Brazil's martial art Capoeira gaining interest in Sarawak
Published on: Monday, August 03, 2015
Kuching: The exponents hit the vital points of the body in rhythmic moves that combines the elements of dance, acrobatic moves and music. It is more like a combination of martial art and dancing, and it is no more than the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira that is slowly capturing the imagination of locals. This martial art captured the heart of a young Kuching lad, Malcolm Wu when he first watched the Capoeira themed movie "Only the Strong" in 1993. He never imagined that some 20 years later, he would become the only Sarawakian to reach the instructor grade level and run a Capoeira school in the state.
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"Yes, I was overwhelmed with the movie. I never know about the existence of this art in Malaysia until 2005 when I was doing internship in KL where I saw group of people performing Capoeira in a corporate show," said the 31-year old MSC Sarawak founder. "When I was in Taylor's College a few years later, the same group showed-up at the college and that's when I got to bond with them when we started the martial art class at the college," he added. Fast forward, in 2012 Malcolm returned to Kuching, with the coveted "instructor cord/belt", and a deep interest for the art form. A few months later with help from Rafael Barbosa Rosario the owner and chief instructor of Movimento Simples De Capoeira Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (MSCKL), he formed the Movimento Simples De Capoeira Sarawak (MSC Sarawak) in June 2013. It is the only Capoeira group in Borneo (East Malaysia).
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Looking back at the early stage of MSC Sarawak, Malcolm said through some friends, he found out that there were quite a number of people in Kuching who used to be involved with Capoeira when they studied overseas. However, when they returned home they had no avenue or the chance to further develop their skills or perform the Capoeira.
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"They were very interested with Capoeira, swept away with the swift and sleek moves, the Ginga, the groove, but suddenly they had to stop when they reached home. So they start taking up other activities like badminton, or futsal and others. Its kind of a let-down," he said. He said that was when he decided to start the school and form the Capoeira Club MSC Tabuan Jaya with some friends, to provide a platform for the Capoeira enthusiast to continue with their beloved art, and the response was quite overwhelming. He said the news about MSC Sarawak also reached neighbouring Sabah, and soon after a group of Capoeira enthusiast from the state was invited for an upgrading ceremony here some two years ago. The MSC Sabah was later formed the very year, under the supervision of a senior level Capoeiristas (practitioners of Capoeira). This year the recently ended third annual upgrading ceremony known as the "Batizado Troca de Corda" festival, also saw the participation of a group of young capoeiristas from Miri. Malcom does not rule out the possibility of opening another MSC branch school in this Petroleum Town of Sarawak soon. "Most of my student here are young adults, aged somewhere between 20 and early 40s. Besides that I also have 15 kids aged 4 to 12 as students. I teach this art at two places - the Urban Age Studios on Monday and Wednesday night, and the Gym box studios on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon," he said. "Besides that, on Tuesday and Thursday 6 pm to 7.30pm at the Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) Batu Lintang Campus. It's a closed door activities for the institute'e students," he added. Furthermore, he said, recently he just started to teach the salvation army boys at Jalan Ban Hock for free every Saturday morning in what he described as part of his contributions to the community. Malcolm said Capoeira was not only just another fighting art but stressed that "it consists of the entire package of art and culture". The followers will be exposed to the root of the skill, the dance, the music, the musical instrument among others. He pointed out that there are instruments associated with the Capoeira such as the "Berimbau", the drums, tambourine, and the dance to the beat of "Maculele". "Of course, historically, this martial art comes from the ugly era of African slavery in Brazil but today its definition paints totally a different picture. This beautiful martial art combines elements of dance, acrobatic moves and music. No weapon is involved, the body itself is lethal," he said. "Certainly the whole world knows Brazil has a great football team, no doubt about it. The game doesn't really expose our culture to the world. However, with Capoeira you will need to know a little bit about our language, our music, the culture, and the people of Brazil," said Rafael, 32, a.k.a "Professor Rafael". He said Capoeira is the way of life, it is not about individual or personal achievement, where the individual is not graded by, for example, how many time he can kick in one minute. "It is more about the community, how you can help the community to grow strong, how to live in this community. It is different from other martial art. It is not something where you put a target to get a black belt say in five years for example. Capoeira is a lifestyle. That is why the people who do Capoeira are very selective," he said. Met during the Batizado Troca de Corda festival to promote the Brazilian culture and arts here in May, Rafael pointed out that the number of people who have shown interest and joined the Capoeira classes in the country can easily reach more than 3,000. However, he categorizes them as 'passer-by' whereas the number of the real Capoeiristas is estimated between 60 to 70 people only. Rafael said he start learning the art at the age of six, and spent five years living and learning the martial art from his master in Brazil before he grabbed the opportunity to set foot in Kuala Lumpur in 2004, and to happily introduce the Capoeira art to the locals. "This is what I do here in Malaysia, totally devoted to Capoeira. Some three years ago I left the Bantus Capoeira, and with the help of my friend I started the MSC school. Now, apart from MSC school in Brazil, KL, and here; we also have MSC school in Sabah, China, Japan, and Thailand," he said. Ahmad Safwat Jumadi, 27, Wee Chee Yuan, 36, and Muhammad Afiq Roslan, 22; the trio from Miri were among the Capoeiristas who here recently to take part in the upgrading ceremony festival. Safwat said he has been doing Capoeira since the age of 12 when he moved with his parents to Kuantan from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, and since then he had joined several different Capoeira groups. Now, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency staff stationed in Miri said, he is looking forward to get Malcolm to assist in setting up MSC school there with some friends. He said currently with group of friends, they would practice maybe once or twice a week without any supervision from the instructor, or any particular governing body, and they are looking forward to set up a more structured Capoeira set-up, for a more scrutinised and standardised curriculum. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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