I AM officially a capoeirista!
One month into my capoeira career and today was my first Batizado (baptism). Professor Chin told me last week that I knew all the attacks and defenses necessary to test for my first belt. If I didn’t go for it now I’d have to wait another year for the Maestre’s to come back and test.
So I decided to go for it, jumping into the roda with a maestre from San Fransisco I’d never met before in front of a crowd of at least 200 people. The maestre gave me plenty of opportunities to show my skills, but I froze like a deer in the headlights and kept throwing the same kick again and again. Finally she took pity on me, moved in for the attack and took me to the ground with incredible ease, welcoming me to the capoeira family.
My natural high as always been the feeling of challenging the body in new ways, overcoming fears, and working hard to reach a goal. Capoeira is giving me my fix just when I really need it. Thank you Professor Chin!