Malandragem is a Portuguese term for a lifestyle of idleness, fast living, street smarts, cunning, and resourcefulness โ traditionally celebrated in samba lyrics, and deeply rooted in Brazilian culture and history. It reflects a way of navigating life with a certain cleverness and adaptability, often in the face of adversity.
Stop taking it so seriously and have fun. Capoeira is a game. If you adopt capoeira philosophy as a life philosophy, then Life is a Game. So it should be played with a smile on your face. Enjoying and knowing that sometimes you’re going to fall on your ass. You are going to get up, do a rolรช, and laugh.
“God breaks open the heart again and again until it stays open”
Hazrat Inayat Khan
The whole point of doing a big project is to break your heart. It’s not a side effect, it’s the objective. Any big thing you do in your life will break your heart. And breaking the heart is not a bad thing. It’s one of the most profound teachings that we have as a human being.
Integrity is like a crossroad with three roads: Your Thoughts, Your Words, Your Actions. In the place where your thoughts, words, and actions intersect, you have integrity.
Everything around us is a result of integrity. Buildings, roads, bridges, anything created is a result of the intersection of someone’s thoughts, words, and actions.
There are many articles on the web comparing words “reactivity” and “responsibility”. But let’s view it in a capoeira context. As you know, the roda of capoeira is a great analogy for life.
After touching on some ideas from capoeira in the recent articles, let’s zoom out and try to view capoeira as a philosophy, and check if it’s applicable for daily life. Even if you are not a capoeira practitioner, try to scan this essay quickly to find out why some people are so hooked on capoeira.
Very important disclaimer. I’m not a capoeira master, and still consider myself a student. I’m not a psychologist, nor a coach, or a philosopher with a diploma. But I’ve been learning capoeira for nearly half of my life, and here is what she1 taught me.