Martial Arts were always conflicting for me: Some stuff on TV looked really great and I had really loved to do things like Jackie Chan, but in the end I knew it would come down to breaking somebody's nose with a straight punch. When I started studying at the University of Economics in Vienna last year, I found a broad range of sporting facilities only for students, an offer that included many Martial Arts. After attending one lesson at TaeKwonDo and JuiJitsu, I was almost fed up with the idea of fighting in a playful and graceful way - in fact, that was until I came across Capoeira, the smallest and most modest offer there was. What I found was ideally suited to me: tons of weird movements such as twisted cartwheels, slanting backflips and handstands, one hand spins of overstretched bodies and much more. To put it short, I was heavily impressed by the cool movements those people pulled off. Between the stunts common fighting moves were thrown in, performed at an incredible pace. Although Brazilians regard Capoeira as a game rather than as a fighting form, I would definitely not recommend seriously challenging a Capoeirista; kicks are often executed from a spinning movement and gain so much swing that a hit can pull you off your feet (thankfully it rarely comes that far).
What I like about Capoeira is that it never gets too serious and tense; You have to flow with the rhythm, react, initiate, taunt, have fun.. Most of this relaxed atmosphere comes from the music, an indispensable part of living Capoeira. People gather in a circle, the Roda, which is presided by the Berimbau player. Accompanying him are some drummers who contribute the base rhythm. A singer intonates a song (in Portuguese), the chorus joins in for the refrain and the game commences. Various rites are connected with performing Capoeira, for example the journey around the world (volta ao mundo; Players walk in a big circle inside the Roda for recovering), the Chamada (typical for Capoeira Angola; resembles my dancing lessons back in school) or the buying of the game by putting one arm between the Players (only Capoeira Regional).
As for Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional: they are the two major styles, with Regional evolving during the 30ies of this century out of Angolan.