Kids Class

The kids capoeira class started as a capoeira summer school for children during the summer holidays in 2005.  Initially setup by Bailarina and Onça Pintada in St Francis Church Hall (photos below), the class now runs at the Oxford Brookes Univeristy's Centre for Sport.  A core of about nine kids who train regularly participated in Batizado V (Abolição's fifth grading event) and all received their first corda (belt).

The kids class encourages the children to respect themselves and each other as they both learn and play capoeira.  By learning and practising the basic movements, they interact with each other and learn self control.  We help the children to focus on the rhythm of the berimbau (one-stringed instrument leading the game) and to enjoy moving in time to it, thereby improving their coordination and musicality.

At the end of the class there is a roda (a game of capoeira) with two players in the middle of the circle.  We like to encourage the kids to experiment with the capoeira instruments - pandeiro (tambourine) and shortly the berimbau - and to join in with the singing in the roda.  In this way they also learn some Portuguese and the history of capoeira.

As the money raised from the kids class supports the two capoeira projects in Brazil and South Africa, we like to keep the children interested in the Abolição Trust projects and involve them in any fundraising events that they might like to participate in.