About Us

Capoeira Mandinga Detroit is a community organization and a capoeira group committed to teaching and presenting capoeira at its finest level. We teach both traditional and modern Capoeira in a diversified efficient system that helps people to progress at their own pace. Our Capoeira lineage represents one of the most elite in the capoeira world today. However, we teach students to appreciate and respect all styles and systems because our method is a mixture of all methods. Into our training, we incorporate different aspects of Capoeira Regional, Angola, Contemporanea and our own system of Capoeira Maneira, where we emphasize body expression with capoeira-related movements. We are committed to quality and therefore continue to study and research capoeira to present it to our students at its highest level.

Capoeira Mandinga Detroit is part of a worldwide network of Groups. Our headquarters is located in Oakland, CA and is headed by Mestre Marcelo Pereira. Our worldwide membership consists of groups in New Zealand, Israel, Brazil, and many cities in the United States. The spread of Capoeira worldwide can be attributed several factors including the motion capture of Mestre Marcelo in the popular video games TEKKEN 3, TEKKEN TAG, Tekken 4, and TEKKEN 5. His likeness was added to EDDY GORDO, TIGER, and CHRISTIE MONTEIRO.

Our main goals are to help people grow, learn about themselves, and their role(s) in society. We attempt to rescues community values that are strong elements of the capoeira world and the Brazilian lifestyle. Capoeira, for many of us, is a way of life and has become a tool of self discovery and healing through discipline, respect, non-judgment, humility, acceptance, and authenticity to this art-form.


A GLIMPSE AT OUR WORK AND METHOD:

Our method encourages people to realize that “limitation” is just a given concept based on untruthful comparisons of what is right and wrong. Instead, we would rather present a concept where students experience different ways in which they can learn and perform a move according to their body type and physical capacity. We encourage students to challenge themselves to the maximum of their potential, respecting each individuals pace with awareness of any possible “limitations.”

In Capoeira, all training can be modified to adjust to your skill level. More importantly, we want to remind all students that you know your body better than anybody else. If there are concerns you have about a movement that you think you cannot do due to physical limitations, fear of getting hurt, or anything related, please don’ t hesitate to inform the instructor. You will not be forced to do any movements that compromise your safety.

To preserve the tradition of Capoeira, we maintain the terms and names of the moves in Brazilian Portuguese and one will often hear us speak in Portuguese in order to facilitate the learning of the language to everyone. We also help in interpreting the songs to the capoeiristas as well as making corrections on the pronunciation. It is our belief that the closer one remains to the roots the better he/she will understand and assimilate the art.

Additionally, we teach students different activities related to Capoeira such as Maculelê (warrior stick fight dance), samba de roda (traditional folkloric samba), and many other activities related to the life of capoeiristas in Brazil. In our classes we all help to teach and we know that we learn from everybody even the newest beginner.

Our group has become an extended family to many of us. We strive to understand that our similarities are greater than our differences. We teach students to respect the traditions of Capoeira and to understand the hierarchy of the art. In our academy, STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO MAKE MISTAKES but they are also taught not to lose the laughter for the Brazilian way of doing Capoeira involves a great sense of humor including being playful and comical. Mocking and making a fool of ourselves are almost always done in a healthy atmosphere of support.