Capoeira instructor Mark Gonzales assists 10-year-old Erica Songahid in demonstrating one of the moves of the African-Brazilian martial art that has caught the attention of several underprivileged children for the good vibes it brings. (Contributed Photo/Frauline Sinson)
For many kids, learning martial arts is a luxury.
So when the chance to learn Capoeira for free presented itself, 10-year old Kyle Erica Songahid grabbed it with both hands, so to speak.
Capoeira is a form of martial art developed in Brazil by African slaves more than 500 years ago which fuses dance, music, self-defense and acrobatics.
For those unfamiliar with Capoeira, it may be quite confusing to see two people kicking at each other without making contact inside a circle of people clapping and singing tribal-like songs.
But for kids like Erica, it is simply fun.
“It’s really nice because I am able to learn something. I really like it,” she said in the vernacular.
Erica’s parents could barely make ends meet and feed nine children, much less spend money on her extra-curricular activities.
Her mother, 39 year old Melanie, was recently hired as a street sweeper working from 2 to 4 a.m. while her father is a carpenter.
Melanie was happy that two of her daughters, Erica and 13-year old Joanna, were given the opportunity to learn Capoeira at the community center of Rise Above Foundation in Guadalajara, Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
Rise Above is a non-profit non-government organization focusing on improving the quality of life of poor families in Cebu.
In partnership with the head of the Associação de Capoeira Cordão de Contas, Philippines (a professional Capoeira show team serving the Asia Pacific region), Jensen Go Chow, Rise Above offered to provide free Capoeira lessons to underprivileged kids.
“I have known Jensen for many years, so when he asked us, we grabbed the opportunity right away. He sponsors the instructor and found sponsors for the kids’ uniforms. We are so thankful to him,” Rise Above project manager Elisabet Hansen wrote Cebu Daily News.
Chow, in turn, thanked big-hearted members of their Capoeira academy in Australia and Japan, and the Cebu community for the donations.
Loving Capoeira
CDN first met Erica in December 2015 during a feeding session at Rise Above.
Back then, she and some other kids were idly talking about a friend who was physically abused by one of her neighbors, a drug addict, who beat up his kids at their slightest mistake.
As for Erica, her mother Melanie, had thought of no longer sending her kids to school as it had become too expensive for the family to keep up with the school requirements.
Having them all stay at home would be cheaper, Melanie said, because she could just feed them porridge or ginamos (fermented anchovies) or, if money was really tight, salt and lard on rice.
A third grade student at Banawa Elementary School, Erica’s dream is to become a math teacher.
Fortunately this year, she and her sister, Joanna, were able to get sponsors who could help them with their school supplies.
But despite all their hardships, Erica smiles readily when spoken to and readily demonstrates her Capoeira skills when asked.
Her instructors describe Erica as quite flexible and her approach to Capoeira was very enthusiastic.
At Rise Above, eleven other kids study Capoeira with Erica and they all agree that she is the best student among them.
To this, Erica responds with a shy, “Di kaayo (Not really),” while lowering her eyes.
Erica’s instructor, Michael Henreich Mark “Rabo de Arraia (Tail of Stingray)” Legaspi, said kids quickly adapt to Capoeira because it is very playful.
The kids also learn discipline and gain confidence.
Erica practices with her sister wherever they can, whether in front of a chapel or in a basketball court and even at times amid noisy neighbors, drinking and gambling.
Instructor Mark “Cabeludo (Hairy)” Gonzales remarked that kids are quite fearless when trying to learn the acrobatic stunts that form part of Capoeira.
Aside from sessions given at Rise Above, the instructors also provide free lessons to about 50 other underprivileged kids at Bonita Home for Girls, an orphanage run by the Franciscan nuns in Talamban; Community Scouts Youth Guidance Center, a refuge for minor offenders; and San Roque Parish in Mandaue.
Community Scouts
At the Community Scouts Youth Guidance Center, which provides refuge and rehabilitation for boys who are in conflict with the law, learning Capoeira was also a great way of letting go of the past, said 23-year old Stephen Dano, one of the center’s in-house guardians.
Dano, a former beneficiary of the Center, also learned Capoeira during his stay.
He said the music and the dancing make the Afro-Brazilian martial art very enjoyable that it temporarily makes them forget about their past.
It also helps greatly in developing sportsmanship, he added.
Dano noticed improved behavior at the Center with the trainees, aged 12-17.
“They learned to listen. They also start to participate and they have become conscious of the time,” he said in Cebuano.
Capoeira practice at the Center is scheduled every Friday afternoon; but Dano said the trainees love Capoeira that even when it’s not Friday, the boys train on their own.
They even pass on what they learned to the younger kids who are just as eager to participate, Dano said.
“The music is really a big part. It is very jolly. Then there’s the clapping and the singing. The boys really like it a lot,” he said in a mix of English and Cebuano.
The head of Associação de Capoeira Cordão de Contas, Jensen Go Chow also known as Professor Lobo (Wolf), recently gave the Community Scouts trainees the opportunity to be taught by different professors from Australia and Japan, and to perform at the International Capoeira Festival in Ayala Center Cebu last May 28, 2016, together with kids from Bonita Home for Girls and Rise Above.
Since Chow is a member of the Rotary Club of Cebu, the organization provides food and transportation for the boys as needed in their Capoeira training.
“We would love to teach at more orphanages, we just need more sponsors to fund the instructors and uniforms,” Chow said in an email to CDN.
The highlight of Capoeira trainings is the roda, where participants form a circle while taking turns to play by pairs in the middle.
A berimbau, a single-string percussion instrument, accompanied by the atabaque, a floor drum, and a pandeiro – a Brazilian tambourine – set the tempo.