Whatup capoeiristas!!! I’m your host Inst. Caxixi and today we have the pleasure of having Contra Mestre Bambu from Axe Capoeira Chicago! very happy to get the pleasure of having him today, CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS NEW ACCOMPLISHMENT by the way!!
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[00:01:00] – Caxixi: You can start from how you saw capoeira for the first time, or your capoeira story pretty much.
CM Bambu: I started capoeira in 1998, I started a lot like most of the more American of people foreign from Brazil, on movies, “only the strong” I saw a preview for that, in the movie theaters, then later I saw it in video games, then other couple cultural outlets, got me interested, I always wanted to do martial arts as a kid, my parents never put me into it because it was a lot of money, we didn’t have a lot of money back at that time, they didn’t think I was stick with it because as a kid I wanted to do something and the next week I wanted to do something else. Then they did when I finally move away from home for school originally, there happen to be a capoeira class at the university, which is Indiana University, yeah they had a little group there so I have the opportunity to start my brother started before me, he really liked it so I kind of joined in, it was a small school just students, no real teacher, no real master, just a group of people who like capoeira, that got together, who has some teaching and training from other people in the past.
[00:03:04] – CM Bambu: then we met a guy, he said there was an event in Chicago, with a local group here and then we came up to participate in the event, in the workshop, and then from there I met my Mestre, Mestre Barrao, I met him here, he was just a guest, end we talked to him about wanting to find a master to pursue our training with an actual Master in Capoeira.
[00:10:30] – CM Bambu: For Capoeira I felt that kind of passion, I feel that I feet with the right group, with the right Mestre, that push mu forward. this day I feel in debt it to him because he believe in me and he out his seal on me, without know anything about me, in the time when people outside of Brazil, where not necessarily seen good for capoeira, I even on of this events when I was in Chicago with one respected Mestre that I would look up too a lot, and we had on of this Q&A session, where we seat down and talk with them, and one of the other Mestre told me that I gotta be careful because everybody was looking at me like with jealousy, when you play capoeira you have to be careful, they always say be careful because people are looking at you, and I felt a little bit like “why are they looking at me” and he said well maybe because you are no Brazilian.
[00:22:12] – CM Bambu: My master, he is a friend, he is a father, he is a teacher, he is to me, I don’t know what it would be without him, and when I see people that sometimes they leave the group to go somewhere else to have another Master, I don’t know how I can ever consider myself or someone else my Master, because the bond that I have with this person, he is the one that thought me how to the culture, about the dances, about capoeira, how to play, how to fight, how to ginga, how to do this, how to do that, and he is the one still guiding my way of life.
[00:38:14] – Caxixi: when you have to be at the school you gotta take care of financials part too, for example you still gotta pay rent for studio and all that stuff, what do you think about the part of the business of capoeira, what do you think about that?
CM Bambu: I was discussing with my wife recently because we were talking about samba schools and I think it a difference in between building a business around spreading Brazilian Culture and using a Brazilian Culture to create a business, I think it is a difference in that kind of wording so I think if you are try basically take advantage of a nitch like everybody wants to do capoeira now, oh in the movies so we are gonna do a capoeira stunts class or these kind of stuff is kind of that’s using capoeira and taking part just to use for something else that stuff is what I don’t agree with, but if the goal is to spread capoeira, to make sure capoeira has a future and make sure the history and the culture does die with the times then of course I can feel like, why not? I consider myself a professional, I’m a professional athlete in capoeira, I spent 20 years training, I training every day, I work out I do all this thing, why is it different, why should I not be paid for my services, for my work? I feel like I have a lot to offer, and I feel like any one who is dedicated that life and that time to capoeira and putting and giving back to the culture not just I’m doing this for myself, I do this, and I give back to the culture.
Social Media:
Website: http://www.axechicago.com/
Instagram: @axecapoeirachicago @Professor_Bambu
Facebook: Axe Capoeira Chicago https://www.facebook.com/axecapoeirachicago/
Contra Mestre Bambu https://www.facebook.com/axebambu/
info@axechicago.com