1)      Respect and make respected the norms, rituals, and traditions of capoeira Angola.

2)      Respect all the mestres of capoeira.

3)      Do not apply aggressive hits with players who are more experienced than you, linked kicks and kicks below the waist of your partner, while playing capoeira.

4)      When you crouch at the pé do berimbau to play, concentrate, relax the body, and, from the moment you enter the game, do not let your attention deviate from your partner. However, while you are playing, direct your gaze to the front or to the sides, appearing not to pay attention, without staring at your partner, because this will reveal your intentions. Your gaze must never fix itself on anything, although your field of vision should be the most ample possible.

5)      Only enter a roda when you are already completely prepared for capoeira.

6)      In street rodas, only go to the jogo de dentro at the exact moment of the movement done by your partner, while simultaneously applying a counterattack. Avoid descending when his movement passes at a distance, or when your adversary only feints a movement.

7)      When you are playing the jogo de dentro and your partner approaches rapidly to give a kick to the face, not allowing you the opportunity to leave in a rolé or give him a hit, try to get up together with him, putting yourself in the position to apply various hits.

8)      Aim to learn the ginga well. Remember that it is the main movement of capoeira, the first to be taught and, consequently, its base.

9)      Ginga constantly, aiming to always feint.

10)  Every good capoeirista, besides playing capoeira, must know how to play the berimbau and sing. Learn these.

11)  Don’t praise yourself to gain respect in the roda. If you are really a good capoeirista, you will be known as such.

12)  Don’t demonstrate what you know outside the roda. Only when it is necessary.

13)  Observe your more experienced training partners. If you do this, you will learn better.

14)  Try to imagine yourself in any difficult situation, seeking the best method to free yourself. When in reality you find yourself in such a situation, you will have a better chance of success.

15)  When a chamada is called, approach very carefully because, in the norms of capoeira, the capoeirista that calls the chamada can apply any hit he desires if the other approaches without the necessary caution.

16)  When you are playing, only execute capoeira movements of which you have complete control.

17)  When you play with a stranger, don’t show all of your game, saving your best hits for the decisive hour, if necessary.

18)  Don’t play in a street roda or place with which you are not familiar, without first having observed the environment sufficiently.

19)  Pay lots of attention when you get up. This is when the jogo de dentro turns into the jogo de fora.

20)  The graduated capoeirista who still finds difficulty in learning a certain capoeira movement must stop doing it, trying instead to perfect himself in the movements that he has already learned.

21)  Try to play without touching the body to the ground. Only the hands and the feet must touch the ground. The best capoeiristas used to play in white clothes without soiling them.

22)  Only after acquiring good technique through the execution of offensive movements in a slow and progressive manner should the capoeirista worry himself with speed and, consequently, with the power of hits.

23)  When practicing capoeira, keep your hands relaxed. If you make a fist for a brief instant, relax it immediately. The closed fist is completely foreign to capoeira’s characteristics, which consist of relaxed movements that allow the free circulation of the blood, and thus the execution of more spontaneous and agile movements.

24)  In the beginning of the capoeira game, try to execute slow, circular movements in the jogo de dentro, with the goal of warming up the muscles, so that later you can progress into the jogo de fora, in which the rhythm may stay slow or become faster, depending on the toque played by the berimbau-mestre.

25)  During the practice of capoeira, try to avoid the utilization of muscular force. The whole body must be stretched/extended; thus there is no place for this type of force, which is nothing more than superficial energy.

26)  Do not consider very important the ability to do flips, complicated movements, and series of extremely rapid hits that, fatally, bring the capoeirista to exhaustion, occurring much in the practice of modern capoeira. In traditional capoeira angola, we direct movements calmly.

27)  Capoeira angola is essentially defensive. The capoeirista must try to guide his opponent’s attack in his favor, attracting him with movements of the body, putting him in an unfavorable position.

28)  The capoeirista in the beginning of his learning should try to show the hits, to stretch the muscles. When he obtains a certain expertise, the movements can become more closed.

29)  Wherever the capoeirista is, capoeira must accompany him. The body and the spirit must be prepared for any situation.

30)  When you turn a corner late at night, drag your foot and take the direction of the street, returning to the path later.

31)  When you are in any room, never sit with your back towards the entrance, unless in front of you is a mirror or other object that fully reflects the entrance.

32)  When you pass through a dark street, always walk in the middle, never on the sides.

33)  Never enter a dark corridor.

34)  Don’t let yourself be embraced by a stranger as a greeting.

35)  Don’t attack. The violence of capoeira is contained in the innermost part of the capoeirista, only manifesting itself at the opportune moment.

36)  Never hit your partner when his back is towards you.

37)  Be loyal to your friends in the fight.

38)  Try to avoid fights. Only fight when you are 100% correct.

39)  If you are unable to avoid a fight, try to defend yourself. Stay calm. Don’t rush to apply a hit; give it when the probability of fault is the lowest possible. Try to take advantage of everything the environment can provide. Remember that malícia is essential to the capoeirista and through it you can decide a fight in a question of seconds.

40)  The good capoeirista has the obligation to cry at the feet of the adversary. He is crying, but the eyes and the spirit are active.

41)  Have faith in what you learned.