Desconfiado graciously rejoins us today to talk about a problem he has with nicknames, and also the dark secret around his own nickname. Then we move on the conundrum that independent schools find themselves in - it's nice to run things your own way, but you gotta do everything yourself. A larger group gets you perks but not autonomy; what to do?

Azul and Bonzinho are back from a great event and live podcast panel. They recap everything for Varal, who listens with increasing jealousy. Art exhibits, rodas, after-parties...so Hollywood. Plus the live podcast discussion alongside two other great capoeira podcasts, linked below.

Singing For Survival https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/singing-for-survival-capoeira-history/id1523973571

The Capoeira Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-capoeira-podcast/id949216713

C is for Capoeira book https://www.amazon.com/C-Capoeira-Basics-Z/dp/1736188879/

We retry some things we didn't do so well before. Some talk of how best to train au, and lots of talk about how to keep your au from getting stale.

A free association of thoughts and feelings about the new year. Capoeira resolutions, regular resolutions, and a morsel of existential angst.

The podcast For the Love of Language joins us for a special crossover mashup episode. They school us on how to make learning Portuguese easier, how oral history impacts capoeira, and whether it's cool to sing songs that aren't in Portuguese.

Stacie and EJ are both linguists, capoeiristas, former students of Azul's, and delightful.

Find them here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5UY4kBQHEHVGovy1kLUWrm?si=BKqzOVgKSFaY5Ng-c_ZRsw&utm_source=copy-link

*Quality Control* - Hey, looking back on it, this episode is rough for audio quality. If that bothers you, I suggest you start with Episode 5. --Varal

The inaugural episode. Movement spotlight on au for our intro before a dive into creativity. What does it mean to be creative in capoeira? Can you train it systematically? Is it useful?
Closing out by answering questions and dispensing justice. How do I get over the fear of going into the roda? How do I train takedowns on my own?

For students, the secret strategies by which your teacher tests your loyalty. For teachers, our top tips to ensure that you never sign up another student.

We talk starting capoeira when you're past your salad days and how to achieve a few age-appropriate acrobatics. Then we move along to discussing what is sacred in capoeira. Everyone's answer is a little bit different, but why does it have to cause so much strife?

Lotta stuff today. Bonzinho creates a handstand protocol for Varal to follow. Azul buys the game and declines to play when injured. Varal learns how to fight even when he doesn't have a tambourine.

The Bonz protocol for all you handstanders (rest at least 1 min in between each):

1 min - regular handstands, straight, tuck, split leg 1 min - wrist rolls 1-2 min - ninja lowers. straight, then side to side 1 min - towel stretch 1-2 min - facing wall, single hand holds 1 min - straight hold <==> holla (no wall!)

Azul quizzes Bonzinho and Varal about their spiritual beliefs. Do you have to be spiritual to train capoeira? Does training capoeira make you spiritual? Why does Azul remember a handspin in LA in 2012 more clearly than the births of her children? Plus, a quick update on cannibalism.