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China
Welcome to our second stop and the most difficult journey in my life.

China is not an easy country. There are too many people here, and this is not just statistics. Shanghai airport and railway station are overcrowded. Just to get into a taxi, I had to wait in line for 40 minutes. Roads, overpasses and bridges are multi-level and multi-lane. There are separate lanes and even tunnels for scooters and bicycles, because there are too many of them as well. The traffic is confusing, chaotic. Everyone runs and drives, and it seems that if you stop even for a second, you will be run over or trampled. Prices range from ridiculous to sky-high. And many foreigners believe that all products in China are counterfeit. Kinder and Nutella are not tasty here, for example.

There are too many McDonald’s and Starbucks cafes here for a country that has blocked almost all major American sites and apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. When I say they are blocked, I mean you literally can’t download or use them unless you have a good VPN and some luck! Imagine this. I was devastated because I couldn’t talk to my family for almost two months.

There are also many foreigners here. Everyone has to learn Chinese, because there is no other way to survive. The Chinese do not speak English in taxis, shops or cafes. Catching free Wi-Fi is almost impossible, without a local SIM card and VPN it will be difficult to use the usual Internet. All life, communication, payment for absolutely everything: food delivery, taxi and even government services are concentrated in the WeChat application. If you don’t have this app – consider that you do not exist in China either. Even homeless people here accept money on WeChat!

And what about capoeira? The history of capoeira in China began in Italy. Yes, in Italy. And I will have to learn that history when I go to Italy, because the person who brought capoeira to Shanghai, and then spread it to several more cities, returned to Italy years ago.

Nonetheless, I attended the local group of Capoeira Mandinga in Shanghai and was pleasantly surprised by the number of students there. There were about 20 of us. The teacher’s name is Nico or Instrutor²⁹ Virtual, he is originally from France and was giving the classes in English. There were 2 more girls from other countries, the rest of the students were Chinese. The level of playing in the roda was very impressive – a good base was visible.

Notes from China

After the Saturday roda in Shanghai, I went to the city of Shenzhen located on the border with Hong Kong. This city is considered the capital of watchmaking in China. I found out about this little detail by translating an article about the manufacture of replica watches in China for my work – a funny coincidence. I don’t often work on texts that are so directly connected to my life.

So, I came to work as an English teacher in an early learning center – where there were no children yet – it did make my life a lot easier. I would create lessons and use a lot of ideas from capoeira classes, which I conducted, together with my teacher, Professor Biruta³⁰ in Rostov-on-Don. I chopped a bamboo branch with a kitchen knife, hanging from the second floor, repaired the printer (in Chinese, yeah), painted a photo corner for the Mid-Autumn Festival and tried to put my colleagues on the right path in terms of healthy eating (well, you can’t just eat fried, spicy and salty stuff every day, even if it’s vegetables). For some reason I showed 2-year-old children a presentation about Vietnam, although they don’t even understand what a country is. There, I also had to learn to read fairy tales in English beautifully and expressively while recording all of them on video.

The city was very green and hot. There was also high humidity and tropical showers, Tesla cars passed every 5—10 minutes. Every now and then I met foreigners. Unlike South Korea, where all foreigners live mainly in Seoul, in China they can be found almost everywhere.

The guys from Shanghai gave me some contacts of capoeiristas in Shenzhen. It was already great luck that capoeira existed there.

The first person I wrote to was a guy named Matthew from France, who previously worked with the Capoeira Ginga Nago group, and at the time of my stay in Shenzhen – in the Capoeira Brasil group under the direction of Mestre Chumbinho. The master was originally from Australia and at that time lived in Hong Kong. And yes, every Sunday he came to another city, and actually to another country, to give a capoeira class.

In my first week in China, three things happened:

– I found two more capoeiristas: a guy from Portugal from the Rabo de Arraia group named Tiago and his girlfriend from Belgium from the Beijing branch of the Mandinga group named Yuni. Tiago taught free classes in the university lobby twice a week. I met them on the Friday.

