Work Hard, Play Capoeira

Moves for Life

More important than fighting strategy, capoeira teaches you life strategy, Lima says.

Lima started her capoeira training when she was 11 and living in Brasilia, Brazil. At 13, she was already subbing for her teachers, instructing groups of local kids.

While she also trained in karate and is now a fifth-degree black belt, capoeira has always stimulated Lima in ways other martial arts couldn't.

"Capoeira was challenging because it took me to a different world of complexity," she says. Not as rigid as other martial arts, capoeira symbolizes freedom, as it did for the slaves, she says.

"People stand in a circle while playing," Lima adds. "In a square, you know the limits. In a circle, you don't."

Edna credits her family with teaching her self-respect and a positive attitude, but for people who haven't had that advantage, she says capoeira provides a safe, healthy environment and a different way of thinking.

"There's one single phrase about capoeira in all languages: 'That's beautiful, but not for me,'" Lima says. "I destroy that phrase."

For her, fitness results are secondary to breaking that self-doubt barrier. "Everyone in class is forbidden to say, 'I can't,' and then suddenly your limits are behind you."

Lima has had challenges of her own, especially from earning such an advanced title in a male-dominated sport when she was only 20 years old.

Capoeiristas would come to see this female mestre and try to test her. "It took me a long time to find out what they were doing," she says, recounting how often her testers would become the tested.

After 33 years of practicing capoeira, Lima still sees a lot of chauvinists but has learned to focus on developing her skill instead of loosing her energy in competing against them.

"People have no less respect for me than I give myself," she says.

Rich Rewards

Though capoeira looks a lot like break dancing, Lima emphasizes that it "is not a dance. The music brings joy and energy, but even if we call it 'playing,' it's as serious as anything."

	Lima in Action
	Photo: Abada Capoeira

With a degree in physical education, Lima has taught capoeira at colleges through different departments, ranging from dance to sports science, and developed a trademarked capoeira workout, available at New York Sports Clubs.

Lima is also serious about spreading Brazilian culture through capoeira, because "if you don't stay linked to your own culture, you'll forget where you came from. And if you don't know where you came from, you won't know where you are going," she points out.

Lima can bring in anywhere from nothing to $2,000 an hour, depending on where she's teaching, "but if I get one person to start thinking about what they are doing, [no payment] is like a fortune for me," she says.

As for me, I look forward to my biweekly sessions of sweating and singing the way some anticipate happy hour.

"If you want easy things, don't do capoeira. It's a beautiful struggle," says Lima.

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