Capoeira is a martial art with many various facets that make it a whole and unique art. As a synthesis of forgotten rituals and ceremonial combat dances, it represents a form of cultural expression with which young African people responded to violence and cruel demands of urban society.
It is a Brazilian art form, which combines elements of acrobatic dance, cunning game, ritualised fighting and sport (it is a national sport of Brazil). Having its origins in the struggle for freedom, its primary goal was warrior-like intended to develop ever more refined and efficient combat techniques enabling the slaves to use their body as a deadly weapon against the oppressors.

Capoeira’s origins can also be found in the African dances and rituals – its predecessor is in fact the Angola initiation dance performed during puberty rites which marked the passage of girls into adulthood. These ceremonial dances spontaneously transformed into a cunning game and the things that still attest to that today are the integral parts of this discipline such as the elements of music and samba, used as a disguise by slaves to outwit the overseers and hide the real cause of capoeira.