Yeah, I’ve seen it used in MMA sometimes but mostly it’s just cultural. It was created when Brazil was just a colony by african people brought by the colononizers to work as slaves. They disguised it as a dance to hide they were actually training to kick the shit out of the enslavers. To this day, it is practiced in “music circles” and it looks like a dance.
I choose it because it is very different and more acrobatic than other martial styles
The Philippine martial art Kali/Eskrima also has a similar history.
When the Spanish first attempted to colonize us, they were fought back in the Battle of Mactan. Despite the fact that the Spanish had guns and superior armor, the Filipino warriors were able to defeat them by attacking the unarmored legs (Though the superior numbers and wearing out the Spanish with ranged attacks also helped. Ironically, Spanish armor was made bulletproof by being thicker (especially the breastplate) iirc, so they sacrificed leg protection to reduce weight)
When the Spanish returned about 40 years later and succeeded in colonizing the Philippines, they banned the practicing of martial arts. So the Filipino people disguised it as a dance (and it can still be used as a dance)
Yeah, I’ve seen it used in MMA sometimes but mostly it’s just cultural. It was created when Brazil was just a colony by african people brought by the colononizers to work as slaves. They disguised it as a dance to hide they were actually training to kick the shit out of the enslavers. To this day, it is practiced in “music circles” and it looks like a dance.
I choose it because it is very different and more acrobatic than other martial styles
The Philippine martial art Kali/Eskrima also has a similar history. When the Spanish first attempted to colonize us, they were fought back in the Battle of Mactan. Despite the fact that the Spanish had guns and superior armor, the Filipino warriors were able to defeat them by attacking the unarmored legs (Though the superior numbers and wearing out the Spanish with ranged attacks also helped. Ironically, Spanish armor was made bulletproof by being thicker (especially the breastplate) iirc, so they sacrificed leg protection to reduce weight)
When the Spanish returned about 40 years later and succeeded in colonizing the Philippines, they banned the practicing of martial arts. So the Filipino people disguised it as a dance (and it can still be used as a dance)
Damn it really is a similar story. Kali is so cool and I didnt knew about its history