Sports in India, and in Poland- How i found Capoeira in Poland

Sports in India, and in Poland- How i found Capoeira in Poland

In Poland, there are many sports for each seasons. People ride on bicycles, skateboards and there are pavements for cyclists in every part of the town. . Skateboarding is very popular in Poland.

During spring and summer, youngsters and adults skateboard in parks, and around bicycle pavements. Tennis courts can be rented for as much as 20 zlotychs/hr, which is 10 zloty per person(quite cheap to Indian standards). There are tennis, and basketball courts in each small village in Poland. Golf is a also a popular sport. Poland also have a stream of winter sports like skiing, sledging, and ice hockey. Poles also like horse riding(women mostly). Winter sports are a big business in Poland. Martial arts like MMA, karate, kung-fu, Capoeira is very popular in Poland. Polish people pay great attention to self defence. Polish MMA fighter Joanna Jędrzejczyk who is fighting out of Olsztyn, has made many Poles proud by her presence in the UFC.

In India, we don’t have as much sports as in Poland. The most popular sport is Cricket. Cricket is a sport which the British invented during the period of colonization. This sport is so popular, that even people who are from the villages and from the poor parts of the society keep up to date with the latest happenings in cricket. When India plays Pakistan, people are glued to the television. Even my grandfather and grandmother watch these televised matches.  Football has very little foothold in the Indian sub continent. We have tennis and golf courts in India, but they are too expensive sports for people from the middle, lower class to afford practicing daily. Golf is reserved for rich business men. Then there is cycling, but we don’t have pavement for cyclists.  Field and track sports are popular in India. Many universities have track and field sports competitions every year. Most of the athletes in Indian universities are people from poor backgrounds. Government offers scholarships, and jobs for students who excel well in sports.

Martial arts

Unicar Wrocław, at the capoeira sports camp in Poddąbie, Poland.

At the good bye Roda for our Brazilian teachers.

Martial arts is strongly getting its foothold in India. Many young Indians learn martial arts during their teenage years. It is not very expensive compared to other sports in India. People train Karate, kung fu, and other regional martial arts(for example kalari). There was no capoeira in India 7 year back. There are maybe 4 or 5 capoeira schools in India now(only in the metropolitan cities). Once my friend recommended capoeira to me in Poland. I googled Capoeira and found this very beautiful internet page. Once i went to the first class, i was instantly hooked. Capoeira is a sport which includes dance, and music at the same time. Every week we train Capoeira and play music using pandeiro(hand held drum) and berimbau(sinlge stringed instrument made from brazilian birch). Berimbau is the boss of Roda(the circle where we play Capoeira). Berimbau decides the tempo of the game. The faster it plays, the faster we play capoeira. The group where i train, Unciar Capoeira Wrocław, has around 30-40 active members at this moment. This year was special for our group. Our group has its first own professor, Prof. Patryk Cachorro Stolarz.

With my teachers- from left, Brutto, Allison, me and Paulinho

Every year we have a Capoeira training camp in the polish seaside called Capocampo. We just finished our two week capoeira meeting in Poddąbie. During those two weeks, we trained capoeira intensively with teachers from Poland, and Brazil. The quality of teachers, and other extra curricular activities like Jiu-jitsu, and brazilian dance maculele, makes it one of the best training camps in Capoeira in Poland. We also had wonderful cuisine to regenerate our body after trainings. Every day we start with a small 30 minute warm up route at 07.30. Then breakfast, and a 1.5 hr training block of Capoeira(for both intermediate and beginners). After that, lunch, and a quick 2 hour break. Then we start trainings on the beach with acrobatics, or trainings of capoeira inside the hall(depending on the weather). There are also classes of maculele, or afro dance. The schedule changes each day. After each training, we don’t forget to take quick showers in the baltic sea. It is even obligatory :)The feeling of cold water on Your body after training is fabulous. 🙂 In the evenings we have dinner at 18.00, and classes around 20.00 pm. It might include music and singing, and or self defence classes in jiu-jitsu/ Systema.

After one week of trainings, i had a small injury to my groin. The daily three training routine, took a toll on me. By the end of the week, i was feeling a little bit tired and had to take a rest. I remember one particular incident from the camp this year. When our Brazilian trainers where supposed to go back home, we went to the beach to sing with them for the last time and play capoeira songs. and say good bye to them. At this moment my energy level was low. I was thinking should i go there or just sit in my room. My friend took me there. Soon we started singing capoeira songs. Each person had to sing a song in the roda. As soon i heard 'Aue Aue Aue’ i just wanted to run away from there and go some where far away. I was really sick of capoeira at this point. I was thinking, how come people can sing and train capoeira 24/7. I looked at my trainer, and other friends standing there smiling, and singing songs(they were also a bit tired). I was wondering 'where do they have this energy from?’ After the second or third song, i really felt guilty. I was just not feeling it. Maybe i am not a good capoerista. Why am I tired of capoeira?. We started to tap our feet. When i saw the smile and the joy others had singing capoeira songs, i thought for one moment, Isn’t this why i train capoeira? Soon i started to slowly get into the mood. After about 15 minutes my mood changed, and i started singing and smiling. That is the magic of capoeira. The moment when i have no energy and i feel down, i look at others and i have energy. I couldn’t recognise myself from who i was, half an hour before. This change convinced me once again why i train Capoeira. Capoeira gives me energy, happiness. It helps me cross my own mental limits. It gives me freedom. I know who i was 7 years ago and who i have become now. Capoeira helped me build self confidence and focus. I Have become a better person thanks to Capoeira. I highly recommend You to come and train Capoeira with us.

See You in the Roda. Train capoeira!