Glory be

i have seen the light. after years of dodging high school p.e. (and slinking through most of college p.e.), i have now come to the epiphany that physical exercise actually feels... wonderful. who would have known that my body could turn traitor to my slothy ways and actually secretly crave for exercise? not me. but the craving was fulfilled yesterday, and it felt great.

my only experience with capoeira so far had been the virtual kind -- mindless, button-mashing sessions with christie monteiro in tekken 5. but yesterday, thanks to escola brasileira de capoeira philippines and their newly opened saturday sessions at the ateneo, got to try it out for real.

and it was fun! unathletic as i am, i didn't feel as stupid as i normally would have trying out a new physical activity -- a martial art/dance at that. and daunting as all the acrobatics/buff bodies/fluid movements are, i am definitely coming back for more. why?

one: the people are great. the advanced capoeristas are mixed in with the beginners, and you switch partners a couple of times during the class, so you learn a little bit from each new person that you meet.

there is a visible respect for each person's pace. none of that deadmahan you get when you're a beginner at something (such as, say, fitness first's body jam, tee hee) and everyone else is leagues ahead of you.

there is a very strong group dynamic -- warm, effusive, and simply envelops you, drawing you in.

two: anything fuelled by music is a go for me. especially when it's live and has a distinct shout-your-heart-out feel-good factor. such are the songs sung in roda, which are accompanied by instruments like the drums and berimbau (which kind of looks like a big bow with a gourd tied to one end).

the musicmaking takes place during the part of the class called roda, or the circle in which everyone "plays" or "performs", two by two. it's more like what we pinoys like to call an "exhibition" rather than actual sparring, since nobody actually tries to hit each other. which to me is great -- walang patalbugan. plus, the beginners can actually "dance" with the more advanced capoeristas, or even the instructor.

three: that it's so beautiful to watch is quite inspiring. in other group exercise classes a.k.a aerobics (well, the ones i've tried), motivation to get better and practice more doesn't seem quite so strong. i mean, you don't really try to achieve the perfect grapevine, do you?

one of the biggest surprises for me was this huge kid who was totally red in the face all throughout the class (like me). but in the roda, whoa! ang galing niya, cartwheels and all! i thought to myself, syet kung kaya niya, kaya ko rin! i want to do cartwheels too!

i am even more inspired to lose weight just so that there's simply less of me to lift when i attempt the acrobatics. hell, not even the acrobatics. i can't even hop from my left to my right foot while squatting.

i wish i could attend the weekday sessions at the polo club. the more you train, the faster you improve. but... augh. work work work.

four: everyone's buff bodies are really inspiring, too.

demmit. someday, i too will do headstands in white pants and a bikini top. but in the meantime, i will go on huffing and puffing, ginga-ing and kicking away.

oh yeah, and i gotta nurse my poor legs back into shape. they're absolutely killing me.

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another glory be: the hordes are gone. i can put my jun-jun posts back up now.