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Hey guys, I just started learning Capoeira, and I love it. I am extremely flexible, but I have one trouble area that is restricting my performance -- my hips. For some strange reason, if I do something like Queixada or Meia Lua de Frente, I get these stabbing pains in the front of my hips on both sides (more frequently my right side). I stretch them out, but it's not working so well. I am sure it has something to do with the rotation of my leg when I am doing the kicks. So, can anyone help me out? What can I do to avoid having pains in the front of my hips? After a while, it spreads to my quads.

Remember that Capoeira is both a martial practice and an art! It is rooted in fighting and in dance. Turn out, rotation and flexiblity in the hips and such are best gained through the exercises taught while standing at the ballet barre!

At The Ohio State University the martial art is taught under the auspices of the dance department, and this makes sense.

My suggestion is to take a ballet class. not only will exercises like Rond de jambe, which is designed to aid turn out, and plie assist in hip flexibilty, it will also strengthen your core, teach you proper alignment for jumps which in turn will assist in landing jumping kicks and other more acrobatic aspects of the marital art, and it will give you flexiblity in your back.

You will also be instructed on how to spot your turns which EXTREMELY valuable! See the documentary on fighting in Blade Trinity and you will hear and see Jessica Biel talking about her spinning kicks and how she couldn't master them until her coach, who remembered that she was an active ballet dancer, told her to "spot" the kick. From the standpoint of both a martial artist and a dancer, her spinning kicks are now flawless.

Just because you are flexible does not mean you are flexible correctly. The superfical muscle may be flexible but you may be doing damage to the connective tissue because you have not learned proper alignment. Someone who can do a sloppy split for instance, can indeed do a split. HOWEVER when that individual learns to do a split properly, they may notice that the depth in the split that they thought they had is gone! In turn doing the split incorrectly will do quite a bit of damage, causing long term complications.

Consider the taking of ballet as a conditioning regime for capoeira, and you will be amazed at the fluidity, speed, balance, strength, AND flexibilty that you will gain!

Hey guys, i've just started capoeira too. Would you know any ressources to learn and practice new moves in between my classes?
Is there anybody else doing Capoeira?
It's an amazing sport to control his body and it's really fun.
I don't understand why it's not more known and developped...

Concerning your problem "bpluvsu", is that when you give the kicks that it hurts? Maybe warming up more your legs with 15min bike followed by the streches before the session would help. You may have overcome the issue since anyway...
Hope you're doing okay mate, good luck with it.

I actually got over the hip pains, and you are right, warming up definitely helped my problem big time!

I got a question, If I am interested in Capoeira, how hard would it be to start off in this sport as a newbie? I mean I know karate and kungfu you can start off as beginner and with no previous experience and you can do okay, but can you do that for capoeira? Or should I be already good at like lets say gymnastics before thinking about doing it?

then again, do you start gymnastics being good at it? no. i dont think it requires experience, you'd learn it

u can go for capoeira without fears,
it's easy, from the first lesson, and really enjoyable
People are really friendly as well to help you out from the beginning...
I've started not that long ago, and I'm lovin' it !

Go for it !

Oi cappies!!!

How exciting that there are a few of you out there!!

Where are you all training? Mestres? Groups? Capoeira names?

Been training capoeira for 10 years. At the moment training in Tucson, AZ with Capoeira Mandinga do Sertao...Profesor Luar. Our Mestre is Mestre Marcelo Cavarinha from Capoeira Mandinga in San Fran. Capoeira name Onca here.

As far as the pain in your hips....it will subside after you train for awhile. Be sure to stretch before and after. Over a couple of months you should adjust and you will feel much better.

chuydesuka saidI got a question, If I am interested in Capoeira, how hard would it be to start off in this sport as a newbie? I mean I know karate and kungfu you can start off as beginner and with no previous experience and you can do okay, but can you do that for capoeira? Or should I be already good at like lets say gymnastics before thinking about doing it?

Go for it. Just expect to be sore in your glutes, hams, quads and calves