Capoeira in Cairo

Things were going pretty fast in Cairo. I started working not long after arriving. Found an apartment in Zamalek and started living with two flatmates. But there was something missing... Capoeira !

Before coming, I searched the web to find if in Cairo there were capoeira groups. Unfortunately, the only thing I found was an old group called « Dragon Academy » on Facebook. Samer Hassan, not speciallised in capoeira but a martial art instructor was giving capoeira classes in the past but he was not in the country anymore.

Christine was my french flatmate and Aaron was the german one. I actually « selected » him when he said he was a capoeira player ! World is small isn't it !

So with Aaron (Robocop), we contacted the guys from Dragon Academy and a guy called Ahmed Fouda replied very quickly. He was enthousiastic with the idea of playing capoeira again. This is how we met with him and another Egyptian guy called Arm Yehia. We went to Shebab El Gezira, a park in Zamalek that has grass around a horse track and started playing one afternoon.

Slowly, the idea of me giving capoeira classes came into our mind. Why not ? I contacted my professor in France to talk about it. Professor Pesao from our group Naçao Capoeira gave me his consent and Ahmed Fouda started looking for a place where we could train. In October or November, I don't recall, I started giving my first class in an outdoor place : Sayeda School. There were quite a lot of students for a first class. A lot of people that were training with Samer Hassan stayed in touch and came to my class when they heard of it. The place wasn't really good and the next sessions, we had a gym, a little bit dirty but at least we had something that we could called our « academy ».

Training at Sayeda School

We stayed there for several sessions until we found a better place, with a better surrondings. From what I understood, girls were being bothered at Sayeda School. We started training in a studio called « Emad Eddin », in Downtown not far from Mohamed Naguib Metro station. This is really the place where everything happened and where the group started. The place was known among artists and offers rehearsal, training and residency space to independent troupes and artists in the field of performing arts.

Emad Edin

Students were coming regularely : Hecham, Kamal, Magda, Menna, Deeyia, Hazem, Bassel, Amr, Ahmed Fouda, Ahmed Zaki, Rammah, Béné, Fanny, Ahmed Said, Frida... Slowly, we needed more space and one room was not fitting all those people. We rented the two studios and fortunately, there was a wall that we could remove in the middle to have a bigger space. We became good friends, welcomed more members, foreigners as well as Egyptians. We went on vacations together to Nuweiba, to Ain Soukhna with Ali (Lobo)... We became a family, a capoeira group !

Holidays, trips with the group

I contacted someone who was giving capoeira classes in Sharm el Sheikh : Pixote (Rodolphe). He was interested in doing exchange with our group in Cairo and we organized our first workshop in october. It was a success and the students liked it so we organized a second one in April.

Pixote was at that time Instructor from the group Senzala and brought us his experience and Axé.

Workshop with Pixote

At the end of the first schoolyear, in 2010, we had a show in my two schools : College du Sacré Coeur and Collège de la Mère de Dieu. We were a lot of capoeira players and there was an amazing spirit. My students were impressed as well as the sisters that really liked the show.

Show at the schools

Then in January of the year that followed my professors in France said they wanted to separate from Naçao Capoeira to create their own group : Olorum Bahia Capoeira. I followed them and changed the name of the group in Cairo. We found a better studio as the number of members was increasing and Emad Eddin was not big enough, especially when we had troubles to open the wall in between the two rooms. A new member help me with that and introduced me to the Fencing club staff in Attaba. It was well located and convenient to come by subway. The place had showers and the staff there was very helpful.

Nadi el sela7

We trained very hard for about a year and I organized our first Batizado in June 2011. I invited my two professors Pesao and Passoka. Two french students came with them : Cansado and Cabelinho. On my side, I invited Pixote because he brought a lot of Axé during his workshops and became a good friend. When I was in Lebanon in December 2010 for UCA Capoeira Sobreviventes's batizado with Mestre Accordeon, I met Graduado Negro from Abada capoeira. I asked him to come to our batizado as well. I think, as far as I remember that 29 students graduated during that batizado. We had different capoeira workshops, played maculélé and ended the Batizado with a show at the Culture Wheel in Zamalek (Sayet el Sawi).

Batizado 2010

Looking back at our beginnings and when I see how the group has developed then, I am very proud. I am proud of my work but I am especially proud of the investment that everybody had and that each brought to the reputation and the influence of the group in the city, in Egypt and in the world of capoeira in general.

I organized another workshop with our professors that really liked coming to Cairo. We continued training with new members while older ones were becoming advanced and unfortunately were also leaving for other places.

During my third year in Cairo, I made the decision to move and that was not easy. I made really good friends there and the Olorum Bahia Capoeira members became a family. They were younger brothers, sisters... The capoeira spirit is something special that one must experienced to understand. It's not only about exercising. I did not want to leave the group like that and I asked Professor Passoka if he wanted to take the lead of the group. He came and stayed 3 months at my place in Maadi before taking his decision. He liked the place and the people and decided to settle in Cairo.

Last classes in Cairo for me

Before leaving, I found all the sheets that I kept for accountance. I think that during those 3 years there, around 200 people came to my class ! Of course not all of them stayed and became dedicated capoeirists but there was a huge potential.

As a teacher, I always keep in mind the idea that without students, I am nothing.

What makes the strength of a group is not his teacher, it is the link that make the chain remains strong and it does not break. The link in this chain, this is you, my students. Teaching is giving but it is most of all receiving. I am grateful for the influence you all had on me. I shared intense moments with you guys and I am glad for that.

School of life, capoeira has its share of joy and sadness with people who leave, with people coming back, with students dating while other couples were falling apart…

Capoeira, it never leaves people unscathed, it marks. You live capoeira. Capoeira you think. You breath capoeira. Whatever happens, capoeira will always be there for you if you want. More than a sport, it's a lifestyle. If you are not part of it, you might see us as a sect with a guru (me in this case haha), a uniform and an odd way of smiling when we hit each others with our feet. Part of that might be true... You have to experienced capoeira to understand. Once you've understood, capoeira will remain inside you.

Being "jogador de capoeira", it means remain humble and realize that what you learn in capoeira might help you in your everyday life. It is eternal and endless. Nothing is achieved. I am grateful that it brought me those things because it made me who I am.

"Capoeira nao pode parar, capoeira nao pode morrer" :

Capoeira cannot stop, capoeira cannot die.

Thank you for everything and keep a positive Axé.

Flama

I Love capoeira