The Batizado is a ceremony for the giving of the belts in the Brazillian Martial Art of Capoeira.

This past weekend the Capoeira Camara group had their annual Batizado at the Boys and Girls Club.

I had the pleasure of participating and opening the ceremony with La Rumba Soy Dance studio in a Reggaeton performance, the same performance that we did last weekend at the Expo Latino.

Capoeira began in Brazil over 400 years. The history is unsure but states that the African slaves were restricted by their owners from practicing their cultural self-defense techniques. To keep these traditions they created the movements in the form of a dance.

If you have ever seen demo's you will notice the strong fluid movements, that if placed in contact with another human could do some serious damage. They however control their movements so well that they never actually come in contact, just graze by each other and create an extraordinary  and heart-stopping performance for the bystanders. The most defining image ingrained in my mind of Capoeira is the combination of regular martial arts movements with acrobatics; cartwheels, handstands, flips and more.... Their movements defy the laws of gravity and still are initiated with grace and strength. The Batizado was the first time I had seen full contact in Capoeira. However still with all movements this was much more than a fight, it was a performance!

As a dancer and a runner I thought I was in pretty decent shape but I was wrong, after having taken three classes I am discovering muscles in my body I never knew I had!! And let me tell you they are sooo Sore!! For gymnasts, dancers and martial artists alike, Capoeira is a fantastic art form to practice and helps you to continue to build strength, grace and agility.

Capoeira Camara is an international academy with schools, in Canada, the United States, Malaysia, among more countries. The Calgary School is run by Frankie Da Silva is located on 4th Street SW between 15 and 14 Avenue in a basement suite. Frankie has been in Calgary teaching for almost 10 years and has been a strong force in the development of the martial art here!

For more information on Frankie and his studio go to www.camaracalgary.com.