head was initially pointing downwards (see Figure 5.2).^39 The ‘balloons’ soon became the most polemical
movements used by Bimba, since in traditional capoeira there usually was no grabbing (but we have seen in
Chapter 4 that there were some important exceptions). The acrobatic performances of the balões became
thus a symbol for the beauty of Regional or, according to the observers’ stance, the ‘adulteration’ of the
‘genuine’ capoeira. The use of punches, new kicks and balões in a traditional roda could eventually
provoke disputes and conflicts. Photographs from the 1940s and film shootings from the 1950s show,
however, that some angoleiros practised balões, although it is impossible to ascertain whether this was an
influence of Bimba or an established previous practice.^40 Yet, the innovations of the Regional went beyond
the introduction of new movements. It is nowadays a common place to assert that Regional play is faster
than traditional Angola. No doubt Bimba wanted his students to be able to play fast and energetically. This
was and is however also the case for many angoleiro teachers. On the other side, Bimba also required his
students to train at a slower pace so they could develop their ‘inside’ game, which consists in intertwined
movements at close range.
It was rather his teaching method that constituted the crucial innovation. So far capoeira had been mainly
taught on the spot, informally. More experienced players—who were, as far as we know, not yet
systematically referred to as mestres—instructed neophytes at home, on any available open space in the
neighbourhood, or in a working context, for instance the port area. Participation in the street rodas was a
further important moment of the training. Bimba transferred the core of the practice into a closed space, the
‘academy’, where only his students trained.
M.Bimba required anyone wanting to register in his academy to fulfil two criteria: not to be a vagrant
(therefore requiring a proof of work or study) and to pass an initial test of physical ability. In the early days
of the academy, Bimba expected the prospective student to resist without complaint a neck hold (gravata)
he administered himself. As Frede Abreu observed, this was an interesting symbolic inversion of the times
of slavery, when slaves were punished by having their neck held in the pillories. Now the black mestre
applied a similar procedure to white students.^41 Later on Bimba just asked the student to perform some basic
movements such as a back bend to make sure he had a minimum of flexibility.^42
Figure 5.2 Acrobatic movements of capoeira Regional: balão cinturado (left), gravata (centre) and açoite (right). From
M.Bimba, Curso de Capoeira Regional (Salvador: RC Discos, 1989).
132 BIMBA AND ‘REGIONAL’ STYLE