How to Armada in Brazilian Capoeira Martial Arts

Video Transcript

"Hi my name is Ajugadu. On behalf of Expert Village we're going to talk about a capoeira kick. Another basic kick in capoeira called "armada". Armada is the same, if you've watched the clip on queshada, it's essentially the same kick, just with a twist on it instead of going from straight. So you want to start, I like to think of it like this when I first started training capoeira, the direction you're twisting towards is the leg that's going to kick. A lot of times when you're starting out, people have a tendency to forget which leg their supposed to kick and which leg is not. Okay, so think of it like that. If you're twisting towards your right, your right foot is going to come off the floor and kick when you're kicking armada. Armada starts, we're going to do it on the right hand side, and you start with your right foot to the back. Basic ginga position. Your right arm is up to protect your face. From this position, you step up to the basi or to the base in the front. You take a second step. Your left foot is going to step across at a forty-five degree angle so that you have good balance in the middle of the kick. What happens if you step too short is, you'll be off balance. If you step too far you'll also be off balance. You want to think of it like a forty-five degree angle across your own body, with your left leg. Once you get to this position your feet stick to the floor, and you're going to twist all the way around until you're looking at your target. Once you can see your target we're going to release the right foot off the floor and we're going to swing it up, strike with the outside edge of your right foot and again, land it all the way to the back. When you land your kicks to the back, basic kicks in capoeira, it not only teaches the correct technique and the correct form for the kick, but also is the most difficult place to land the kick. So if you can land it to the back, it?s actually less work to learn to land it to the front once you get that down."