| capoeira omulu style 08.28.02 |
| Contrary to my last entry, I started training with another school, much, much better than the one I described before. I found this one on the Internet, and it's held in a dance studio, but they have their own room just for capoeira. When I first visited, I didn't expect to train, but when the teacher found out I had experience, he tossed me an extra pair of pants and told me to join in. A little hesitant at first, but in the end, it was worth it. I have not trained like that for awhile, so I ended up with some blood blisters...and this sounds weird, but it was kind of cool because it showed that I was back in the loop and my feet were on the way to becoming rough and tough again. Out of all the other classes I have seen here and in the States, this one is most like Omulu and Mestre Pregui�a. The teacher, for one, yells like we're in boot camp, just like Mestre P. The difference is that he tops off his ranting with a wink and a quick smirk to show you that he is just goofing off. As people stretch, he sits on top of them, pushing their stretching abilities to the max, and goes around encouraging people to try harder. The training is definitely not as intense as Omulu...like I could eat 30 minutes before and not expect to feel like I'm going to barf it all up during the warm-up. There is also less focus on fine-tuning technique, but then again, I have only been to two classes and we did the same thing in each one. This class even has a "Marlene," who was the moody one of Omulu...she was also one of the top students and definitely the best girl. She and her brother are poster children for capoeira, with their enviable abs, tone muscles, and graceful, yet swift, moves. However, those gifts come with an attitude that people tend to avoid, and from what I have seen, this "Marlene" has that too. They both even wear colored scrunchies to match their cords. Crazy. The thing that I missed the most about this class that made it so different from Omulu was that there was no "Queencie." I hadn't even been in touch with her for the longest time and did not have her new info since her relocation to the East Coast. After the class, I felt sad that I was not in touch with her and really missed her company. Ironically, she decided to call me at the office yesterday!! I was incredibly happy to hear from her and we exchanged info so that we could be, once again, in touch. I know that no matter how much I love and enjoy capoeira, there is nothing that makes it better than when you are accompanied by a good friend that makes it even MORE fun. When you get to know someone in that environment, you already have something to base your friendship on. You can relate to one another's blood blisters, your muscle aches, your frustrations with being stuck in class so late listening to more rantings, the cool moves that you want to learn. And from there, you discover other things in common and your friendship broadens to include frequent trips to get tapioca drinks, hours of browsing at Borders, journal writing while sunbathing in the park or the beach, short day trips to secluded lakes. Unfortunately, we can't stay in that phase of life forever, no matter how enjoyable it sounds. But when the friendship is strong, it prevails and just moves on to the next phase...with or without the capoeira frustrations or the "Sex and the City" marathons...there will always be something more to look forward to in true friendship. |
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