me. Capoeira will make me strong. Capoeira, make me strong!

I went to my first capoeira class tonight. It was tremendously challenging, far beyond my expectations. I spent most of the night sitting on the sidelines trying not to pass out. I also enjoyed it more than any other martial art I’ve ever studied. The culture and music associated with capoeira is motivating and the controlled acrobatic movements are so exciting. I might not be able to climb out of bed tomorrow morning but I can’t wait for my next class. In the mean time, I’m going to read a bit and try to get a handle on a smooth, balanced ginga (pronounced jinga). Oh, and I’ll probably try to learn to count to 10 in Brazillian Portuguese.