| you want to do what?! 04.20.02 |
| It's about time that I stop comparing Omulu Capoeira with the Brazilian Arts Center's capoeira classes here in Sac, but it's hard not to. There are sooo many differences, from the skills training to the lifestyle. I adjust fairly quickly and have been able to adjust even my style of playing to comply with the rules of the class. You want me to turn my foot slightly when I ginga? Sure, what the heck. I will humor you. But one of the hardest things to adjust to is the difference in lifestyle. The school performed at the Earth Day Festival today and I carpooled with three other students. Two of them were probably in their 30s and one was probably a few years younger than I. We get into the car and a few blocks later, the young guy is pulling out a glass pipe, asking if we mind that he smokes some weed. The driver suggests waiting till we get out of the car and I'm all for the idea too. He asks if we're smokers. I say no and the other two say they are occasional smokers. I am completely shocked. Not because they're potheads, because let's face it, probably 3 out of 4 people that we know have either tried it and/or smoke regularly. (If you're wondering, I'm the 1 out of the 4 that has never tried it and don't plan to.) I really don't care if someone smokes as long as the smoke doesn't get to me. It's their business and everyone has their thing. But these are capoeiristas, and we're about to perform! Mental alarms are going off in my head--this isn't how it should be!! But I'm coming from Omulu Capoeira where things are completely different. On your first visit to Omulu, you stand in the middle of the roda and Preguica will ask you if you smoke, drink, do drugs, etc. If he's in his funny mood, he will name pretty much every vice there is and every drug there is, and the poor first-timer subjects him/herself to humiliation. And every once in awhile, there will be some smart aleck who boastfully lists all the drugs he's tried, to which Mestre launches into his drug-free speech. He doesn't tell anyone straight out "DON'T do drugs," but he talks about the dangers of drug use or drinking too much. Despite this fatherly lecture, many people who have stuck with Omulu have changed their lives around, omitting drug and alcohol use. It's amazing. Mestre likes to take in people who have problems...maybe it's an ego thing, but the more messed up you are, the better. He likes to be able to take credit for improving your life. If you look at the upper belts, you see how clean their lifestyles are. They don't drink and they certainly don't do drugs. Even the beginners who are really serious about it cut those vices out of their lives. The reason is because our training is so intense that you can't afford to go out drinking the night before class. You can't even pig out on greasy food without feeling it sometime that week in class. Everything you do outside of class effects how your body responds when Mestre works us like crazy in the 3-hour class. We're doing every exercise imaginable, doing more reps than advisable, and all this without any breaks. If you don't take care of your body outside of class, you will NOT be able to handle the class. And those who are serious about training learn this really quick and change their habits to be able to tough out the classes. Being around other people who were so conscious about stuff like this also motivates you to take better care of your physical health. You want to eat better, you want to run outside of class, you want to get in shape so that you can fair better in the class. THAT is why it surprised me when that guy pulled out the pipe. When we got to the site, he and a bunch of other classmates hiked off somewhere, probably to smoke, and that really disturbed me. Even prior to this event, the classmates often talk about drinking at their social gatherings or drinking with the Berkeley students after they have a capoeira class. But it goes along with how the school is run. They are very laidback about things, and although capoeira is a big part of their lives, it is not their LIFE. And it is not the professor's life either, so he does not ask the same of the students. When I was with Omulu, I complained about how capoeira was Preguica's life and how he demanded so much of us. But now that I'm here, I appreciate that so much more. I don't know if I'd go back to everything that comes with being in Omulu, but I certainly prefer the stricter environment of it. To add to that, everyone is always flirting with one another. The guys there are cute and know it, always trying to be charming, hugging and giving little kisses to the girls. The girls love the attention and try to be cute to the guys, sitting on their laps, hugging them. Mestre would have a heart attack if he saw it. And then there's me. I admit, I'm admiring the guys from afar, but what I really want is for everyone to just focus on capoeira and take things seriously. It's interesting when I relay all this to Q. because she remembers our chats from before, while driving to class. We'd complain about how Mestre is too strict, how the class is too serious, how people aren't friendly. And here I am, in a school with a laidback teacher, a class where people laugh and have fun, where the people are friendly to you...and I'm still complaining. I guess you never win and like they say, the grass is always greener on the other side, and sometimes, like this one, you just can't go back. |
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