Capoeira Angola vs. Capoeira Regional
Quick answer
Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional are two schools of capoeira from Salvador. Mestre Bimba founded Regional in the thirties, and Mestre Pastinha codified Angola in 1941. Angola rests on a slower rhythm, a lower game and an ensemble of three berimbau, Regional on the faster São Bento Grande, fixed sequences and the grades calouro and formado.
At a glance
| Capoeira Angola | Capoeira Regional | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Brazil | Brazil |
| Origin | 20th century (present form) | 20th century (present form) |
| Founder | Mestre Pastinha (codifier) | Mestre Bimba |
| Contact | Light contact | Light contact |
| Sparring | Light contact | Light contact |
| Olympic status | Not Olympic | Not Olympic |
| Ranks | – | Yes (titles) |
| Rank recognition | unknown | unknown |
| Weapons | No weapons | No weapons |
| Forms | No forms | No forms |
| Relative cost | low | low |
| Katas and forms in the encyclopedia | – | 1 |
| Techniques in the encyclopedia | 5 | 3 |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional are two schools of capoeira that arose in Salvador, Bahia, in the thirties and forties of the 20th century. Mestre Bimba created Regional, and Mestre Pastinha codified Angola as a traditional style. As a school, Angola arose roughly ten years after Regional, but it claims older capoeira traditions.
- Common foundation: the word capoeiragem appears in a court document from 1789, and the state banned capoeira until the early 20th century. Sources date legalization to 1937, or to its dropping out of the penal code in 1940.
- Regional: Mestre Bimba (born 1899, or 1900, died 1974) founded a school in Engenho de Brotas in 1932 and officially registered it on 9 June 1937. Pelegrini (História, 2008) places the origin of the style in 1929–1930, and the sources differ.
- Regional: the style was first called Luta Regional Baiana, because capoeira was still illegal. On 23 July 1953 Bimba demonstrated it to President Getúlio Vargas.
- Angola: Mestre Pastinha (1889–1981) took over the leadership of a center in Liberdade from older masters in 1941 and registered the Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola (CECA) in Pelourinho the same year.
- Angola: in 1966 Pastinha traveled with his students in the Brazilian delegation to the festival of Black arts in Dakar. In the seventies many angoleiros moved to Regional, and from 1985 Angola was revived.
- Regional: Grupo Senzala was founded in Rio in 1964, an influential Regional group of the seventies and eighties, which adopted elements of Shotokan karate.
Technique
- Pastinha built on the slower angola rhythm.
- The game is often described as lower, with movements closer to the ground.
- Emphasis on musicality and self-expression instead of fighting effectiveness and athleticism.
- Angoleiros perceive the martelo kick as adopted from other martial arts.
- Bimba preferred the faster rhythm São Bento Grande.
- The style discards techniques that Bimba considered impractical in a fight and stresses attack, dodging, counterattack, precision and discipline.
- Bimba added movements from batuque, which he learned from his father. Drawing on jiu-jitsu, boxing or catch wrestling is disputed.
- Sequência with 17 basic attacking and defensive movements, for advanced practitioners the cintura desprezada.
Shared techniques such as ginga, armada or negativa belong to capoeira as a whole. We did not find a source that would describe a difference in execution between Angola and Regional for specific techniques.
Training
| Capoeira Angola | Capoeira Regional | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry to the school | we did not find it | entrance examination, with Bimba initially a three-minute choke without giving up, later a demonstration of flexibility and a written test |
| Practice | we did not find it | sequência of 17 movements as a teaching method, cintura desprezada for advanced practitioners |
| Footwear | angoleiros train in shoes | we did not find it |
| Shared | learning in the circle by observing and imitating, singing, playing instruments | learning in the circle by observing and imitating, singing, playing instruments |
According to sources, Bimba created training combinations as the first teaching method of capoeira. We did not find the form of an ordinary Angola lesson outside the roda.
Progression and ranks
| Capoeira Angola | Capoeira Regional | |
|---|---|---|
| System of grades | we did not find it in the sources | calouro, formado, formado especializado (the sixties) |
| Graduate’s insignia | we did not find it | after 1964 a silk scarf around the neck at the ceremony |
| Title of mestre | usually an age of at least 40, 25 years of playing and teaching merits, depending on the group | usually an age of at least 40, 25 years of playing and teaching merits, depending on the group |
Colored cordões and the batizado are now widespread in capoeira in general, not a peculiarity of Bimba’s style. Capoeira has no unified system of grades, and many large groups do not accept the system of the Confederação Brasileira de Capoeira. We did not find grades in Angola in the sources.
Children
| Capoeira Angola | Capoeira Regional | |
|---|---|---|
| Children’s programs | we did not find any | we did not find any |
| Age categories | we did not find any | we did not find any |
| Studies of children | we did not find any | we did not find any |
Self-defence
- According to sources, Pastinha’s Angola put musicality and self-expression ahead of fighting effectiveness.
- Pastinha banned weapons in the school.
- The style discards techniques that Bimba considered impractical in a fight and stresses attack, dodging and counterattack.