– I was invited to a Brazilian party on Saturday night and was added to the city capoeira chat where this very party was discussed. The master asked who was going there, and I was the first to answer. Furthermore, the first six people who volunteered to perform could receive tickets to the buffet. Brazilian food. Any. Even churrasco. For free. I was ready, but nobody had known me yet, so I was not included in the list.

– On Sunday, I went to train with Mestre Chumbinho. Capoeira Brasil are classic representatives of the Regional³¹ style. Well, there were a lot of kicks, trips and a kind of “the last survivor” – who will last the longest in the game. I was participating in the last round with one guy, but when the game became completely monotonous and ugly, and my head was throbbing and was about to explode from overheating, I gave up.

And now, everything in order.

Tiago and Yuni are wonderful people and capoeiristas. They met in Spain when Yuni attended a local capoeira group event she had never heard of before. Tiago was there. Well, so it started. He visited her in Belgium, then in China, where she had been working at the university for many years. Then he came to China and stayed.

When I arrived, Tiago had been in the city for less than six months, but he had already worked in a sports club and taught capoeira to kids, and was looking for a studio for an adult group. His classes were amazing, and my only complaint was, “Why is the class is over already? I want more!”

From conversations with Tiago, I learned a few things about capoeira in Portugal, about European Portuguese and decided to go there one day.

In Tiago’s training, I met several more students from other countries and groups. It was very interesting. Each person had their own history; the group was a mixture of cultures and spoke several foreign languages, ahh. I am having goosebumps as I write this. It was incredible to touch other worlds, personalities and cultures through capoeira, and still feel at home.

The Brazilian party.

Well, what can you tell us about a party? – you would ask. Everybody performs, everybody goes to parties. And what will you say to six people from five different groups and six different countries who are gathered for the performance? And we put on a show together as if we had known each other for ages, like old friends.

I had never seen anything like this. Against this background of experiencing unity through capoeira, even the delicious Brazilian food lost its importance. Mestre Chumbinho hosted the entire show, sang and played the berimbau³². And we, without any preparation, simply followed his instructions. Everything went like clockwork. People clapped, groaned and admired. There were even two volunteers who learned a couple of movements and amused the audience with their impromptu fight.

Initially, I was not on the list of performers, but they lacked one person, and I had brought white pants and a white T-shirt with the CDO logo with me. Just in case, you know. All participants in some miraculous way brought only white T-shirts. Everyone had white pants with their school logo:

• Mestre Chumbinho – Capoeira Brasil – Australia

• Taf – Capoeira Brasil – UK

• Matthieu – Capoeira Ginga Nago – France

• Tiago – Rabo de Arraia – Portugal

• Yuni – Capoeira Mandinga – Belgium

• I (Curiosa) – Cordão de Ouro – Russia

Moments like these are worth living for!

It all ended with sincere conversations about where everyone was from, which school they represented and how they ended up in China.

Training in the Capoeira Brasil Group.

Late, but I arrived for the class. The master conducts training with humor, but makes you sweat with a lot of repetitions. There was only one Chinese student among us. There was also another Russian girl and all the same faces: Taf and Matthew.

At that training session, I felt out of place as never before. This was not my capoeira. The very approach to training was completely different. Although I must admit that such training was necessary for me on a regular basis in order to learn to play quickly and strongly at a new level.

Conversation with Instrutor Virtual.

Let's go back to Shanghai and talk to Nico a bit.

Curiosa: What is the state of capoeira in China?

Nico: Officially, Capoeira Mandinga Shanghai was established in 2008, then it came to Beijing and then to Taiwan. Then a student from Russia who started with me moved to Hangzhou (a city one hour away from Shanghai). There were already some people who were doing capoeira there, but it was a very small group, which wasn’t really affiliated with anyone. After some time, they also wanted to join the group of capoeira Mandinga. There’s also one guy in Hefei who has 3 or 4 students already. One girl from Hangzhou also moved to a city close to the border with Thailand, she already has around ten students. So, there are three major cities and these two little groups. In Shanghai, there are two groups of capoeira Mandinga now. The person who moved to Hangzhou came back and started his own group. Now the two groups meet for a Saturday open rodas once a month.

