Very simple things, all of them originated in Africa, and are made of sticks, strings, plants… So, we have Berimbau, which is the main one, we have Pandeiro which is a tambourine, we have a drum – Atabaque, there is Reco-Reco, which is like a wooden tube, and you use a wooden stick to make a sound, and there is Agogo…it looks like a cow bell, and you have two of them and you play them by hitting with a stick. Alongside the movements, the art is accompanied by five unique instruments. In Kasia and Grzes’ classes, children get the opportunity to ‘play’ Capoeira with others, practicing the movements and, as Kasia puts it, show off a little bit to their friends, without using contact. It actually is very unique… it’s not a traditional martial art, it very much looks like a dance, so you disguise the moves, in a very fluid, dance like movement.
Disguised, because it was a way for those enslaved to keep fit and practice defence and fighting techniques, which were prohibited by enslavers. Capoeira is seen as a combination of several traditional African dances, martial arts, and fighting techniques, adapted to be disguised as folk dance. Although its true origin is still debated by historians, Capoeira is most commonly believed to have originated from enslaved Africans on plantations across Brazil. We spoke to Kasia, to find out more about the practice of Capoeira and Djembe drumming today and how it has inspired her social enterprise! What is Capoeira?įor those unfamiliar with it, Capoeira is a dance-like martial-art. Co-founded by Kasia Wypiorczyk and her husband Grzes, the enterprise focuses on the practice of Capoeira and Djembe drumming to offer young people an alternative way of staying active. Axé Boom Boom is a social enterprise based in Edinburgh, that aims to tackle child inactivity in Scotland.