WARNING: Spoiler alerts. If you haven’t watched Avatar, don’t blame me. But regardless it’s still worth catching.

Got a chance to watch Avatar. Again. This time in 3D. And as I was thinking of the article for this week for Bantus, it dawned upon me the parables between the tale of an American GI trying to learn his ways, and a capoeirista learning the ways of Bantus.

What are the similarities?

Well, it’s a stranger jumping straight into the skin – literally – of an alient culture, totally dumbstruck and clueless, yet still determined to learn their ways. Doesn’t that sound like a Malaysian walking into the academy for the first time learning to do the ginga?

For easy distillation, I shall put down my lessons and random observations in point form.

1. “You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentleman.” – This is the ultimate introduction to the whole new world that is Pandora. Which brings me back to the first time I touched down in Belo Horizonte for the Bantus World Meet. Yes. You’re not in Kuala Lumpur any more people. Learn. Adapt. Smile. But carry a big dose of Maladragem with you.
2. “She says that all energy is only borrowed; at some point you have to return it.” – It’s the same in the Roda. When you are playing, you are a force on the move. You are the Jogo. The Jogo is you. The Roda, the bataria, the people clapping give you the energy. Use it, harness it, enjoy it. And when it’s your turn, give the same Axé back.
3. “You are like a baby! Clumsy! Loud!” Neytiri
   “Then teach me!” Jake Scully. – That’s the right attitude to have when you first start capoeira. Nobody expects to be kick-ass overnight. God knows most of us are still expecting and learning to be. The more important aspect is that you are willing to learn, and make mistakes.
4. “Do as we do, and learn it well. Then we will see if your insanity can be cured” – Sometimes the best way to figure out why we do what we do in capoeira, is just to learn it. To understand it. And with time, you let the movements, music, culture seep into your being, and you can truly understand why Capoeira has always been an outlet and statement of personal expression and freedom.
5. “Colonel, there’s a native doing the funky chicken” – You will always get non-capoeirista friends calling capoeira some other funny term or another. A dance. A weird breakdance thingy. A waste of time cause you’ll never be as good as a Brazilian. Well don’t listen to them. They don’t know. They just don’t know!
6. “You have a strong heart; no fear. But stupid, like a child.” – This is an important lesson to learn. No fear. Is important. No fear of your physical limitations. No fear of falling down. No fear of making a fool of yourself. And yes. You’ll look stupid doing the ginga for the first time. Don’t worry, we all have to learn to walk.

Any more lessons to learn from Avatar? I’m sure there are plenty. And that is a lesson in itself. Just because you’re not in class learning capoeira, doesn’t mean the world doesn’t offer you a chance to be a better capoeirista.

‘Eu Sou Bantus Capoeira’

‘I am Bantus Capoeira’

If you are. Then look through the eyes of a capoeirista. A Bantus Capooerisa. Learn from your everyday experiences on how to be a better person. Apply the lessons you learn from Bantus in your everyday life.

Here’s wishing you guys another long non-capoeira holiday week. Or is it? It is up to you, to decide if you are the Avatar of Bantus Capoeira.

The academy will be closed from 23rd Dec 2009 till 3rd Jan 2010 for Christmas and New Years. If you do want to train, give any one of the seniors a ring and they will arrange for it to be opened up. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and see everyone back again on the 4th of January 2010!  Axe!

The new look Academy put a smile on my face.

Come to think of it, stepping into the Academy always does. But seeing it with a new coat of paint, well you know, it’s a little like seeing your wife for many years put on a new sexy dress.

‘Now come make sweet love to me’ I almost hear the Academy whisper oh-so-softly.

And just as you take off your shoes and step into class, you see a note on the whiteboard, written in that all-too-familiar juvenile scrawl that can only be Quek or Rafael’s handiwork ‘NO CLASS TILL 4^th JANUARY’

Heartbroken, you run off into the sunset, hell-bent on having an affair with all the other loves of your lives. Holidays, parties, slacking around.

And then by the time you come back, you look like an out of shape couch potato. You stare at the naked Academy mirror. Bathed in the warm glow of throbbing yellow (that’s the walls). And you say to yourself, ‘It’s not my fault! I was just taking a break!’

Don’t worry. The Academy won’t judge you. You’ll do that for yourself. Specially after you see the rest of the crew walk in and you wondered out loud, ‘How come THEY still look fine/hot/sexy/fit?’

Well, it’s down to maintenance. Different people have different maintenance needs. Here are a few rumours I’ve heard from different people. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but you guys can ask them yourselves.

Cueca – He does as many situps as Christiano Ronaldo. That’s 3500 a day. ‘If I can’t look like him, I can at least have his abs!’ Cueca uses his free time, epecially during a break to just do any form of simple exercise in between his celebrations.

Rafa – The academy is closed for classes! But that doesn’t mean my heart and body is closed! And so, Rafa is spotted in the park, at the gym and probably in the academy as well. As he puts it, ‘eu sou Bantus capoeira’ means that you never forget for a moment that you are a Bantus capoeirista. And all the training and preparation that comes with it.

Coelho – is very Chinese so he doesn’t celebrate Christmas and is actually working this Merry Season. He secretly stretches with splits in the lifts, calve lifts when waiting for people, and does ab crunches wherever he walks. Also has one meal of non-sugared cereal a day (he’s a rabbit after all)

The bottom line is. Party Hard. But Prepare Harder. The new look Academy has never looked sexier. Make sure you don’t disappoint when you return to her.

And if you do have any off-season training tips and techniques of your own, no matter how weird, wild or stupid, (the funniest one gets a coffee from Coelho), drop a comment!

Photos courtesy of Wong. Add him as a friend on FB. ‘Debrizio Wong’ and check out more of his Bantus photo collection!