Capoeira (Bimba, Pastinha)

1. Introduction

Version followed: capoeira as transmitted in the two founding lineages of modern Bahian capoeira (Mestre Bimba's Capoeira Regional and Mestre Pastinha's Capoeira Angola), as described by UNESCO's 2014 inscription of the capoeira circle and IPHAN's national registration; for therapeutic group use, the published STARTTS Capoeira Angola programme (New South Wales, Australia). Where sources differ on dates or names, both versions are given and marked [uncertain].

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian practice that combines fight, dance, music and ritual. UNESCO inscribed the capoeira circle (roda) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014 (9th Committee session, 9.COM). It describes two players in the centre of a circle while the others sing, clap and play percussion; it calls the roda a place that affirms mutual respect, promotes social integration and keeps alive the memory of resistance to historical oppression [source: UNESCO]. In Brazil, IPHAN registered the Roda de Capoeira (Book of Forms of Expression) and the Ofício dos Mestres de Capoeira (Book of Crafts and Knowledge) as national cultural heritage in 2008 [source: IPHAN presentation to the Brazilian Senate, 2013].

Capoeira is a living cultural tradition and martial art, not a therapy. It has no treatment manual and no theory of change of its own in the clinical sense. Teaching authority lies with mestres (masters) through traditional transmission. Therapeutic and social-project uses are adaptations by health and education services; their published rationale is that the roda offers a shared, rule-bound and musically structured space for self-expression, empowerment and group membership, and that practising controlled attacks and dodges without harming a partner may train impulse control (stated by the programme authors as a hypothesis) [source: Momartin et al. 2019; Mom et al. 2019].

This guide is written mainly for the psychotherapist working alongside a capoeira teacher: capoeira should be taught by someone graduated within a recognised group or lineage. A psychotherapist who is also a graduated capoeirista may co-lead a group programme, and Section 4 describes the class and programme structure as published, qualitatively. Capoeira is not presented as a treatment for any physical disease [synthesis].

History in brief. Capoeira was criminalised under Brazil's 1890 Penal Code [source: Macedo 2006]. Its decriminalisation is dated to 1937 under Vargas by one source and to 1930 by another [uncertain: sources conflict] [source: Macedo 2006; Papoeira, Bimba part 2]. Writers on capoeira consistently affirm its Angolan (Central African) origins, and candomblé terreiros gave capoeiristas social space and protection [source: Macedo 2006].

Mestre Bimba (Manoel dos Reis Machado, 1900–1974, Salvador; died in Goiânia) trained from about age 12 under Bentinho, an African-born ship's captain, began teaching in 1918, and dated the creation of his "Regional" style to 1928 [source: Barbosa 2009, EFDeportes]. He systematised attack-and-defence capoeira into a teaching method presented as physical education, opened what is described as the first capoeira academy (1932) and obtained official recognition (1937) [source: Papoeira, Bimba part 2; Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional] [uncertain: exact academy name and year of recognition vary between sources].
Mestre Pastinha (Vicente Joaquim Ferreira Pastinha, 1889–1981, Salvador) learned from Mestre Benedito, an African elder, as a child [source: Papoeira, Pastinha]. He founded the Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola (CECA) in Salvador in 1941; the academy was registered in 1952 and moved to Pelourinho in 1955; he adopted a black-and-yellow uniform and wrote the book Capoeira Angola [source: Macedo 2006] (dated 1964 by Macedo, 1965 by Papoeira [uncertain]). He took part in the 1966 Festival Mundial de Arte Negra in Dakar; he was evicted from his academy in 1973 and died in poverty [source: Papoeira, Pastinha].
Both lineages helped present capoeira publicly as folklore, martial art and sport; in 1972 a national sports confederation declared it a national sport; Angola grew markedly from the 1980s [source: Macedo 2006].

2. Framework

Capoeira has no clinical phases. Three frameworks matter to the psychotherapist: the tradition's own progression, the published therapeutic programme, and the psychotherapist's own process around a client's participation.

