Styles & Groups of Capoeira

There are many different kinds of capoeira. As previously stated the two largest types are Angola and Regional. Although groups of one style do exist, most groups tend to mix the two styles to some degree. Capoeira Angola groups from the Northeast will tend to identify only as Capoeira Angola and will mimic Regional for performances.

Angola is considered to be the true root style of capoeira, often characterised by slower, sneakier movements played closer to the ground. Capoeira Angola, in actuality, is played in a great range of speeds, ranging from Mestre Rene's school (with fast, highly acrobatic movements and frenetic high tempo music) to Mestre João Pequeno's school (with much slower, methodical movements to low tempo, hypnotic music). The father of modern Capoeira Angola is considered to be Mestre Pastinha (Paas-cheen-yah) who lived in Salvador, Bahia. Today, most of the Capoeira Angola media that is accessible comes from mestres in Pastinha's lineage, but this isn't to say that he was the only one or that he was the originator. Many others helped in the preservation and propagation of Capoeira Angola, including Mestre Caiçara, Mestre Bobo, Mestre Noronho, Besouro Mangangá, etc. The Angola style, while emphasising the traditions and history of capoeira remains a contemporaneous art in the vibrant street scene of Salvador, Bahia. There is a diversity of styles and players, all of the traditional form, playing or performing in a great range of speeds and testing each other in various academies and in the street.

Regional is a newer and more martially-oriented game. Regional was developed by Mestre Bimba to make capoeira more mainstream and accessible to the public, and less associated with the criminal elements of Brazil. While capoeristas can sometimes play Angola-like, slow games, the Regional style is most often composed of fast, acrobatic, and athletic play. This type of game is characterised by high jumps, acrobatics, and spinning kicks, while maintaining the trickiness and ground-work characteristic of Capoeira Angola. Regional ranks capoeiristas (Capoeira players) by ability, denoting different skill levels with the use of corda (coloured ropes) worn as belts. Angola does not use such a formal system of ranking, relying instead upon the discretion of a student's mestre. In both forms, though, recognition of advanced skill comes only after many years of constant practice.

Today, there are many fusion styles, which mix the Angola and Regional traditions. Some refer to this as "capoeira atual," or "capoeira contemporânea." Whether playing Angola or Regional, groups often have different styles of wildly different movements. In general, older groups/styles often have a greater emphasis on the traditions of capoeira, while newer groups concentrate chiefly on sports-like technique.