Unit 1 · The Circle on the Floor

Capoeira comes from Brazil. Africans and their children in Brazil made it. They lived under slavery there. Capoeira mixes game, music and movement.

Capoeira happens in a roda. Roda means wheel or circle in Portuguese. People stand around the edge. Two players go into the middle at a time.

Sumo is a very old sport from Japan. The wrestlers meet on a raised platform. It is made of packed clay. On top is a round ring called a dohyo.

The ring is marked with straw bales. It is about 15 feet across. A wrestler loses if he steps out of the ring. So the circle is a rule you can see.

Long ago in England, boxers fought inside a circle of people. That circle was called a ring. Later, rules asked for posts and ropes.

The shape became a square. But the old name stayed. Today a boxing ring is a square with ropes on four sides. Posts stand at the four corners.

In 1867, a set of boxing rules came out in England. They are called the Queensberry Rules. They carry the name of the Marquess of Queensberry.

The first rule was about the room. It asked for a ring 24 feet across. The rules also asked boxers to wear gloves. Boxing still uses gloves today.

Fencing is a sport with long, thin swords. The tips are blunt. Fencers wear masks and white jackets. Fencing was in the first modern Olympics in 1896.

Fencers meet on a long, thin piste. Piste is a French word. The strip is 14 meters long. It is only about 2 meters wide. Fencers stay on the strip.

Judo began in Japan in 1882. Its rooms used soft floor mats called tatami. Today judo mats are square. Judo joined the Olympics in 1964 in Tokyo.

Olympic wrestling uses a round shape on a square mat. The circle is 9 meters across. So some rooms mix shapes. A circle can sit on a square.

The berimbau is a music maker from Brazil. It is a wooden bow with one metal string. A dry gourd is tied to it. The gourd makes the sound louder.

Bows like this were played in parts of Africa too. People brought this music with them to Brazil. In many capoeira rodas, the berimbau leads all the music.

The berimbau does not play alone. A tall drum called the atabaque often joins. It stands on the floor. A player hits the top with bare hands.

A pandeiro often joins too. It is a small hand drum with jingles. People in the circle clap along. Together they make the sound of the roda.

Capoeira songs are sung in Portuguese. That is the main language of Brazil. Many songs tell about places, people and history.

Often one person sings a line. Then the whole circle sings back. This is called call and response. It is common in music from Africa and Brazil.

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand. It is also its national sport. Many matches there have live music. A small band plays near the ring.

Before a match, fighters often honor their teachers. This is called the wai khru. Music plays during it. A wind pipe and drums make the sound.

Brazil ended slavery in 1888. Two years later, in 1890, a new law made capoeira a crime. People could be jailed for it.

Teachers kept capoeira alive. In the 1930s, Mestre Bimba opened a school in Salvador, Bahia. Capoeira was taught in the open. Mestre means master teacher.

UNESCO is a group from the United Nations. It honors culture from around the world. It keeps lists of songs, crafts and ways of life.

In 2014, UNESCO added the capoeira circle to one of these lists. The list is for living heritage. That means culture people still share today.

Martial arts classes start the same way. First the body gets warm. Then everyone checks the space.

1. Ask a grown-up to stay near you.

2. Hold your arms out wide. Turn around slowly. Touch nothing? Then you have space.

3. March in place. Roll your shoulders. Count to twenty.

4. Open the Dojo. Watch the move first. Then try it slowly.

What helps: go slow. Slow is how everyone learns.

Stay safe: hands and feet go into the air, never at a person. Stop if something hurts. Tell a grown-up.

Many martial arts begin in a ready stance. Feet stay still. The body is calm.

1. Stand with your feet as wide as your hips.

2. Bend your knees just a tiny bit.

3. Make soft fists in front of your belt.

4. Stand tall. Breathe in and out slowly.

What helps: feel both feet on the floor. Look straight ahead.

Stay safe: keep your space clear. Have a grown-up near.

In a ring or on a mat, people move a lot. Small steps keep them from falling.

1. Start in your ready stance.

2. Slide one foot forward a small step.

3. Keep your knees soft.

4. Bring the back foot along. Now you are steady again.

What helps: say "step, settle" as you move. Then switch feet.

Stay safe: look where you step. Keep toys and bags off the floor.

Stepping back makes space. It is a calm way to move away.

1. Start in your ready stance.

2. Look behind you. Is the floor clear?

3. Slide one foot back a small step.

4. Bring the front foot back too. Stand steady.

What helps: go slowly. Then try with the other foot.

Stay safe: always look behind you first.