A. The tradition's progression (as published; varies by group).

Regional (Bimba): Bimba's first ranking had three levels, calouro (novice), formado (graduate) and formado especializado [source: Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional]. A community source describes coloured silk handkerchiefs (lenços): blue at the batizado, red for formado, yellow after a specialisation course in self-defence against armed opponents, white for mestre; it reports Bimba formed only four mestres [source: Papoeira, Bimba part 2] [uncertain: single secondary source]. Rituals adopted from academic models were the batizado (initiation), formatura (graduation) and especialização [source: Barbosa 2009].
Angola (Pastinha lineage): titles such as treinel and contramestre are used rather than a coloured-cord ladder [source: Araújo 2010].
Contemporary groups: most groups use coloured cords (cordas/cordões), with a change of grade marked at a troca de cordas ceremony; a 1972 sports-federation scheme used the colours of the Brazilian flag; titles and colours vary from group to group [source: Araújo 2010; IPHAN presentation 2013]. There is no single national grading authority to check a cord against [synthesis].
Who is a mestre: IPHAN treats the mestre as a traditional educator, fully formed within the tradition, who may teach without academic credentials [source: IPHAN presentation 2013]. UNESCO describes the mestre as the keeper of the circle's knowledge, who leads the music, starts the chants and sets the rhythm [source: UNESCO].

B. Published therapeutic programme (STARTTS Capoeira Angola, "Project Bantu"). A torture-and-trauma service in New South Wales runs Capoeira Angola groups for refugee young people, with a capoeira mestre (Mestre Roxinho) among the authors; schools request the programme [source: Momartin et al. 2019]. Published structure: group classes built around the roda, call-and-response music, movement (handstands, cartwheels, low squats, kicks, spins), practised as "simulated non-contact" martial art [source: Momartin et al. 2019]. Evaluation: a pre/post study of 32 adolescents aged 12–17 in Intensive English Centres, teacher-rated SDQ, no control group, reported fewer behavioural problems [source: Mom et al. 2019]; later the WHO-5 and an attribution-of-change questionnaire [source: Momartin et al. 2019]. Session length, group size, screening criteria and the counsellor's in-session role are not published [uncertain: not verified].

C. The psychotherapist's process (synthesis).

Explore and assess (1–2 sessions): motive, culture, body history, trauma, aggression, injury risk.
Refer and prepare: choose the teacher together; agree consent and opt-out plans; medical clearance where indicated.
Accompany (ongoing): debrief classes and rodas in therapy; monitor wellbeing and adverse effects.
Review (e.g. after the first months or after a batizado): continue, adapt (music-only, watching) or stop. Move on when the client can describe what they will do if overwhelmed, hurt or touched without consent; pause if dissociation, panic, injury or coercive group dynamics appear [synthesis].

Evidence status. A 2025 systematic review (19 studies, 2012–2022) found effects on cardiovascular variables, flexibility, balance and bone density inconclusive, and more discernible positive effects on executive functions, social skills, self-efficacy, resilience, anger and aggression; it states that robust studies are lacking and notes geographic bias [source: Köhler et al. 2025]. A qualitative pilot (10 parents of autistic children) is hypothesis-generating only [source: Lev-Ari et al. 2025]. Present any benefit to clients as promising but unproven [synthesis].

