What is capoeira?

So, what’s this martial art taking the world by storm?

The basics: form a circle of 10 or more people, sing in Portuguese and clap to the instruments’ rhythm. Two people in the middle "play the game" by performing kicks, flips and other movements that flow in a type of call- and-response interaction.

This is capoeira (pronounced “ka-poo-AIR-ah”), a Brazilian art that fuses dance, sport and martial arts to produce a pantomime of fighting.

Capoeira developed in 19th century Brazil from the practices of African slaves who merged rural dance forms—influenced by religion, rhythms and social dances—and an urban-combat “challenge dancing” that used razor blades and sticks. Urban gangs comprised of freed or escaped slaves, people of mixed race and Portuguese sailors embraced the art.