We did some cool stuff - armada into hollowback au. My handstand walking was doing well! On the au batido I need to kick UP more and not sideways. My MAIN problem on the macaco is that I rush it; I need to plant first and then throw. I had one that Roberto said looked better, although it felt weird. But now that I know what's wrong I can work to fix it. I also had one particularly sweet au sem mao with mad height.

5/4/02

Capoeira was cool! Again my handstand walking was better; I was also practicing stalling on one hand and was semi-successful. I'm gonna bring a camera to the last few classes of the year so I can get some nice pictures. Roberto said that by the time we graduate, we'll be better than he was when he came here because he trained sporadically over 4 years whereas we're playing pretty often. At first I thought that was ridiculous, but the I thought about how much progress I've made in just these 8 months (7 really since I didn't train during January, and had some longish breaks earlier in the school year) and it may be possible. I need to keep my eyes on the other player and pay more attention to what they're doing when I play, reacting more to kicks and stuff like that. I tried to focus on that in the next few games, and had some good games with Emily.

Roberto said that there has been a capoeira club here before, but apparently something went wrong (someone probably got hurt) and that's why the school is so reluctant to give us funding. Hopefully next semester - I'd really love to get some instruments.

My handstands were good today; I love the way you can just feel them improving with practice! Major accomplishment was several good handspins out of a spinning entry.

Practiced some capoeira with Emily, but the energy wasn't there today. Kicks and handstands weren't as balanced as they usually are, and I just wasn't moving well. I think I play a lot better when I play to music; next time I'll bring some.

5/10/02

I got the no-handed kip-up back (for good this time, I think)! I had a few sweet handspins and just some very solid handstands - I'm getting progressively more confident being on my hands.

The thing I want to practice more is just moving like a capoeirista - not using any really fancy moves, just basics, but flowing, changing directions, and moving to the music.

5/11/02

"Class" today turned into a capoeira photo shoot; we got some awesome pictures! Mid-au sem mao, parafuso, backflip and back handspring, au batido (they took the picture at the right time so it looks like I can actually do one :-p) and pictures from the jogo.

5/26/02

When I showed Julian some capoeira, he said I looked like a monkey, which is one of the best compliments I've received :-) ...and also highly ironic, considering I still can't macaco.

Capoeira is meant to be played with other people, of course, but when I'm in a place where no one else plays it, I prefer to practice with nobody around. It's because if I have a bunch of spectators, I feel like I'm putting on a show. Saturday night I practiced capoeira outside on my own from midnight to 1 AM. There was no one around... just me, the stars, and the chill of the grass on my bare feet...

...later I found out that my mom was watching me from the window. Oh well :-p