No...Capoeira is heavily dance oriented...while an opponent may be confused by the erratic movements and constant dancing of someone who uses copoeira, it is easy to counter. If you were going to get into a fight on the street, chances are you'd end up resorting to common street fighting tactics. You don't normally see people who get into fights break out into fancy martial arts styles, especially capoeira. Not in real life, anyway...you see it in the movies all the time. The bottomline is Capoeira is far too complicated and showy to be a reliable self-defense method. IF you were to enter a martial arts tournament, then it would be an impressive display, but when it comes to a common day street defense method, Capoeira is just too showy, flashy and unreliable. You need time to coordinate your attack, and if someone comes barreling down on you, raining punches at you, then you won't have much time to coordinate your moves, particularly since Capoeira focuses on the lower body for attacking. If you were looking for a martial art to defend yourself, Judo, Tae Kwan Do or Karate are the best and most easily learned and executed techniques for self-defense. Response to LJLowry: This question asks if Capoeira is a reliable street defense method. Having witnessed Capoeira first-hand in MANY martial arts tournaments, I am only offering my opinion. Since you seem to be an expert on the subject, care to enlighten us with your own answer?

Like any martial art, it all depends on they way you train it. Make no mistake, capoeira was used by slaves, gangs, thieves etc for hundreds of years as a form of self defence. There are a lot of complicated movements and moves that have no apparent use. But remember that a lot of capoeira is played, not fought. Many of these visually pleasing aspects of capoeira are only done when the players are mutually having fun. (And believe me that capoeirista's have a lot of fun - so what you see when they do shows and presentations and when they fight are two very different things) When it comes to fighting one seldom sees anything fancy. Take downs, hand strikes, kicks to groin etc. become the essence of the fight. Also in the old days capoeira was often complimented with a straight razor. Either held in the hand or fastened to foot. (which is the reason they have large baggy pants that cover their feet - so you cannot tell if there is a knife there or not :)) Though I would not recommend that anyone start capoeira for the sole reason of self defence, if you do - you should supplement it with ground fighting, western boxing and any other form of martial art you can.

I do not study Capoeira, but I have done research to understand it. I have more than forty years experience in the Martial Art, and I know that Capoeira can be used as an effective method of self defense. To assume that the "fancy moves" are the main substance of this art is to not understand the underlying skill. If I "dance around" in a street fight while my opponent stands in the street laughing at me, and he gets hit by a car, then my self defense is effective. If he takes my dancing as a joke, and charges like a bull, but I step aside while he runs head first into a brick wall and falls unconscious, then I win. If while I dance, I keep my opponent at bay, and when he moves in, I nail him with a powerful kick, or a skillful takedown, then he has failed to see the thorn beneath the rose. The fact is, self defense is any movement which results in successfully avoiding injury, or repelling an attack. It means staying alive, and whatever works is an effective method. I have sucessfully used Martial Art skills in self defense many times. Martial Artists train to become more skilled than the crude methods of combat used by the unskilled and untrained. Some "street fighters" might gain experience by fighting often, but this would, in no way, compare to the skills of an expert Martial Artist. Martial Art training is designed for successful outcomes in real life street fights. I would no more resort to a lessor method of "street fighting" then would an Olympic swimmer resort to the "dog paddle" to win a race. The competitor in the next lane might be the best dog paddler in the world, but once you learn how to swim more advanced strokes, why go back to a beginner method? I have earned the Black Belt in Judo, Aikido, Karate, and am a 5th Dan Master Instructor of Taekwondo, and I would never make the claim that any of them are better than other choices. I prefer genuine Taekwondo (as compared to watered down versions) because it is complete and includes all of the Martial Art techinques of Korea's history. People who study Capoeira do not need any more "time to coordinate" their attack than any other Martial Artists. Capoeira is an effective method of self defense, and it all depends on the quality of the instructor, the dedication of the student, and the timing of the application of the art.

While I don't want to repeat answers already provided, I would like to point out one main difference I have noticied training Capoeira compared to other styles. Capoeira may be mostly trained in the context of the 'game' where full contact is not made, but we play every class unlike other arts I've trained which spar much less. This, in my experience, does a great deal to help with overall awareness and reflexes. I think just about everyone knows someone with a Karate black belt that can be pushed over like an empty trashcan because they don't bother to train or maintain their awareness. There are loads of moves I've learned in Capoeira that i would never dream of using if somone attacked me, but those same moves have increased my reflexes, speed, and agility. There are also kicks, take downs, and hand strikes, that's right hand strikes, that I would definitely use given an opening. The regular application of the moves in games has given me a more instinctive sense of when those openings appear. This is not to say that Capoeiristas will beat black belts all over town or that any art is better than another. I just want to highlight a part of our training that I think a lot of people overlook. It is true that most Capoeiristas don't train like your average Muay-Thai or Vale-Tudo fighter but neither do most people you meet who aren't planning on getting in a ring. If that's what you're after there's nothing stopping you from taking what you learn in the game and wailing out full speed on a bag. We'd try it on people, but if you've seen some of the kicks we do you know that no one would play Capoeira any more for all the collapsed lungs.

