Capoeira anyone?

[N.B]

To me it looks like the kicks which didn't make contact were used to try and open up the opponent for a takedown. Also, since blocks are not used too much in Capoeira (although it depends on the game and the Capoeirista) moving far out of the way of kicks and predicting a kick before it happens is a proirity, that's why Capoeira sometimes looks choreographed (bad spelling, sorry). I wouldn't say that these were friendly games at all.

[sirdarksol]

I'm sorry, but if those were predictions to a kick, those guys were freakin' prescient, or the attacker broadcast his move long in advance.. Where the kicks were being aimed, the target had not been there for over a second.

[N.B]

Sorry, I didn't nessesarily mean that about the video, but it just brought back memories of a particularly violent roda the higher belt students had recently with several near misses from some scary kicks. The owner of the hall we practice in came up to my instructor at the end and said "some of those steps looked a bit hairy mate, lucky it's all scripted, eh" when my instructor told him it wasn't scripted he looked a bit shocked.
Besides, as I said, I think those kicks are to open up an opponent for a takedown.

So anyway, I still think that was more of a fight than a play and Capoeira is still a fight and a dance. If you want to see games that are more of a play I can post them. There is a big difference between games which are malicious like that and malicious without trying to fight your opponent. Maybe it's just all personal opinion. I mean Karate and (some) TKD are fighting arts but I think sparring for them can somtimes look very pansy and not look like a proper fight at all.

Oh dear, I'm in a bit of a bind now, I sound like I'm contradicting myself by saying Capoeira is effective self defence, I still think it isn't, but it is a real martial art, you see? No, I don't know what I'm talking about either.