3. Guiding principles

The tradition holds the authority. Mestres and their groups decide what is taught and how; the psychotherapist does not teach, grade or alter the roda. Practical meaning: refer to a teacher; your work is the client's process.
Afro-Brazilian history is central, not decoration. UNESCO and IPHAN frame capoeira as memory of resistance to oppression [source: UNESCO; IPHAN 2013]. Practical meaning: speak of it with accuracy and respect; avoid treating it as a generic fitness tool.
Spiritual and mystical meanings belong to the tradition. Pastinha called rhythm the "misticismo que bole com a alma" (the mysticism that stirs the soul; [translation: own]) [source: Macedo 2006]. Practical meaning: attribute such meanings to the tradition; never present them as clinical mechanisms.
The roda is ceremony. UNESCO describes ritual codes of ethics and conduct [source: UNESCO]. Practical meaning: do not script or stage rodas in therapy; describe, do not proceduralise.
Consent before and during contact. Capoeira is largely non-contact but includes sweeps, takedowns and, historically, throws [source: Papoeira, Bimba part 2; Wikipedia]. Practical meaning: the client knows they may decline any partner exercise or roda at any moment.
Respect for the partner's physical and moral integrity is described as the core principle of Regional [source: Barbosa 2009]. Practical meaning: use it as the shared rule for safety conversations.
Never sexual touch. Codes prohibit sexual contact with clients [source: APA Ethics Code 10.05; UKCP 2019 item 4; USABP VIII]. Practical meaning: the psychotherapist does not physically spot, adjust or partner a client.
Stay within competence. Offer only forms in which you are trained [source: UKCP 2019 item 23; APA 2.01]. Practical meaning: co-lead only if you hold a recognised graduation and the teacher agrees.
Screen for physical safety; no prescriptions. Practical meaning: no exercise, intensity or duration instructions from the therapist; medical clearance where indicated.
Claims match evidence. Practical meaning: "promising, not proven" for mental-health benefits; no physical-disease claims [source: Köhler et al. 2025].
Choice and graded participation. Music, clapping and watching are full ways to belong to a roda (UNESCO describes all present as singing, clapping and playing) [source: UNESCO]. Practical meaning: offer lower-intensity roles to anxious, injured or trauma-affected clients [synthesis].
Separate roles. Practical meaning: if a client's teacher is also in contact with you, agree with the client what is shared (cf. EABP 6.b on parallel services) [source: EABP 2020 Ethics Guidelines].

4. Intervention inventory

Items 4.1–4.4 and 4.10–4.14 are the psychotherapist's own tasks (mostly [synthesis] built on the cited sources). Items 4.5–4.9 describe capoeira's elements as the tradition and published programmes present them, so the therapist can prepare and debrief clients; they are taught by the capoeira teacher, not by the therapist, and are not given as instructions.

4.1 Suitability and safety screening

Purpose: decide whether, and in what role, capoeira fits this client. Use before any suggestion of a class [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Ask about musculoskeletal history, especially knees, lower back, wrists/hands and hips, the regions with most pain in a study of 65 practitioners (64.6% reported pain or discomfort; knee pain in 56.1% in a cited study; hip pain linked to femoroacetabular impingement in another) [source: SciELO RAMB 2021 cross-sectional study]. (2) Ask about head injury and conditions where inverted or spinning movements and falls are risky; a case of chronic subdural haematoma attributed to head movements is reported in that literature [source: SciELO RAMB 2021]. (3) Ask about pregnancy, cardiovascular, neurological or bone conditions and recommend medical clearance from the client's physician for any of these [synthesis]. (4) Ask about trauma involving physical violence, restraint, being held or grabbed, sexual violence, and about dissociation, panic, psychosis and current aggression. (5) Ask about medication or alcohol use affecting balance [synthesis]. (6) Record the decision and the agreed role: full participation, music and clapping only, or observation.
Example language (illustrative): "Capoeira involves low kicks, dodges, handstands and cartwheels, and some groups teach sweeps and takedowns. Before we think about a class, can we go through your knees, back, wrists and any past injuries? And has anyone ever held you down or grabbed you in a way that still affects you?"
Watch for: minimising pain (about 65% of practitioners in a cited study kept training despite pain) [source: SciELO RAMB 2021]; wish to use the roda to discharge rage at someone; dissociation when talking about being held. Working: client can name their limits and the role they want.

4.2 Choosing a group and teacher with the client

Purpose: find a teacher with recognised standing and a safe group culture [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Clarify style: Regional (faster, upright, Bimba's sequences and graduations) or Angola (Pastinha lineage, slower and lower game, strong ritual) or a contemporary mixed group [source: Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional; Macedo 2006]. (2) Ask the teacher's lineage: who graduated them, their title (mestre, contramestre, professor, instrutor; titles vary by group) [source: Araújo 2010]. (3) Ask how beginners are introduced to partner work, sweeps and the roda; how injuries are handled; whether there is first aid; whether children's classes have safeguarding policies [synthesis]. (4) Suggest the client watch a class and a roda first. (5) If the client is in a programme (school, refugee or clinical), confirm who is the responsible clinician.
Example language (illustrative): "Different groups have different ranks and ways of teaching. It's fine to ask the teacher who trained them and how new students start in the roda. Would you like to go and watch first?"
Watch for: pressure to buy grades, travel or events; humiliating "tests"; teachers who discourage questions or forbid other activities [synthesis]. Working: client feels respected and free to decline.