The other teacher’s name is Alex, Chupateta. His group has about 5 to 15 people, whereas my group has 6 to 25 students depending on the day of the week. Students of the Capoeira Brasil group also come to the Saturday open rodas.

Curiosa: Many students left Shanghai and started groups in many other cities. Were all these students advanced enough to start teaching adults on their own?

Nico: When Diego came to Shanghai in 2005, he had only three years in capoeira, he didn’t find any capoeira group there and asked his master in Italy if he could start teaching capoeira. His master said that he could not and that his only option was to stop doing capoeira.

Diego didn’t listen to his master and started to teach. Then they invited Mestre Marcelo and became Capoeira Mandinga. So, when he started, he was just a yellow belt and then for many years he had the highest level in China. But then Capoeira Brasil came and people there had a higher level. I started to teach with dark green belt. Once in a while I would teach what I knew.

Then when you go to another city and there’s no capoeira, so what do you do? You’re like: hello, I have three years in capoeira, do you want to try? And it starts like that.»

Curiosa: What belts do your students have?

Nico: The highest level in my group is yellow belt. Half of the people in my group started with Diego and all the beginners started with me.

There is another guy in Shanghai that is even more advanced than me. He is from the USA and used to be part of Mandinga group but decided to leave. He is not affiliated with any group now. He teaches capoeira in a gym and supports all the rodas.

Professor Guerreiro³³ – Shanghai, China

***

I have already said that Diego returned to Italy. He now lives in Milan with his wife Elisa (Instrutora Princesa³⁴). I met her at a seminar in Milan in October 2019. There were several people with Capoeira Mandinga logos on their pants. I didn’t know anyone from their group in Italy at all, so I went up to say hello and told them of my desire to attend Diego’s classes. Elisa, as it turned out, knew about my existence. I told her about my project and that I wanted to meet Diego and interview him. On the same date, Diego himself was at a seminar in Shanghai with his group.

I must say that Diego’s move to Italy was in many ways a decisive factor in my decision to travel to Italy. I was eager to go there almost every year, but something always hindered this desire. I had heard so much about this country that it seemed that I had already visited there. Then I realized that without a visit to Diego, I would not be able to finish the chapter on capoeira in China. Moreover, other very talented capoeiristas live there, so I would able to talk to them as well.

At last, the long-awaited meeting with Diego took place. I remember it was a Tuesday evening, I walked for a very long time along the dark, cool streets of Milan, cursing at the endless cobblestones, where my small suitcase was constantly getting stuck. Not without difficulty, I found the entrance to the gym, I didn’t see any familiar faces. They let me into the locker room but then I did not understand where to go, and no one understood me. But when we did finally found each other, I was very surprised how pleasant and humble Diego was.

Diego turned out to be a very jovial, pleasant, open and down-to-Earth person. I would never have suspected that behind such a face there was such a force and such a story. When I understood what work he had done both in China and in Italy, what success he has achieved in capoeira, I wanted to give him a standing ovation and shout “bravo!”.

Conversation with Diego

At the first class on Tuesday, I sat in a corner and just watched the class – it seems that I had a fever back then as my head was splitting. Luckily, we managed to make an appointment to meet early before the next class on Thursday for an interview.

And so, it happened. We met in the lobby of the sports center before training. Diego was with his wife, Elisa, who added comments to some of his answers. Diego was so quick and clear in answering the questions, it was as if he had already been rehearsing the answers.

Sit back and enjoy this incredible dialogue.

Curiosa: Where are you from? When did you start capoeira? What did you do before capoeira?

Diego: I am from Italy, Naples to be specific. I started capoeira in 2001. Before that, I did judo for 4 years, taking part in competitions. Then I received a shoulder injury and I decided to start another sport. I was studying in university back then, so I was 19 or 20 years old. My friend suggested that I try capoeira, so we went together, and started to train with a teacher, his name is Tatu from the Balanço do Mar. It is the current name of the group in Napoli. I trained there for almost 3 years. Then I spent 6 months in Beijing in 2004, but I didn’t do any capoeira there. Then I came back to Italy, to Napoli. And in September 2005, I moved to Shanghai.

Curiosa: Why Shanghai? Why China?