I agree with some other answers, it depends on how you train and who you train with. I have trained in Capoeira Angola, and let me tell you, the stuff you see in movies like "Only the Strong" and in martial arts competitions are strictly for show. They are the cheerleaders to the football game, if you will. Competition shows are merely to gain interest in the art. 95% of capoeira (angola) is hidden from view, even from students who have been training for years. I do know that Regional is brutally fast and the emphasis is on speed, making it look more like a viable (and dangerous) art form than angola, but the truth is that angola is to t'ai chi as regional is to kung fu. Angola's movements are slow and purposeful and low to the ground, and we are taught to think on our feet and use all of our wits to deceive, fool, and confuse the enemy, anything to save our own skin in a fight. In this way i think Angola is more effective than other arts, such as Tae Kwon do and Karate at preparing its students for a fight. But, the people who truly have learned capoeira will understand that fighting is the last option.

I have formally practiced Capoeira Angola in a School, and I went in with the same sort of speculation as most people about Capoeira in a real street fight senerio. On my first day there, there were many things that were brought to my attention, that I had not even thought about. And I wish to clarify somethings here. Everyone has to understand that there are many aspects of Capoeira, and most of them haven't been seen especially in North America. Capoeira is a Game, A Fighting Art, A Form of Expression, Song, Dance, A Celebration of freedom, shared knowledge, and more depending on what you get out of it. Unfortunetly through movies, video games, demonstrations and other media, only the game of Capoeira has been brought to North America's attention, and that is where the confusion begins. Capoeira in an actual situation is *totally* different from the Capoeira seen in the Tekken 3 video game. While it contains many real Capoeira techniques consists manly of movements found only within The Game of Capoeira itself. Perhaps because it looks very appealing. A serious Capoeirista, would never start out with a fluid Ginga, or do a head stand or cartweel or some hand stand in an actual fight. Surely such moves would have allowed easy capture into Slavery which is one of the main purposes of the art! These moves are not practical in a real fight and Capoeiristas know this! Playing the game of capoeira definetly makes you stronger, faster, and able recognize openings, perfect your timing, judgement and allow you to develope stradegy and fighting sensibilities. And of coarse perform some serious attacks. In practical use there is no standard form. A Capoeirista would emprovise a stands would typically look anywhere from a half ginga position to a wrestlers stance, or even a lose boxers stance, to a "I'm ready knock you out stance". Whatever is more comfortable for the fighter and allows him to move and protect himself. He would use his instincts, reflexes, agility, judgement, techniques and sensibilties aquired from The Game to outwit, manuever around, takedown his opponent, and escape from the situation. And I'd like to emphisise the word Escape. Through my own experience, I found myself able to evade many attacks rather than blocking them, find and create openings, and use clever strategy to manuver around, knock off balance, and setup traps. In a very practical manner. The look is not as glamorous looking as The Game. Its dirty, rugged and very brutal. And by all means practical, which Capoeira has proven to be in many points in history.

yes Capoeira is effective, I have used it four times over the years effectively, once against a weapon. Every martial art is effective if trained properly. I have trained both Regional and Angola, they both have their strong points. This is a great discussion. There have been a lot of intellegent things said. I also appriciate the respect show to the arts. It should be mentioned that Capoeira is more than a martial art, it is a dance, cutural expression, a philosophy and a way of life. But I guess all martial arts are.

There is no quick answer to this question, but I will try to give the quickest that I can. Before I give my answer I want to clarify that I am currently training in capoeira (regional.) Capoeira, like any other martial art, has it's strong points and weak points for self defense. Training capoeira will increase your reflexes because you will spend a lot of time sparring with other people. Also capoeira is a very fluid art. With fluidity you are less likely to telegraph your strikes, making it more difficult for your opponent to block or dodge your strikes. In capoeira, the wide movement of the hips can strengthen your kicks by a considerable amount. Not to mention that doing the handstands, cartwheels, etc. really strengthens the arms in ways that lifting weights just won't do. Doing the ginga while training also serves to strengthen your legs and increase your stamina. On the negative side, a great deal of the moves in capoeira are very flashy and only used for the aesthetic value, (however in my experience this is true of most martial arts.) Also capoeira does not typically teach a great deal of grappling or ground fighting, (and 9 out of 10 serious street fights will go to the ground before it's all over.) Honestly, for a street defense scenerio... I would prefer to have more than capoeira under my belt. But then again I would prefer to have more than ANY one martial art. Depending on your instructor, you may not learn the most practical strikes in capoeira, but as I stated before, capoeira does have MANY advantages that I highly recommend. When used in conjunction with skills taught in more "practical" martial arts (I recommend Kempo, Jiu Jitsu, or Jeet Kune Do,) capoeira can add a devastating effect to your skill set. When it comes to defending yourself on the street, there is NO ultimate martial art. Before joining capoira, I was a student of Kempo Karate. And my first sensei gave me the greatest advice I've ever heard for street defense. "Don't limit yourself to just one martial art, learn all that you can. Somethings that work for me, won't work for you." Kempo Karate did a lot of street defense training, but I found I was never able to learn the fluidity that I needed. I began taking capoeira to learn fluidity and to increase my awareness and reaction time for a fight. I never realized how much more I was going to learn than just that in capoeira. EDIT: Over time I've realized that most capoeiristas here in the United States also train Jiu Jitsu. So that helps a great deal. If you want to learn the martial arts for self-defense, just remember to train with an open mind and decide for yourself what would work for you in a fight and what wouldn't.