4.3 Preparing for touch, contact and takedowns: consent planning

Purpose: prepare clients, especially trauma survivors, for the forms of contact in capoeira, and make the right to stop explicit [source: USABP Code VIII.2, VIII.5; EABP 2020 Principle 7].
What contact occurs (as published): games are mostly without contact; STARTTS describes "simulated non-contact" practice [source: Momartin et al. 2019]; but sweeps (e.g. arrastão) and, in Bimba's method, the cintura desprezada (throws and takedowns such as the balão and gravata, taught only to students who had mastered the basic sequences) involve holding [source: Papoeira, Bimba part 2]. At a batizado the new student usually plays a senior capoeirista and is usually taken down [source: Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional]. Early Regional entrants were tested with a headlock [source: Wikipedia, citing Downey 2005].
Steps: (1) Describe these forms plainly. (2) Agree what the client will say or do to stop (a word, stepping out of the circle, crouching at the foot of the berimbau), and rehearse saying it. (3) Encourage the client to tell the teacher in advance, in their own words, what they will not do (e.g. no takedowns, no being held by the neck). (4) Agree a plan for unwanted touch: leave, tell the teacher, bring it to therapy. (5) Revisit consent after each new stage (e.g. before a batizado). (6) State that sexual touch is never part of capoeira and never acceptable; inappropriate touch by a teacher is reportable [source: APA Ethics Code 3.02, 10.05; USABP VIII].
Example language (illustrative): "You can say no to any partner exercise, any takedown, or the roda itself, at any point, even halfway through. What would you like to say or do if you want to stop?"
Watch for: freezing, compliance, startle, flashbacks after sweeps; shame about "being weak". Working: the client uses their stop plan at least once or reports feeling able to.

4.4 Explaining what capoeira is (psychoeducation and cultural context)

Purpose: give an accurate, respectful picture before the client starts [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Describe capoeira as an Afro-Brazilian fight-dance with music and ritual, recognised by UNESCO and IPHAN [source: UNESCO; IPHAN 2013]. (2) Mention its history of criminalisation and resistance, and the roles of Bimba and Pastinha [source: Macedo 2006]. (3) Explain that music and the berimbau lead the game. (4) Explain that the teacher, not the therapist, decides how the class runs. (5) State the evidence status honestly [source: Köhler et al. 2025].
Example language (illustrative): "Capoeira grew out of Afro-Brazilian communities who were persecuted for practising it. The music leads the game. Some studies suggest it may help with confidence and handling anger, but the research is still early."
Watch for: exoticising or appropriating; clients of Afro-Brazilian or African heritage may find meaning or pain in the history: follow their lead. Working: client can describe it in their own words.

4.5 The ginga and the Regional class (as published; taught by the teacher)

Purpose: know what a Regional-lineage class contains, to prepare and debrief [synthesis].
What the sources describe: Bimba's method was built on attack, dodge and counter-attack with precision and discipline, with acrobatics kept minimal and at least one hand or foot on the ground [source: Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional]. He created sequências de ensino, described as eight sequences of attacks, defences, sweeps and takedowns practised in pairs, still used by Regional schools, and a set of basic movements (e.g. aú, armada, meia lua de compasso, negativa, rolê) [source: Papoeira, Bimba part 2; Araújo 2010]. The ginga is the continuous swaying base movement [synthesis: general description]; a rule reported for Bimba's academy is to "always ginga" [source: Papoeira, Bimba part 2]. Further academy rules reported: no smoking or drinking, not showing off one's progress outside the roda, keeping the body relaxed, practising basics daily, and "better to take a hit in the roda than on the street" [source: Papoeira, Bimba part 2] (English rendering in source). Bimba is said never to have injured a student in 56 years of teaching, and fighting was not to happen to the sound of the berimbau [source: Barbosa 2009]. No timings or counts are given here. Therapist's steps [synthesis]: (1) Before the first class, go through what a Regional class contains and agree the client's limits on contact and acrobatics. (2) After classes, debrief body sensations, emotions and partner experiences. (3) Leave all teaching and correction of movement to the teacher.
Example language (illustrative, for debrief): "What was it like to keep moving in the ginga while someone was attacking towards you? Where in your body did you notice that?"
Watch for: pain in knees, back or wrists; exhaustion; harsh self-criticism about learning sequences. Working: client reports enjoyment, increasing ease, respectful partner experience.