Diego: I studied international relations along with Chinese language at university, so I went to China to study. And in 2005 I went to Shanghai because I won a scholarship from the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and they sent me to Shanghai. When I came, I looked for capoeira everywhere. I was going to Brazilian restaurants and then a Brazilian guy told me there was a guy in a park in Shanghai doing capoeira on weekends. So, I went there, I found the guy. He was there with a bunch of people. And actually, he was leaving and he asked me and another French guy to continue with the classes. So, basically it was just a group of people, they were training on Saturdays and on Sundays, once a week when there was no rain. And we continued to teach.

One of the first guys, who is Japanese, met his wife while doing capoeira, they eventually had a child, and we actually went to their wedding in Japan; I did the best man’s speech. It was quite an experience to be a best man at a traditional Japanese wedding.

Back in Shanghai, I was teaching only super basic stuff because my teacher was teaching only very basic stuff. So, I was doing very simple capoeira, and we were hanging out after the class; the vibe was good. When the winter came, an English fellow proposed to use the facility that was in his compound. So, we went there and started to train once a week sharing the rent. We were having easy classes for one hour, then we would go outside to have drinks. This kind of vibe brought a lot of people. Let’s say, there were 20 people training, all expats, foreigners from all over the world. It was really fun.

But the capoeira was… let’s say – bad; the technical part of capoeira that is.

Curiosa: Did you do any music back then?

Diego: Yes, we did music. I was doing my best. I learned there by myself how to actually play berimbau. I knew basic songs, but it was a challenge. I had to lead the rodas, so for me, music was always twinned with capoeira. One Italian guy was really advanced in the movements, but, for him capoeira was without music, so we never really got in touch with him. I wanted him for his movements, I wanted him to come to classes but then it never happened actually – he was just a performer, not a capoeirista.

So, after that, I came back to Italy for holidays, it was in 2007, and the mestre of the group, Mestre Alemão³⁵, was teaching in Genoa, but he was giving a workshop in Napoli. I was paying and supporting the class and at the end of the workshop, he pointed at me and said, “I heard that you are teaching and doing capoeira there, but that there is no mestre; I don’t think that’s a good idea. You shouldn’t teach what you learn here, you shouldn’t train capoeira without a mestre.”

So basically, I was kicked out of the group because according to him I was supposed to quit capoeira from the beginning because there was no mestre there. So that was the end of the story with that group.

Then at the end of 2007, I met Mestre Marcelo. He contacted me by email. He said that he was going to Japan, he had found their capoeira group in Shanghai while searching the Internet and could teach a workshop there.

Curiosa: But how did he find you?

Diego: He found us on the Internet, we had a group there, with an email address on the page. He was curious. He was in Asia and wanted to see what’s going on in Asia. There was no Facebook at that time, there was no social media. A I had no idea who he was. First, because my capoeira education was really low. Second, there was not much Internet use at that time. So, I was really scared about inviting a Brazilian guy to Shanghai and paying for airplane tickets – it was something that I have never thought about. But eventually we came to an agreement: I trusted him, he trusted me. So, we bought his tickets to Shanghai and he gave a workshop. We were roughly 20 to 25 people; we were friends basically. So, he taught the workshop and we were all very impressed. I had never before witnessed such beautiful capoeira. He was in his 40s and he seems to have been in the best capoeira form of his life. Whatever movement he was doing, from the ginga to the macaco³⁶, it was amazing, it was something I had never seen, for my capoeira had been limited to what I had learned in Napoli.

Curiosa: What kind of capoeira was it?

Diego: It was more regional, I believe. Keeping in mind that my style was super bad. I am still fighting to get rid of it to this day.

