Os Joelhos! Os Joelhos! Protective Embodiment and Occasional Injury in Capoeira

Abstract

Capoeira, the African-Brazilian dance and martial art has enthusiastic devotees in Britain. Most practitioners are acutely aware of their capoeira embodiment, and have strategies to protect themselves from injury, and ways to seek treatment for any injuries they get. Drawing on data from a long-term ethnography and a set of 32 open-ended interviews with advanced students, the paper explores student strategies to prevent capoeira injuries, and their discoveries of effective remedies to recover from them, before it presents an analysis of their injury narratives using Frank's three-fold typology of illness narratives. The capoeira study therefore adds to the research on sports and dance injuries, and to the intellectual debates on the nature of narrative in research on illness and injury as well as exploring one aspect of the culture of capoeira students in the UK.

Perfil epidemiológico das lesões musculoesqueléticas em praticantes de capoeira

“…No que diz respeito ao perfil epidemiológico na prática da capoeira, a literatura ainda é escassa. Recentemente, Delamont et al (2021), em um trabalho narrativo onde foram entrevistados 32 capoeiristas, relatam que a maioria dos entrevistados tiveram algum tipo de lesão que interrompeu o treinamento de capoeira. Embora o estudo não tenha características epidemiológicas, foi demonstrado que o joelho é uma articulação potencial para a ocorrência de lesões com a prática da capoeira.…”

“…Podemos inferir que a maior prevalência de lesão no joelho possa ser devida aos vários movimentos acrobáticos realizados pelo gestual esportivo, pelas forças de rotação em apenas um membro inferior, enfatizados pelo fato de ser um esporte em que é praticado na maioria das vezes sem o uso de calçados. Delamont et al (2021) aponta que estas lesões de joelho também podem ocorrer devido a resposta do oponente contra um ataque sem sucesso durante o combate. Shirey et al (2012) Outra região encontrada com prevalência de lesão foi a coluna Lombar.…”

The belts are set out: The batizado as a symbolic welcome to capoeira culture

“…Sunday is again adult classes and more rodas, from about noon until the festival closes at about 6.00. It is common to have an African dance class for everyone to start both Saturday and Sunday mornings, to act as a social and physical warm up (Delamont et al, 2021).…”

Musculoskeletal Injuries in Capoeira Athletes: An Epidemiological Study

“…Capoeira is characterized as a game/fight of corporal dexterity that is practiced in pairs, with the people forming a circle, and involves dancing and acrobatic movements [1,6]. Capoeira, although called a martial art, is a dance and game [7,8], and its practitioners (capoeiristas) are players and not fighters; the verb used is "to play", not the verb "to fight" [8]. This game takes place under the sound of musical instruments, namely atabaques, tambourines, and berimbaus [9].…”

“…The practice of capoeira develops flexibility, agility, coordination, balance, dexterity, strength, and aerobic endurance [5][6][7]13,15]. In a capoeira circle, several fighting movements occur, such as escapes/dodges; turns; acrobatic jumps; insinuations that focus on the partner; sudden changes in direction; attacks through punches, elbows and headbutts, which are rarely used; and shots that are not routinely blocked but deflected [7,8,16], with physical contact being rare [1,8]. For the practicing of capoeira, no protective materials are used, including helmets, shin guards, gloves, and gum protectors, and capoeira games usually take place with the individuals being barefoot [8].…”