Everyone, I have listen to your blog and it’s good to know there are people that have sense. Although, there are some loop holes I would like to fill in. First, before I talk about capoeira I would like to fill you in on its history. When slaves were taken out of Africa they were sent to different corners of the World. Some slaves were from the same tribe others were not. Black slaves were and are very intelligent they had alot of secrets, skills, and talents that could not be stolen when they were capture from their homeland. It was imbedded in their mind, heart and soul. This cause their skills and secrets to be spread all over the world. Capoeira is just one of them. In different parts of the world they develope other skill like, Music, Cooking, herbs, skin healing, and many more. They are no books on this evidence because black slaves were illiterate to education. Alot of people are trying to dig it up but a lot are buried with dead slaves and some are still hidden. Compare to the Asian and South Asian population who always documented information. Capoeira is a great art but its not respected in the martial art world. Everytime you watch a movie it shows a guy doing a whole bunch of flips then he gets his ass kicked. I dont blame anyone for not taking it seriously. Because all everyone focuses on are the flips and tricks. As you said capoeira has two styles play and fight. Thank god someone finally got it right. But there are more to the styles. Play is for showing off. Fight which alot teachers do not want to teach is very deadly. Capoeira is not rated deadly because it has not been use in war like the Asian art forms. It a slave defence to protect them, and given them freedom from the burden of hardship. Eventhough, its still deadly like the Asian martial arts. Capoeira can adapt to any situation. The fight skill of capoeira has different styles. So far I seen styles of the monkey,snake, and cat. Also the capoeirista moves like a kickboxer and can punch and kick like one. Every situation there is a different ginga. even in street fighting. Capoeira has other skills added jujitsu and shadow boxing and yoga. You see alot teachers teach only traditional capoeira. The fight part is discourage by alot of mestres. The next thing is some Mestre’s don’t want to perfect Capoeira like the Asian martial arts. If they did it would make an interesting match up in the UFC. if you want proof check out this mestre on youtube Mestre Curisco and Lua BRanca

i would start by saying there is no martial art better than the other it depends on the person. capoeira is as effective as any other martial arts i don no about europe or the usa but capoeira in africa nigeria were i reside is very effective it works for me especially in street fights were dey come at u with bottles, wood knives or metals and u just have to be evasive in this situations and thats were my capoeira comes in for me.and in capoeira strikes are aimed at very delicate places. i dont have to dance around just evade, guard and den strike at aany opening.capoeira to me is effective in a street fight

... Like Judo & Jujitsu ... like Taekwondo & Hapkido ... there is the game aspect and there is the warrior aspect ... so Capoeira can be either very useful & very effective in a real fight, or it can be useless & ineffective in a real fight, depending on whether the intent is to play or to seriously defend ... while I would laugh at the amusing antics playfully displayed in the game, only a fool with a death wish attacks a Capoeira master for real.

Capoeira is indeed a very effective fighting method. People get confused by the acrobatics and high flying kicks in capoeira, and think that they've figured out everything about this artform. But not enough people have seen true masters perform this art before stating their opinions. A capoeira master is like a snake. He seduces you, makes you think that you are his friend, makes you lower your guard, and then strikes. Also, a lot of the acrobatics in capoeira can be actually turned into attacks. Imagine your dismay when the person you are fighting tries to knock your head off with a front flip! The essence of capoeira is trickery. The adept capoerista smiles when he/she is angry, feigns weakness when he is strong, and effectively hides his intentions. It is this sense of trickery that is the capoerista's greatest asset in a street fight. The opponent will not know how to react to the ever evasive capoerista, who's true face is never shown. http://capoeiracapoeira.com

I don't recomend using capoeira in a street fight unless your life is in danger. Capoeira is a deadly martial art and should be respected as so . One thing that is over looked is the power and flexability of a well trained capoeirartista's(one who practices capoeira) legs and body . Lets say you throw a punch at a capoeirartista . First of all capoeiraartista's learn the jogo which is the game which teaches you reflex and response. So you throw this punch and and within a second a capoeira artista does a negachiva lateral and then a ponteria to you soloplexexs guess what your dead . There is a hundered other ways with capoeira i could think to put you down with.These two moves i just mentioned you will learn in your first year probally . There are alot of moves that are just for the game though common sense your up againt a kick boxer so you go up on one hand and try to kick guess what your a soccer ball.

I would have to see a real capoerista in a real fight against a Mixed martial artist to know for real how effective it is, otherwise I think capoeristas loose too much energy in their constant movements and fluidity which will problably burn them out by the second round.