Cobrinha always stood out for his lithe movement. Photo: John Lamonica.
Before the career that netted him four Jiu-Jitsu World Championship titles, Rubens “Charles” Cobrinha was a msaterful capoeira stylist, having gotten his start in the martial arts by practicing the native-Brazilian style developed by slaves prior to emancipation.
In the video below, our GMA at Alliance Los Angeles demonstrates how he incorporated the capoeira “ginga” into the gentle art. The exercises build strength and improve movement.
This article has a HUGE hole in it. Capoeira is NOTnative to Brazil. The enslaved Africans from the Congo region brought the primary elements of the martial art to Brazil. The martial art form was developed by them, the enslaved Africans and their descendants. The berimbau – the strummed instrument — is essentially a modified bow, plucked for syncopation.
Combined with the O
Native Brazilians who where also enslaved and developed in Brazil over time.. it’s like saying any Japanese martial art isn’t Japanese because they where concurred by Chinese and the moves where based on the original elements where based on Chinese military of the time. Or the English language is not native to England because its primary elements are based in other languages.