Capoeira Luta da vida

Utdrag ur "The little Capoeira Book"

"The capoeira player needs to see the human being hidden behind the facade of physical strength, whether it be in himself or in others. If this does not occur, then the beginner will guide his studies by a series of false precepts and stereotypical ideas, such as the macho tough guy, the deadly blow, or the notion of the superiority of one fighting art over another.

As time goes by, the beginner who guides himself by these false notions will turn into an idol of clay feet, and edifice with a weak base; he will have faith in the fighting techniques but not in the fighter; he will have powerful blows but lack faith in the person who delivers the blows; he will develop his muscles and his technique but not his spiritual strength. On the street, he will be able to beat this or that guy--but he will have to do this ever more frequently to reaffirm to himself and to others the image he is trying to impose. And once he runs into someone with a hot temperament and cool head, he will crumble with the fear that his great farce will be revealed for what it is.

In this increasingly violent sequence of events, he might feel the necessity to walk around with a gun, and he will then notice that others are also carrying guns. And the painful progression of his paranoia will be never-ending, transforming him into a coward who kisses up to the strong and the violent. It will transform him into the weakest of tyrants. All of this will occur because he didn't have the courage to look within himself and those that he idolized, because he was unable to see the human being within, in all of its manifestations both positive and negative."