Jelon Vierira, a master of this dance martial art and founder of DanceBrazil in the U.S., says, "Capoeira is a game. it's a fight like a dance, a dance like a fight. it's not about winning or losing, but who plays smarter." The body becomes a weapon when learning capoeira. The games are played, not fought. One can use it to kill, but that is not the reason for learning it. A capoeirista is a gentle warrior (Samuels 66). It teaches the player to look for the unexpected and to realize that behind a smile one may find a threat. With this understanding comes power, control and a type of beauty.

Today, often dressed in white pants and T-shirts, the capoeira players bounce lightly from left to right in a box step and move their arms in front of their faces. Then they face off against partners with high kicks against their opponents. During the more freestyle part of the class, they swoop their legs for a low attack and then skirt out of the way by balancing on their forearms and flipping to the side. To best one's opponents,...

In Brazil, as part of the culture, there is capoeira in all public schools, universities, clubs, and in military academies. It is completely integrated into the society, as is becoming the case in the U.S. As well.
References

Balderston, Daniel, Gonzalez, Mike, and Lopez, Anna. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures. London: Routledge, 2000: 266.

Delgado, Celeste Fraser and Munoz, Jose Esteban. Everynight Life: Culture and Dance in Latin/o America. Contributors: Durham, NC.: Duke University Press, 1997: v.

Rauschart, Lisa. Capoeira: The Beautiful Game Martial Art Traces Its Root to Africa.

The Washington Times. October 30, 1996:8.

Samuels, Shayna. Capoeira: From Self-Defense to Self-Expression. Contributors: Dance Magazine. (2001). 75(12). 66+.