4.6 Capoeira Angola practice (as published; not proceduralised)

Purpose: know what an Angola-lineage setting may involve [synthesis].
What the sources describe: Pastinha's CECA adopted a black-and-yellow uniform [source: Macedo 2006; Papoeira, Pastinha]. In Pastinha's account, players crouch "ao pé do berimbau" (at the foot of the berimbau) listening to the singing before the game; the term ladainha for the opening solo song appears in documents from 1962 [source: Macedo 2006]. Pastinha wrote that in the old rodas "dentro do jogo tudo era segredo" (inside the game everything was secret; [translation: own]) [source: Macedo 2006]. He presented capoeira as practised with joy and respect and as a philosophy of life and culture [source: Papoeira, Pastinha]. Ritual sequences and their spiritual meaning are taught within the lineage and are not reproduced here. Therapist's steps [synthesis]: (1) Describe the setting as the sources do, without scripting it. (2) Ask how the client experiences waiting, watching and ritual. (3) Refer questions about ritual meaning to the mestre.
Example language (illustrative): "What was it like to wait, crouched at the foot of the berimbau, before you entered?"
Watch for: distress at waiting or being watched; feeling excluded by unfamiliar ritual or Portuguese songs. Working: client experiences the ritual as containing.

4.7 Music and the bateria: a lower-intensity way in

Purpose: music participation as a full role in the roda, useful for clients who cannot or should not play the game yet [synthesis].
What the sources describe: UNESCO describes all participants singing, clapping and playing percussion, expected to know how to make and play the instruments, sharing a repertoire of chants and improvising songs; the mestre usually plays the berimbau, starts the chants and sets the rhythm [source: UNESCO]. Bimba standardised the bateria as one berimbau and two pandeiros and used rhythms (toques) that each call a different type of game [source: Papoeira, Bimba part 2]; examples: São Bento Grande (speed and strength), Banguela (low, tricky game), Iúna [source: Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional]. Angola baterias include berimbau, pandeiro, reco-reco and, by the author's inference, atabaque and agogô [source: Macedo 2006]. Pastinha considered rhythm not indispensable but a mysticism that stirs the soul [source: Macedo 2006] (attributed, not clinical). STARTTS emphasises the call-and-response format, which requires listening and action [source: Momartin et al. 2019].
Steps (therapist, synthesis): (1) Offer music-only participation as a legitimate option. (2) Discuss with the teacher whether the client can join the bateria or chorus. (3) Debrief experience of voice, rhythm and being heard.
Example language (illustrative): "Singing and clapping are part of the roda, not just the warm-up. Would starting there feel more manageable?"
Watch for: sensory overload (loud music); shame about singing in Portuguese. Working: steadier mood, belonging.

4.8 The roda as ceremony (described, not scripted)

Purpose: prepare clients for the roda's codes and debrief it [synthesis].
What the sources describe: UNESCO describes the circle, two players in the centre, and the mestre's role in keeping the group faithful to its ritual code and codes of ethics and conduct; knowledge passes by observation and imitation [source: UNESCO]. In Regional games, the two players shake hands and enter; the game ends at the berimbau's signal, when a player leaves, or when someone buys in; games are usually brief [source: Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional]. STARTTS describes the roda as a microcosm of the real world [source: Momartin et al. 2019].
Therapist's stance: never stage or simulate a roda in therapy; do not prescribe what the client should do in it. Steps [synthesis]: (1) Before a first roda, ask what the client knows of its codes and whom in the group they can turn to. (2) Agree how they can decline to enter or can leave the circle. (3) Afterwards, debrief entering, playing and leaving.
Example language (illustrative): "You mentioned the roda felt like a small version of life. What did you notice about how you entered, how you left, and who you looked to?"
Watch for: being "bought out" or taken down experienced as rejection; competitiveness escalating. Working: the client experiences rules and music as safe limits.

