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Macaco (Monkey) Tutorial
The Macaco (meaning Monkey in Portuguese) is another very common move used in the capoeira roda.
It involves using the whole body and is a great stepping stone to other more complex floreios.
For this example, you will learn with your right hand on the ground, but feel free to switch to whichever hand suits you. Just switch the hands/leg in the tutorial.
To perform the Macaco
follow these steps:
1. Start from a squatting position facing the side. Place your right hand on the ground, your left hand in between your legs and stretch your body into the half bridge position/extension.
2. As you stretch into the half bridge, with your right hand on the ground, push down with both legs and jump behind you to the other side, maintaining the half bridge position/extension.
3. As your body goes over to the other side, place your left hand on the ground and land with your left leg.
4. Finish the Macaco in cadeira or basic ginga position
Macaco Tutorial
Make it easier
- Make sure to have your hands completely flat on the floor when completing this move. This provides more stability during the movement and lessens the risk of finger/thumb injury.
- Start small. Not everybody is comfortable jumping over behind themselves. In step 2, jump to the side corresponding to the hand that is on the ground instead of jumping over your body so that you build strength in your jump and most importantly, confidence in jumping over behind you.
- In step 2, as your body jumps over, reach with your left hand as far back as you can, and behind your ear. This helps you to do a Macaco instead of an Au.
