B O N D P H O N E.
Words and pictures by Chris Lamb.

Doing Capoeira – Brazilian martial arts disguised as dance – last night finds me today sore, stiff, and wanting to be Batman. For all the initial frustration, for all the pent-up intimidation and doesn’t-play-well-with-others bad feelings from spending a decade and change in public school physical fitness programs that marked my first class (and came up again last night, the by-product of missing a week’s worth of classes due to lack of time), the sense of accomplishment that comes from something as simple as getting your foot off the ground in a new way is thrilling; thrilling enough, even, to make me do it all over again come Thursday night. I’m still clumsy, I still get my rhythm tangled up when doing the sequences, I still have trouble getting up the courage to play in the Roda, but I can do this one bit that’s a series of quick steps and kicks, and last night I did a handstand. Mostly. More of one than I’ve managed before, at least, and for now that’s enough.

Only it’s not, really. Capoeira is an addiction, a game that no one ever truly seems to master, something to dedicate your time and body to at the expense of going out drinking, or rock shows, or a space on the couch next to some one soft and interesting. Last night’s class was as much as lesson as anything else, reading thus: keep doing this, and it won’t hurt as much over time. Stay away too long, and you might as well not come back for the wreck it will leave your arms and legs the next morning. We’ll see.

posted by chris  # 4:45 PM