4.9 Batizado, apelido and graduation

Purpose: help clients process initiation, nicknames and grading [synthesis].
What the sources describe: the batizado is a ceremonial roda where new students receive their first graduation and traditionally an apelido (capoeira nickname) [source: Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional]; grade changes happen at a troca de cordas [source: IPHAN presentation 2013]; colours and titles vary between groups [source: Araújo 2010].
Steps (synthesis): (1) Before a batizado, revisit the consent plan (4.3) because the first game commonly ends in a takedown. (2) Explore the meaning of the nickname. (3) Watch for grading becoming a measure of self-worth.
Example language (illustrative): "How does your new name sit with you? Does it fit who you are becoming, or does it hurt?"
Watch for: a nickname that echoes past bullying or racialised insults; distress at public ceremonies. Working: pride and belonging.

4.10 Co-delivering a therapeutic group programme (trained capoeirista-clinician with a teacher)

Purpose: run capoeira as a group intervention in a clinical, school or refugee service, modelled on the published STARTTS programme [source: Momartin et al. 2019; Mom et al. 2019].
Published elements: a capoeira mestre partnered with a trauma service; Capoeira Angola, chosen for its ethos of empowerment and group membership [source: Mom et al. 2019]; non-contact practice; roda with call-and-response music; movement repertoire as in Section 2B; strong codes of conduct; a framing drawing on Paulo Freire's pedagogy of the oppressed [source: Momartin et al. 2019]; outcome measurement with teacher SDQ, then WHO-5 and an attribution-of-change questionnaire [source: Mom et al. 2019; Momartin et al. 2019].
Steps (synthesis where not published): (1) Teaching by a graduated teacher; the clinician holds clinical responsibility. (2) Screening (4.1) and consent from young people and guardians, with assent from children. (3) Agree with the teacher: non-contact rules, no takedowns for beginners, how a participant opts out, what happens on distress. (4) Clinician present in class, not teaching, available to step aside with a distressed participant. (5) Short verbal check-in and check-out in the clinician's role. (6) Measure wellbeing before and after with validated instruments, without changing their items. (7) Safeguarding policy, first aid and incident logging.
Example language (illustrative): "Anyone can step out of the circle at any time and sit by me. That is part of the rules, not breaking them."
Watch for: fights outside the roda, re-enactment, scapegoating, exclusion; physical injury. Working: fewer behavioural incidents, more respect and confidence, as STARTTS reported [source: Mom et al. 2019].

4.11 Integrating capoeira experiences into psychotherapy

Purpose: link body and group experiences to therapy goals [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Ask open questions about the class: body sensations, emotions, partners, music. (2) Use the client's own words and the tradition's terms as the client uses them (e.g. ginga, malandragem), without imposing meanings. (3) Connect patterns (e.g. attacking vs dodging, freezing at the edge of the circle) to themes in the client's life only if the client finds it useful. (4) Note gains in confidence, self-control and belonging, which are the outcomes most often reported [source: Köhler et al. 2025; Mom et al. 2019].
Example language (illustrative): "In the game you dodge rather than block. Is there anywhere else in your life where moving out of the way, then coming back, might help?"
Watch for: over-interpreting; turning a cultural practice into a metaphor factory. Working: client brings capoeira material spontaneously.

4.12 Aggression and impulse control work

Purpose: support clients for whom anger is a theme [synthesis].
Basis: reported improvements in anger and aggression [source: Köhler et al. 2025]; hypothesised training of inhibitory control through controlling movements that could hurt a partner [source: Momartin et al. 2019].
Steps: (1) Agree with the client that the roda is not for revenge. (2) Monitor incidents outside class. (3) Coordinate with the teacher on consent if a client has a violence history.
Example language (illustrative): "What happens in you when the game speeds up, and how do you keep the kick from landing?"
Watch for: escalation, enjoyment of hurting, weapon interest (Bimba's historical specialisation course included defence against knives and firearms) [source: Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional]. Working: client reports control under arousal.

4.13 Monitoring outcomes and adverse effects

Purpose: know whether participation helps [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Agree goals at the start. (2) Use a validated wellbeing or symptom measure at regular reviews (e.g. WHO-5, used by STARTTS) [source: Momartin et al. 2019]. (3) Ask about pain each review; low-intensity pain can signal injury [source: SciELO RAMB 2021]. (4) Ask about unwanted touch, humiliation and group pressure.
Example language (illustrative): "Any pain since your last class, even small?"
Watch for: training through pain; mood drop after gradings. Working: wellbeing scores rise; no injuries.

