Editing Capoeira (section)

==As a game==
[[File:Capoeira Dance.jpg|thumb|Capoeiristas outside]]
In Bantu culture, the [[Nkumbi language|Nkhumbi]] term ''ochimama'' encapsulates the overlapping meanings of game, dance, and tradition. This overlap is also found in Afro-Brazilian folklore, where many similar forms of expression are called ''brincadeiras'' (games).<ref name="Assunção"/> Some scholars have interpreted capoeira as a way of concealing martial arts within dance movements. However, research from Angola suggests that the relationship between game, fight, and dance may be even deeper. These scholars propose that the ambivalence between these three elements is a fundamental aspect of the ancestral grammar shared by [[engolo]] and capoeira.<ref name="Assunção"/>

Playing capoeira is both a game and a method of practicing the application of capoeira movements in simulated combat. It can be played anywhere, but it's usually done in a ''roda''. During the game most capoeira moves are used, but capoeiristas usually avoid punches or elbow strikes unless it's a very aggressive game.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Crocitti |first1=John J. |last2=Vallance |first2=Monique M. |title=Brazil today: an encyclopedia of life in the republic |date=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-0-313-34672-9 |oclc=810633190}}</ref> The game does not focus on knocking down or defeating opponents, but rather on body dialogue and highlighting skills.

===Roda===
{{main|Roda (formation)}}
[[File:Roda de capoeira1.jpg|thumb|Capoeiristas in a ''roda'' ([[Porto Alegre]], Brazil)]]
The ''[[Roda (formation)|roda]]'' (pronounced {{IPA|pt|ˈʁodɐ|}}) is a circle formed by capoeiristas and capoeira musical instruments, where every participant sings the typical songs and claps their hands following the music. Two ''capoeiristas'' enter the ''roda'' and play the game according to the style required by the musical rhythm. The game finishes when one of the musicians holding a [[berimbau]] determines it, when one of the ''capoeiristas'' decides to leave or call the end of the game, or when another capoeirista interrupts the game to start playing, either with one of the current players or with another ''capoeirista''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=DOWNING|first=BEN|date=1996|title=Jôgo Bonito: A Brief Anatomy of Capoeira|journal=Southwest Review |volume=81|issue=4|pages=545–562|jstor=43471791|issn=0038-4712}}</ref>

In a ''roda'' every cultural aspect of capoeira is present, not only the martial side. Aerial acrobatics are common in a presentation ''roda'', while not seen as often in a more serious one. Takedowns, on the other hand, are common in a serious ''roda'' but rarely seen in presentations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=Capoeira Roda |url=https://www.lalaue.com/learn-capoeira/capoeira-roda/ |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=La Laue}}</ref>

===Batizado===
{{main|Batizado}}
The batizado (lit. baptism) is a ceremonial ''roda'' where new students will get recognized as capoeiristas and earn their first graduation. Also more experienced students may go up in rank, depending on their skills and capoeira culture.<ref name="Downing_1996">{{cite journal |last1=Downing |first1=Ben |date= Autumn 1996 |title=Jôgo Bonito: A Brief Anatomy of Capoeira |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43471791 |journal=Southwest Review |volume=81 |issue=4 |pages=546 |jstor=43471791 |access-date=2024-02-16}}</ref> In Mestre Bimba's Capoeira Regional, batizado was the first time a new student would play capoeira following the sound of the berimbau.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=Mestre Bimba Regional: Background, Style, History and Affiliations |url=https://www.lalaue.com/learn-capoeira/mestre-bimba/ |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=La Laue}}</ref>

Students enter the ''roda'' against a high-ranked capoeirista (such as a teacher or master) and normally the game ends with the student being taken down. In some cases the more experienced capoeirista can judge the takedown unnecessary. Following the batizado the new graduation, generally in the form of a cord, is given.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Delamont |first=Sara |last2=Stephens |first2=Neil |date=2021-09-01 |title=The belts are set out: The batizado as a symbolic welcome to capoeira culture |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14661381211035762 |journal=Ethnography |language=en |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=351–371 |doi=10.1177/14661381211035762 |issn=1466-1381}}</ref>

Traditionally, the batizado is the moment when the new practitioner gets or formalizes their ''apelido'' (nickname). This tradition was created back when capoeira practice was considered a crime. To avoid having problems with the law, capoeiristas would present themselves in the capoeira community only by their nicknames.<ref name="ReVista 2021 m217">{{cite web | title="Axé, Capoeira!" | website=ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America | date=January 25, 2021 | url=https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/axe-capoeira/ | access-date=February 15, 2024}}</ref>

===Chamada===
''Chamada'' means 'call' and can happen at any time during a ''roda'' where the rhythm ''angola'' is being played. It happens when one player, usually the more advanced one, calls their opponent to a dance-like ritual. The opponent then approaches the caller and meets them to walk side by side. After it both resume normal play.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bullshido.org/Capoeira|title=Capoeira – The Martial Arts Encyclopedia|website=bullshido.org|language=en|access-date=9 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410072008/http://www.bullshido.org/Capoeira|archive-date=10 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

While it may seem like a break time or a dance, the ''chamada'' is actually both a trap and a test, as the caller is just watching to see if the opponent will let his guard down so she can perform a takedown or a strike. It is a critical situation, because both players are vulnerable due to the close proximity and potential for a surprise attack. It's also a tool for experienced practitioners and masters of the art to test a student's awareness and demonstrate when the student left herself open to attack.<ref name="womenfitness.net">{{Cite web |date=2016-11-10 |title=Capoeira: An Ancient Brazilian Fitness Routine |url=https://www.womenfitness.net/capoeira/ |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=Women Fitness |language=en-US}}</ref>

The use of the ''chamada'' can result in a highly developed sense of awareness and helps practitioners learn the subtleties of anticipating another person's hidden intentions. The ''chamada'' can be very simple, consisting solely of the basic elements, or the ritual can be quite elaborate including a competitive dialogue of trickery, or even theatric embellishments.<ref name="womenfitness.net"/>

===Volta ao mundo===
'''Volta ao mundo''' means ''around the world''.

The ''volta ao mundo'' takes place after an exchange of movements has reached a conclusion, or after there has been a disruption in the harmony of the game. In either of these situations, one player will begin walking around the perimeter of the circle counter-clockwise, and the other player will join the ''volta ao mundo'' in the opposite part of the roda, before returning to the normal game.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Neto |first1=Vianna |title=Capoeira and Transnational Culture |url=https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/373958/VIANNA%20NETO,Eurico_Final%20Thesis_redacted.pdf?sequence=1 |website=Griffith University |publisher=Vianna Neto & Eurico Lopez Baretto |access-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121034841/https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/373958/VIANNA%20NETO,Eurico_Final%20Thesis_redacted.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>