[Health] Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for Sprains and Sore Muscles

A mistake in posting? I think not. Apple cider vinegar has been known for its health benefits for a long time and here is how it can help you as a training capoerista.

Add a cup of vinegar to a warm bath to help relieve muscle soreness, or if you have a sprained ankle or wrist, soak it in a tub of warm water with a cup of vinegar added to it.

Personally, I've tried this and though I can't say for certain if it's purely psychological, the bath does seem more soothing when I've added vinegar to it. Maybe it's the smell, but it doesn't feel half bad.

Another thing you can do is to apply apple cider vinegar with cayenne pepper directly to the muscle area on a cloth to soothe a sprain.

For those of you who don't know what is cayenne pepper, it is a finely ground spice made from a few different kinds of dried hot peppers which include the membranes of hot chili peppers and its seeds.




For the two remedies above, I use apple cider vinegar cos it's what I have at home. It works pretty well as far as I can estimate but you're free to use whatever vinegar you have at home.

As a capoeirista on a budget, some home remedies can save you quite abit of money and may potential help you in more ways than conventional pharmaceuticals. Don't take my word for it, the next time you get sore muscles, try out this remedy.

[Video] Mar de Itapuã Capoeira

This is a video of some Mar de Itapuã Capoeira members doing solo's. It's rare that I find a video with such young capoeiristas who can perform acrobatics and static poses. A few of them don't look older than 11 and they can do some pretty cool stuff, check it out.

[Technique] Negativa Angola

image taken from capoeira basics

The negativa angola is a takedown move which works by sweeping away the attackers planted leg when they are executing a kick or doing something in which their weight is distributed unevenly on their legs such as evading or leaning backwards.

image taken from Scott Sanner's personal homepage

In the above image you can see an example of how the negativa may be applied against a meia lua de compasso by sweeping the planted leg in the opposite direction of the kick to takedown the opponent.

[Video] Cueca - a capoeira teacher from Israel.

Capoeira Demonstration - video powered by Metacafe

[Video] Capoeira Roda

[Photo] Inti College

This pic was taken agessss ago in inti, before i even came to adelaide. That's zamil on the left and xu jiang on the right posing in 2 variations of the au batido. It's so easy, if you can't do it u better die ( just kidding). Training in inti was fun, but at least now in adelaide we have seniors who we can learn from cos back then we were the seniors and we knew close to squat when it came to real capoeira.
Ian_MartialMind

[Technique] Meia lua de Compasso - Final Step

Finally just stand back up and get back into the ginga, and that's all for the meia lua de compasso.
Ian_MartialMind

[Technique] Meia lua de Compasso - Step 6

Here you can see his leg has landed and he is now back in his ginga. His head is still down at this point and his hand has come back up to protect his face. Now, here in this pic, even with his head down he should be looking forward at his opponent so in terms of where he is looking, don't do what he's doing and look at the floor, look at your opponent. The reason why his body is still crouched is because usually what happens after a meia lua de compasso is you can't see what's coming as you finish rotating, there is a moment of blindness which your opponent may try to use to get a kick in and hit your face. This blindness is caused by the speed of the kick, so If you stood straight up after completing the kick you wouldn't have time to react and you'd likely be met with a hit to your face if you were up against an experienced fighter or capoeirista. This is why you should stay low and guard your face when u finish executing your kick as this gives you a chance to see what your opponent is doing and sufficient time to react accordingly.
Ian_MartialMind

[Technique] Meia lua de Compasso - Step 5

The body has almost finished rotating and the leg is coming to land behind the body. In a more basic form, the leg could actually come down at the side of the body, but for the sake of this example, it'll be a full rotation which actually helps you to get back into your ginga faster or execute a second meia lua de compasso. Notice that his head is still down even though he is turning back round. This will be explained in the next picture.

Ian_MartialMind

[Technique] Meia lua de Compasso - Step 4

The momentum of the kick will cause your body to rotate in a circle. Here you can see the momentum of his kick carrying his kicking leg around his body and his body is starting to come back to face the front. At this time, push off lightly from the ground to give yourself some extra spin and to make it easier to bring your body back forward.
Ian_MartialMind

[Technique] Meia lua de Compasso - Step 3

Using the momentum you got from turning your body downwards and digging your shoulder into your leg, let your leg swing around your body while keeping it straight. When hitting your opponent, you can either hit them with the sole of your foor or with your heel, depending on how much damage you plan to inflict. The height of the kick can vary among 3 levels; Low - strikes the legs; Medium - Strikes the mid section or ribs; High - Strikes the head. In the image here, the kick is at about medium level. To execute the kick properly and not lose momentum, it is important to keep the leg straight throughout the entire sequence of the kick.
Ian_MartialMind

[Technique] Meia lua de Compasso - Step 2

With your right leg in front and your left behind you, rotate your body downwards and to the left. Place your hands on the ground behind you while digging your left shoulder into your left leg and looking forward at your target through your legs. *Very important point - throughout the kick, or any kick for that matter, keep your eyes on your opponent. No point in kicking if you don't know where your target is.
Ian_MartialMind

[Technique] Meia lua de Compasso - Step 1

The meia lua de compaso is one of the more basic capoeira moves. It involves swinging your leg and striking your opponent with your heel. In this first pic, you start from your regular ginga movement as u prepare to initiate the meia lua de compasso.
Ian_MartialMind

Training guide for the capoeira mind

First of all, learning any martial art isn't easy, especially over the internet. This blog serves only as a guide to those who are interested in learning the moves and techniques found in capoeira, and not to teach the art itself.

Capoeira is both a physical and a mental game as the two players in the roda need to play to outsmart the other and use the moves, skills and techniques which they know to do it. Its a great way to keep fit, increase your overall strength and flexibility, and plus, its really fun to do cos u can do it just about anywhere which makes it a great show for all those around!

I'll add more stuff on capoeira as this blog progresses, so if you have any interest in capoeira, bookmark this page. Updates will be made as much as I deem possible, and also as I progress and learn as well. Hope this blog helps you in building your interest in capoeira, and always feel free to post comments on how i can improve, thanks.