So, it was really a big revelation for us, we were inspired by him. Not only that, we were also inspired by his philosophy, his idea, and his vision of capoeira. The thought came to my mind, “Ok, this is what I have been looking for in capoeira.” Maybe I felt there was more to capoeira, but I never knew because I was in the different world. So, at the end of the weekend, we talked and we actually had this connection; he agreed to have us as part of his group, Mandinga, and to support us. And this support was not just lip service because, in March 2008, four months after the workshop, he sent to Shanghai a contra-mestre, Mexican Contra-Mestre Cipó³⁷. And he taught classes every day for 3 months. He was really good and really tough. The group was halved because classes were too tough but for the people who stayed, they really learned capoeira, gained an understanding of Capoeira Mandinga, and came to understand what it means to train capoeira. It was like walking through the fire, we were really exposed to the top notch stuff. After these 3 months, we invited two more teachers of Mestre Marcelo. It was a couple: an American contra-mestra and a Brazilian professor. They were a married couple and they came to Shanghai for 3 more months from July to September. They helped us organize our first Batizado. which we had in September; they also taught very technical capoeira, very Mandinga/Cordāo de Ouro style. So, having that full immersion with them turned out to be very vital and life changing.

Curiosa: And what belt did you get during that Batizado?

Diego: Yellow belt. It was my first belt ever because my old group also never had a Batizado at that time, so I never had any belt.

Curiosa: How long did it take you to receive that belt and why?

Diego: After 7 years, but I wouldn’t count all 7 years because for me, the first three years were wasted and when I was in Shanghai teaching, I was learning some bad berimbau technique and in capoeira I was reviewing some kicks. I was just involved in some capoeira moving but still keeping it very basic. So, as you can see, that year was very important for me.

Then we invited other teachers from Mandinga school during the following years. But for me, those 6 months were the key. I was taking daily notes from all the classes, so I had material for years. This is what I have been doing after, rearranging something of course.

Curiosa: Why did you decide to stay in Shanghai?

Diego: I found an internship, and in 2007 I was contracted by a bank. I was working there and teaching capoeira in the evenings.

Curiosa: What are the major milestones in the development of your group in Shanghai?

Diego: The first Batizado was of course an important milestone. Then, I don’t remember the exact year, one female student, named Morena³⁸, who had been training with me almost from the beginning, moved to Beijing. I think it was in 2011 or 2012.

There was also a group of people that were always present at our events, they were struggling with their training and they wanted to become a part of Mandinga, but we never got organized.

She went there and she took over, so she started to teach classes and they organized a group and they grew a lot, and it became a Mandinga group.

Another milestone was when Alex Chupateta moved to Hangzhou and started a group there. It was very funny. The first time he came to my class in 2008, he was speaking Chinese; he couldn’t speak a word in English and his only language besides Russian was Chinese. I was able to speak Chinese, so we were communicating in Chinese in the beginning. He was already in love with capoeira; he was super committed, and eventually he learned English and Portuguese. And when he moved to Hangzhou he started to teach there. Now he is back to Shanghai, but the Hangzhou group is still there.

The Beijing group is still functional, but Morena is now teaching in Iceland because her husband is from Iceland.

And then another important milestone for the Mandinga happened when one Taiwanese capoeirista came to my class. I think it was in 2009 or 2010, after class he indicated that he liked the energy and the vibe of that class; he said there were a few people in Taiwan and they had some issues with other groups there, as they didn’t like their styles and so he wanted to know about our group.

I told him it would be OK for him to come to our Batizado, so that he could speak with Mestre Marcelo. Three of them came to our Batizado, that would be the second or the third one, and they asked to join the group. Basically, we started to support them, so they could become a part of Mandinga group. I remember my first workshop there was in 2011, there were 9 of them in the class, all super beginners. I then left China in 2015, and when I returned in August of the same year, there were like 70 students; the capoeira level had risen dramatically. What they are doing there is an amazing job. People from all over Asia go to their events because they are super fun. They have nice vibe, good energy and most importantly, they are super good at capoeira.

They are also very into the design and marketing of gadgets and other paraphernalia, but their excellence in capoeira is undoubtedly their drawing card. They are really committed, I saw them in the beginning and every time I see them now, I see that they’ve grown and have done an amazing job.

Yet another milestone was when I became an instructor in 2012 and then I became professor in 2015; it was my Formatura³⁹. Personally, I trained with Ido Portal, I invited him twice to Shanghai in 2011.

Curiosa: For a workshop?

Diego: Yes, he wasn’t famous yet, but he was known in the capoeira community. He gave a workshop in March and September of 2011. Let’s just say that from those workshops, we could see that he was at a different level.

