Fighting Fit: The rhythm of combat

» Aché Brasil Academy makes martial arts fun

Adam Tatelman
Staff Writer

Creer probably has one
of the most badass origin

stories of any martial art in
the world. In the 17th century,
Portugese conquerors began to
export African slaves to Brazil,
largely to harvest sugar cane.
The slaves secretly practiced
self-defence disguised as music
and dance, preparing for the
day when they would break for
freedom, or start a rebellion.
Both an African and Brazilian
art, capoeira now exists as

an international institution,
bringing this unique aspect of
Brazilian culture to the world.

One of the largest capoeira
groups is known as the Aché
Brasil Academy. They’ve got
locations in many countries,
including Canada, America,
Brazil, and Japan. Students
have the opportunity to visit
exotic locations as exchange
Capoeiristas—that is,
practitioners.

I was fortunate enough to
attend ABA during a visit from
a Brazilian Mestre, or master;
though he did not speak English,
he was a confident leader
who spoke clearly through his

certainly effective. A particularly
intense assisted back stretch
comes to mind—although it felt

 

like a combination between the
: medieval rack and a full nelson
: hold, it definitely loosened me

up.
The atmosphere of ABA feels

: much more lighthearted and fun

. : th t martial arts studi

movements. Some of his methods } “147 "OS" MaiTial ants § udios

. : I have visited. Since Capoeira

were slightly unorthodox, though : . os
: is explicitly about dance, all

: practice is done to a musical

: rhythm. It’s an inspiration for

: modern breakdancing, after

: all. There is a great sense of

: community and camaraderie

: between the students and their
: instructors; everyone is much

: more familial than militarized
: martial arts schools are. Even

: sparring is called playing.

: Capoeira techniques all have :
: Portugese names. The default

: stance is called ginga, which

: means “rocking back and forth.”
: More a rhythmic set of footwork

: than a static stance, this is

: the foundation for Capoeira’s

: interplay of kicks and boxing-

: like evasion. Since all Capoeira
: is dance, the footwork always

: matches the rhythm of the music. :
: Students spar inside the roda
(circle), operating in concert both : on Tues days and 7:30p.m. on
: as dance partners and opponents. Fridays, or try Brazilian Dance
: at 6:30p.m. Thursdays. For a full
: schedule and list of locations,

: visit achebrasil.ca.

Is modern commercial

: capoeira effective self-defence?
: Because the techniques require

Imagine via Thinkstock

: lots of space to perform, it’s not

: something I'd rely on indoors or
: ina SkyTrain car. It’s flashy, not
: too versatile, and less practical

: than something like boxing.

: However, it offers great cardio

: conditioning, a strong sense

: of balance and rhythm that

: transfers well to other practices,
: anda lot of acrobatic tricks that
: are sure to impress your friends.

Rather than testing for a

: promotion every year, students

: progress from one “class” to the

: next at their own pace following

: a minimum time commitment.

: After practicing rhythm and

: basic stances for eight intro

: classes, students may progress

: to level 1. After 48 Level 1 classes,
: students must ask the Mestre’s

: permission to join Level 2

: Advanced classes. Anything

: above intro level requires a

: Capoeirista uniform, so be

: prepared to pay $100 for one as

: part of a long-term commitment.
: The first intro class is always

: free.

Aché Brasil Academy is

: located at 341 East Broadway.

: Outside of Intro, Level 1 and

: Level 2 classes, they offer roda

: classes on Saturdays at 12:30,

: free of charge to all students.

: You can practice acrobatics and
: learn to play music at 8:oop.m.

 

Team Canada takes aim at Olympic berth

» Canadian basketball on the rise

Kade Gates
The Sheaf

Conder basketball can fast-
track the development of

a good finish at the 2015 FIBA
Americas. A top-two finish quali-
fies Canada for the 2016 Summer
Olympics, and a third-to-fifth
place finish would qualify Canada
for a final Olympic qualification
tournament.

Canada warmed up for
the FIBA Americas at the Tuto
Marchand Continental Cup.
They defeated Puerto Rico 78-72,
Argentina 85-80, Brazil 80-64
and Dominican Republic 86-74,
winning the tournament with a
perfect 4-0 record.

After a small stumble in
the opening game of the FIBA
Americas, Canada fell 94-87
to Argentina—a game that saw
newly-signed Toronto Raptor Luis
Scola put up 35 points. Canada
then reeled off three straight
victories, defeating Cuba 101-59,
Venezuela 82-62 and Puerto Rico

: 112-92. Canada was aided through
: the first round with strong per-

: formances from Andrew Wiggins

: (15 points per game), Nik Stauskas
: (13.3 points per game) and Kelly

their golden age of basketball with Olynyk (11.5 points per game).

Canada showed that their

: poise was clearly building as they
: won a very hard-fought game

: against Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico
: came out hot and were lights-out
: from the three-point line in the

: first half as Canada only led by

: two at the intermission, 46-44.

: Canada kept their cool in the

: second half and when their shots
: started to fall, they pulled away,

: beating Puerto Rico 112-92.

The focus for Canada now

: shifts to the second round of the

: FIBA Americas tournament as

: they will go up against Panama,

: Uruguay, Mexico and the Domini-
: can Republic.

Canada is by far the most

: talented team in the tournament,
boasting eight NBA players to the
: rest of the tournament’s com-
: bined three. Unfortunately for
: the Canadians, what the other

: nations lack in talent they more
: than make up for in experience.

Canada’s eldest player is for-

: mer Carleton University Raven

: Aaron Doornekamp at the age of
: 29. The oldest starter for Canada
: is Kelly Olynyk of the Boston

: Celtics at the age of just 24. Only
: two of the 12 members of the

: roster are older than 25 and the

: youngest member is star player

: Andrew Wiggins of the Minne-

: sota Timberwolves at the ripe age
: of 20.

Canada’s toughest oppo-

: nent of the second round will

: most likely be the host nation of
: Mexico. The Mexicans posted an
: unblemished record through the
: first round of the tournament

: at 4-0. Team Mexico is led by

: Gustavo Ayon, who is averaging

: a double-double with 18.6 points
: per game and 12.2 rebounds per

: game.

Uruguay has been the shock

: of the tournament so far as they

: rode an opening day upset of

: world number nine ranked Brazil
: toa spot in the second round.

 

Uruguay is led by Bruno Fitipaldo
: who is averaging 14.6 points per
: game.

Panama finished the first

: round of the FIBA Americas at

: 2-2 with wins over Uruguay and

: Brazil while dropping games to

: Mexico and the Dominican Re-

: public. Panama could turn out

: to bea rout, as the Panamanians
: have given up the most points so
: far this tournament, while the

: Canadians have been the highest
: scoring team.

Dominican Republic was the

second place finisher in Group B.
: The Dominicans may be playing
: a bit above their heads so far and

Illustration by Jeremy Britz

could be in trouble facing the

: stronger Group A members such

: as Argentina, Puerto Rico and

: Canada. Canada could have a field
: day against a smaller Dominican

: team.

All in all, the Canadians

: should have no trouble advancing
: through the second round and

: into the semifinals, where a likely
match-up against Mexico, Argen-
: tina or Venezuela will be the last

: thing stopping the Canadians

: from punching their ticket to the

: 2016 Summer Olympics for the

: first time since 2000. Next stop,

: Rio de Janeiro.