4.14 Recognising and passing on harms

Purpose: protect clients and others [synthesis].
Steps: (1) For injury: advise medical assessment; encourage telling the teacher. (2) For unwanted or sexual touch or abuse: support the client's choices, follow safeguarding and mandatory-reporting duties (especially for minors), and inform the relevant group leadership or police where the client wishes or law requires. (3) For coercive group dynamics (financial pressure, isolation, intimidation): explore, support exit. (4) Document.
Example language (illustrative): "What happened isn't part of capoeira or any respectful practice. Let's think together about who needs to know and what you want to happen."
Watch for: loyalty conflicts with a revered mestre; fear of exclusion from the community. Working: client is safe and feels heard.

5. Handling problems

The sources say little about clinical problems; the guidance below is [synthesis] unless a source is given.

Overwhelm, flashbacks or dissociation in class or roda. Use the agreed stop plan (4.3); the client steps out or moves to music-only. In therapy, ground and debrief; reduce to observation or music; consider pausing. Phrase (illustrative): "Stepping out was you looking after yourself. Let's look at what happened just before."
Unwanted touch or being taken down without warning. Validate; help the client tell the teacher; if it recurs or the teacher dismisses it, support leaving the group. Any sexual touch: safeguarding and reporting (4.14) [source: APA Ethics Code; USABP VIII].
Injury or training through pain. Advise medical assessment and rest from the activity per medical advice; explore pressure to keep going (common among practitioners) [source: SciELO RAMB 2021].
Stuck or ashamed about learning. Normalise slow learning of sequences and songs; emphasise the respectful, non-competitive aspects reported by parents of autistic children [source: Lev-Ari et al. 2025]. Phrase (illustrative): "Capoeira is learned over years by watching and copying; nobody arrives knowing it."
Non-attendance. Explore barriers (cost, travel, social anxiety, body image, uniform, cultural discomfort); offer watching or music as steps back in. Do not make attendance a condition of therapy.
Aggression or rivalry escalating. Coordinate with the teacher; agree a pause from the roda; return to 4.12. Stop if the client or others are at risk.
Idealisation of the mestre, dependence, or coercive group dynamics. Explore loyalty conflicts gently; distinguish respect for teaching authority from obedience in personal matters; support exit if there is financial exploitation, isolation or intimidation.
Rupture with the therapist (e.g. the client feels the therapist doubts capoeira or appropriates their culture). Acknowledge; be curious about the meaning of capoeira for them; correct any inaccuracy; do not argue about the tradition.
Cultural mismatch or appropriation concerns. Clients of Afro-Brazilian or African heritage may experience capoeira as reclaiming history, or as painful; non-Brazilian clients may be unsure whether they belong. Name the history (UNESCO, IPHAN) and let the client decide [source: UNESCO; IPHAN 2013].
Spiritual material (e.g. candomblé associations, mysticism of rhythm) [source: Macedo 2006]. Treat as the client's or the tradition's meanings; refer to the teacher or a religious leader for teaching; do not interpret clinically or dismiss.
Children and adolescents. Guardian consent and child assent; safeguarding policy of the group; parent involvement; instructors may lack training for neurodivergent children, so discuss adaptations with the teacher [source: Lev-Ari et al. 2025].
Expectations of cure. Correct claims that capoeira treats physical disease or mental disorders; describe it as a culturally rich activity with promising but unproven mental-health benefits [source: Köhler et al. 2025].
Therapist wanting to teach or join the client's roda. Avoid; it creates a dual relationship [source: UKCP 2019 item 8; BACP 2018 para 33]. A trained capoeirista-therapist co-leading a programme keeps clinical and teaching roles distinct (4.10).

Sources

Web sources:

Books cited (via the sources above):

Pastinha, V. F. (1964 or 1965 [uncertain]). Capoeira Angola. Salvador: Escola Gráfica N. S. de Lorêto (cited in Macedo 2006).
Decânio, A. (1996). A Herança de Pastinha (cited in Macedo 2006).
Almeida, B. (1986). Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form; Downey, G. (2005); Capoeira, N. (2006) (cited in Wikipedia, Capoeira Regional) [uncertain: not verified].

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