He is a very interesting guy and I became his student, I did online coaching sessions and many workshops with him, and within 3 years he had helped me to completely alter my body, change my views about certain things and taught me how to protect the body. Further technical knowledge was also imparted by him to me.

Curiosa: When you came to China, what was the situation with capoeira and how has it changed?

Diego: When I moved to China in 2005, capoeira didn’t exist, nobody knew except for some Brazilian waiters that I met in some Brazilian restaurants. Pretty much no one knew about capoeira there. The only people who knew were those 10 people in the park.

What happened next. By 2008 or was it 2009, I don’t quite recall, we had 2 Chinese students. I’m not sure how they found out about capoeira, they were a husband and wife. They were our first Chinese students and they are still training with us today. She has also gotten her yellow belt now, after 10 years. 10 years I know seems like a long time, but we are very conservative.

But then in 2010, at Shanghai Expo, through some friends, we were given the opportunity to do 2 or 3 performances in the Brazilian Pavilion. Thus, capoeira was being advertised everywhere: in subways, in magazines etc. And that is how the Chinese people started to look at this Brazilian thing: a dance, a martial art, whatever. So, after 2010 we started to have more Chinese.

Curiosa: Were there mainly expats in your group?

Diego: We had only expats until 2009; after, we initially had 2 Chinese, now we have more Chinese and foreigners.

Curiosa: How did you manage with the language?

Diego: I went to Beijing for 6 months and I learned it there.

Curiosa: In what language did you offer your training?

Diego: At first, in English. I was giving classes in English most of the time until the majority of the class became Chinese, then I mainly used the Chinese language.

Curiosa: So how did you end up teaching capoeira back in Italy?

Diego: In 2015, I moved back to Italy, to Milan. I trained with Nadav for 6 months and then in September 2016 a couple students who had trained with me in Shanghai moved to Milan.

These students comprised of one Italian guy who was originally from Milan, he had been taking capoeira classes here with a group, but when he moved to Shanghai for a year, he ended up training with me.

The group here was closed and when he moved back, he said I should teach capoeira again because he didn’t want to go back to that group and he wanted to train “my” capoeira.

So, with me, my wife, him and his girlfriend at that time, there were four of us already, so I agreed to give it a try. I didn’t know where it would lead, for I hadn’t planned to continue teaching when I moved back to Italy.

Curiosa: You didn’t plan to teach?

Diego: No, I planned just to give training but not teaching, I didn’t want another big commitment. Because it’s a lot of work to be responsible for a group. It can be huge or it can be nothing if you don’t take it seriously.

Anyway, we started out few. Now the group has 20 persons; they are all very happy people, some of them are committed, some of them are less committed, but it’s fun nonetheless.

Curiosa: Nadav said that 2 of his students went to you?

Diego: Yes.

Curiosa: He said he would recommend you to his students if they can't train with him.

Diego: Yeah. It happens that some students might have difficulties with a group or with a teacher…

Curiosa: Or with a place or with a metro…

Diego: Whatever may be the case. It’s better that they continue training with someone else than stopping.

I mean in Shanghai, I had up to ten thousand students in ten years who have trained with me at least once. Everybody left Shanghai after a while (I am speaking about the expats) and for me the important thing is that they would continue to practice.

Curiosa: Is this a common experience with expats?

Diego: Yeah, it was tough. They were getting good and then they were leaving, they were getting good and then they were leaving. It’s frustrating but now…

Elisa (Diego’s wife): There were people who were coming and leaving but there was also a core group that was always there.

Curiosa: How did you both meet?

Diego: In Napoli, in the same university. We were not in the same class, but she was studying Chinese. After we met, in the same day, I said to her, “You know, tomorrow there will be a capoeira roda in the street.” So, I invited her to see a capoeira roda, but she didn’t go.

Elisa: I didn’t go.

Diego: And she didn’t go.

Elisa: I knew about capoeira, but I didn’t think of practicing.

Curiosa: How did the move to Shanghai come about?

Diego: I moved first, and then she moved a few months later and started capoeira a year later.