Capoeira Training Using Targets

admin Fundamentals

In today’s blog entry/video I”m going to show you how to use a kicking/striking target for Capoeira drills. Just like any other Martial arts kicks and strikes you practice your Capoeira strikes on a target. Many people think that Capoeiristas don’t make contact, but the fact is…they do.

THE best way to get better at having great accuracy is by using a striking target. Here I lay out some drills for you to use with some straight attacks…and some circular. Remember when using your circular attacks like Quexada, Armada, and Meia Lua de Compasso, not to chamber or stretch you leg to hit the target. You should, instead, set up better so that you are consistent in you striking precision. Here are the strikes we will use:

  • Quexada
  • Armada
  • Meia Lua de Compasso
  • Ponta Pe (Martelo)
  • Passa Pe
  • Amazona
  • Chibata

Many people that don’t train Capoeira often ask, ” Are they trying to miss each other…are they dancing…or are they fighting?” And an answer I like to think back to is one that Mestre Jamaika (then Mestrando) gave a few years ago in a workshop he gave in San Antonio, Texas…(here it is paraphrased):

When I walked in here to this gym, the people at the front desk saw my shirt and asked…’Oh cool, you do that Brazilian Dance thing?’ …and I grinned and laughed to myself. My ancestors created this martial art to be disguised as a dance. Here we are 500 years later and people still think it’s a dance. Well, I say to them is…come dance with me…come dance with me

He then preceded to kick every last person’s ass in the warm up roda before giving his seminar. Now, what’s the moral to this story? That if you don’t know yet…Capoeira is a martial art first…so train it like one. Kick the bag, kick the target…do takedowns…get taken down…grapple…etc.

So here are some real martial arts target drills you can train with a target. You’ll need a partner to hold your target for you, unless you get that Bas Rutten thingy. Check out the video and then I’ll post some links after so you can get some of the ones I use. They’re pretty cheap…

I like to use these targets from China…blue colored, because that’s the color of my studio right now, and it sort of reminds me of the colors of Brazil. I have bought red ones and black ones also. They are all pretty good. They’ll last about a year and 1/2 depending on how much you use them.

I use them for my students, so they definitely get some traffic and miles on them. Here are some links to grab your own:


They will all come pretty fast, as technology and worldwide shipping have improved light years over the last few years. Let me know what ya think by posting a comment below, and posting a video of you training your favorite target drills. Until next time…Bora treinar!

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