JAPAN (Koka) - Capoeira for Kids

Today was the last class of the Capoeira for Kids class I've been teaching here in Koka for the past two years. I started the class when a number of my kids expressed the desire to learn following a visit from my Capoeira teacher who was kind enough to come to my schools to share about Brazil and teach the basics of Capoeira. At the time, I was really wanting to improve my skills and figured that one of the best ways to master something is by teaching it. I had no idea that the class would be as frustrating (at first) as it turned out to be. Nor could I foresee how rewarding it be in the end.

I was a terrible instructor at first and had a tough time getting the kids to settle down and practice. The class ended up being composed solely of 5th and 6th grade boys who, quite naturally, enjoyed running around, hitting each other, giving kancho (schoolkid finger enema prank) to each other, playing baseball and soccer with any objects in the room not nailed to the ground, farting in each other's faces and in general causing destruction and mayhem.

Yet, as time passed, I learned how to steer that energy towards practice and for their part, the boys really started to get into it. The major turning point came when we competed in the Gozare Goshuu dance competition (similar to the more well known Yosakoi dance competition) as part of the "Let's Aburahi" team. The boys worked really hard to master the maculele dance moves I taught them and in the end, we ended up taking 2nd place out of 20 teams (many composed solely of adults) gathered from throughout the Kansai region.

I will miss the boys tremendously and hope that when they get older, they will seek out and continue their capoeira training.