- Cintura desprezada as the second sequence for advanced practitioners.
This is a description of the focus of the two schools, not a measurement. We did not find a source that would evaluate the use of Angola or Regional in self-defense or describe training against resistance.
Practical use
| Capoeira Angola | Capoeira Regional | |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness or health studies | we did not find any | we did not find any |
| Injury studies | we did not find any | we did not find any |
The injury and fitness studies we found follow capoeiristas in general and do not distinguish styles. We did not find a study that measured Angola or Regional explicitly, so we state nothing about a difference in load or in health benefit.
Competition
| Capoeira Angola | Capoeira Regional | |
|---|---|---|
| Competition rules of the style | we did not find any | we did not find any |
| View of sport | Frigerio describes Angola as an art, and in the seventies angoleiros resisted the unification of capoeira as a national sport | Frigerio describes Regional as a sport |
| Shared | Confederação Brasileira de Capoeira (1992), by its own description a national body, the rules of 1972 were not generally accepted by the groups | Confederação Brasileira de Capoeira (1992), by its own description a national body, the rules of 1972 were not generally accepted by the groups |
Gear and costs
| Capoeira Angola | Capoeira Regional | |
|---|---|---|
| Music ensemble (bateria) | typically three berimbau, two pandeiro, atabaque, agogô and ganzuá, formerly reco-reco instead of ganzuá | one berimbau, with pandeiro, atabaque and agogô |
| Clothing | Pastinha introduced yellow-and-black colors around 1950, and some later mestres switched to white | uniform group outfits spread from the sixties |
| Footwear | training in shoes | we did not find it |
According to sources, the bateria lineup of Angola settled apparently in the sixties. Many other groups play barefoot, angoleiros in shoes.
Availability and organisations
| Capoeira Angola | Capoeira Regional | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting school | Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola (CECA), Pelourinho, 1941 | Mestre Bimba’s school in Salvador, 1932, registration 1937 |
| Other lineages | Mestre Moraes founded the Grupo Capoeira Angola Pelourinho (GCAP) in 1980, and Pastinha’s students João Grande and João Pequeno | Grupo Senzala (Rio, 1964), and Bimba’s son Nenel teaches in his father’s tradition in Bahia |
| Women | Pastinha began teaching women | we did not find it |
| Shared | according to IPHAN, capoeira is practiced throughout Brazil and abroad | according to IPHAN, capoeira is practiced throughout Brazil and abroad |
Philosophy
- An Afrocentric approach focused on musicality and self-expression.
- It strives for a more traditional practice and a link with older capoeira traditions.
- According to Pelegrini (2008), Pastinha claimed an African origin of capoeira.
- Emphasis on fighting effectiveness, precision and discipline.
- Structured teaching in sequences and an entrance examination.
- According to Pelegrini (2008), Bimba claimed a Brazilian origin of capoeira.
The anthropologist Alejandro Frigerio describes Angola as an art and Regional as a sport. Pastinha rejected Bimba’s innovations. Nestor Capoeira, on the contrary, argues that Bimba’s emphasis on fighting is closer to the capoeira documented in 1835. These are the views of the named authors and schools.
Training culture
- The roda is led by an ensemble of three berimbau.
- Pastinha’s school performed at the festival of Black arts in Dakar in 1966.
- Pastinha took the school’s yellow-and-black colors from the Ypiranga club.
- The roda is led by one berimbau.
- Rhythms iúna for a more acrobatic game, banguela for a low and cunning game, São Bento Grande for speed and strength.
- Mestre Bimba was awarded the Ordem do Mérito Cultural in 2005.
Both styles share the roda, in which two players play in the middle of the circle while the others sing and play. UNESCO inscribed the capoeira circle in 2014 on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, and IPHAN in 2008 registered the roda and the craft of the capoeira masters as heritage of Brazil. The inscriptions concern capoeira as a whole, not one style.
Common misconceptions
- A direct origin of capoeira in the Angolan martial art engolo from the Cunene region is disputed, and sources describe the extent of the historical connection as uncertain.
- Nestor Capoeira considers Angola’s emphasis on authenticity an invented tradition, while angoleiros, on the contrary, claim older traditions. This is a dispute between the named authors and schools, not a verified conclusion.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Is Capoeira Angola older than Capoeira Regional?
Not as a school. Pastinha registered the CECA in 1941, while Bimba founded his school in 1932. But Angola derives from an older capoeira practice, and Pastinha codified it rather than inventing it.
How does the game of the two styles differ?
Angola rests on the slower angola rhythm, and the game is described as lower. Regional prefers the faster São Bento Grande, fixed sequences and an emphasis on attack, dodging and counterattack.
Do both styles have belts?
In the sixties Regional had the grades calouro, formado and formado especializado, and after 1964 a silk scarf for the graduate. We did not find grades in Angola in the sources. Colored cordões are now widespread across capoeira without a unified system.
Do capoeira studies apply to both styles?
The studies we found, for example Hirata 2023 with preschoolers, do not distinguish the style. They are therefore not studies of Angola or Regional.