sent him to the ground with a kick on the chest. The large audience chanted ‘Bimba is tough’ (‘Bimba é
bamba’) and he was declared ‘capoeira champion of Bahia’.^29
In a subsequent contest, Bimba defeated Zei by points before a sold-out stadium, and thus confirmed his
title. This provoked protest from other reputed capoeiras such as Samuel de Souza (probably identical with
the famous Samuel Querido de Deus), who pointed out that Bimba had not yet confronted some of the most
well known Bahian capoeiras, such as Maré (Antonio Laurindo das Neves, 1894–1974). Samuel questioned
the legitimacy of Bimba’s art, since capoeira required the presence of instruments to mark the rhythm. He
declared that he was happy to take up Bimba’s challenge, ‘but only if one condition was met: Capoeira de
Angola with berimbau and pandeiro’.^30
Bimba replied through the newspapers that ‘two capoeiras, who try to acquire the champion’s ribbon,
cannot measure their strength to the sound of the berimbau and the pandeiro, and this can be seen in more
advanced centres [e.g. Rio de Janeiro] where capoeira is gathering more sensational attention’. Contests in
the ring, he suggested, should follow the rules established by Burlamaqui in 1928.^31 This last assertion is
important because it proves that Bimba was well aware of earlier attempts to ‘sportify’ capoeira. The
struggle over the adequate rules became almost as important as the real fights. When Bimba confronted
Vitor H.U. in a subsequent match, the latter abandoned the ring alleging that a blow administered by Bimba
(sopapo galopante) was not a legitimate movement in capoeira. The following contests therefore operated a
clear separation: Bimba’s students fought between themselves, and some angoleiros confronted each other
in the ring, eventually to the sound of berimbau and pandeiro. Bimba now restrained himself to the role of
judge, for instance arbitrating a contest between the angoleiros Aberré and Zeí.^32
It seems likely that at this stage Bimba was considering a complete rupture with the traditional capoeira,
transforming his Regional into a fighting art for the ring. He called his style Luta Regional Baiana—regional
fighting from Bahia, and even referred to it as ‘ex-capoeira’!^33 In other words, he was taking the path
proposed by Burlamaqui and already practised by a number of Cariocan capoeiristas, who reduced capoeira
to its offensive or defensive movements, without any ritual or music, and thus severing the art from its
African spiritual roots. Probably Bimba was radicalizing his position at that moment to emphasize the
difference between his art and traditional capoeira, increasingly identified as ‘capoeira de Angola’. By
entering the ring, however, Bimba was forced to comply with the rules of wrestling competitions, which
Figure 5.1 Ginga, the basic capoeira step as taught by M.Bimba. From M.Bimba, Curso de Capoeira Regional
(Salvador: RC Discos, 1989).
130 BIMBA AND ‘REGIONAL’ STYLE