So similar in movement that martial arts author John Barnes says you can pass one off as the other, yoga and capoeira are both rigorous and effective workouts. Done properly, they build aerobic endurance, muscle strength, flexibility and balance. Although both can be too high-impact for beginners, experienced athletes can gain a lot from training in both forms, either separately or together.
History of Capoeira
According to capoeira historian Gerard Taylor, capoeira developed in Brazil during the age of slavery. Drawing from the dance and fighting arts of Africa, it was practiced first by slaves, then by soldiers and criminals. Finally legalized in the early 20th century, it has since spread to most countries. Like many martial arts, its presence in the west tends to focus on athletics rather than combat ability.
History of Yoga
Yoga is so old that it's mentioned in the Baghavad Gita: "I make an offering unto you of these exercises so that I may be filled with divine strength". As a meditative practice and exercise form, it has been practiced on the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. According to yoga teacher Kerry Collette, it became popular in the west during the widespread exploration of eastern religion in the 1960s. Its popularity spread as a form of group fitness during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Similarities
Both yoga and capoeira are body weight exercises. This means they both use the weight of the practitioner's body as resistance to build muscle strength and to push bodies into stretches. Many capoeira and yoga poses use the same concepts to get the same results, such as placing body weight on the hands to strengthen the arms. In some cases, both styles use identical moves with different names. Yoga's "plank position" is capoeira's "cabecada."
Differences
The chief difference between yoga and capoeira is that capoeira is practiced dynamically while yoga is practiced statically. Capoeira is practiced as part of a dance, incorporating cartwheels and handstands into its basic dance step. Yoga progresses from one stance to another, holding each pose long enough to develop the muscles. Note that this is true of most styles and postures. Capoeira Angola is a substyle that slows movement in practice until it's nearly static. Some postures of yoga use movement to increase its effectiveness.
Training Together
Because they work the same muscle groups to the same purpose, there's no reason yoga and capoeira can't be used together for exercise. One option would be to train in capoeira on some days and in yoga on others. A second option would be a single workout that incorporates the static yoga poses with the dynamic capoeira moves. Instructor Gerard Taylor recommends the "capoeira fartlek": hold a yoga pose for one minute, then spring from it into a minute of vigorous capoeira motion, then return to a yoga pose. Repeat.
Problems
One major risk of training in capoeira and yoga is that of overtraining. Because both are rigorous workouts and work the same muscle groups, it can be easy to overtire your muscles or even develop repetitive stress injuries. Fitness coach Ben Cohn recommends treating capoeira and yoga as the same type of workout when developing your exercise plan. For most people, this means resting at least one day between workouts, rather than alternating between capoeria and yoga without a day off in between.
References
- "Capoeira Conditioning"; Gerard Taylor; 2005
- "Capoeira"; Gerard Taylor; 2004
- "Yoga For a New Age"; Bob Smith; 1986
- Kerry Collette; Yoga Instructor; Hillsboro, OR
- Ben Cohn; Fitness Coach; Hillsboro, OR
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