Where other martial arts have distinct stances, usually several of them, capoeira has a basic move called ginga. It consists of moving from a left forward stance in a right forward stance and then immediately back into a left forward stance and immediately again in a right forward stance and so on. Beginning with left forward only is my personal preference because I was used to stand left forward in the beginning of karate performances. While changing from one side to the other, the central line with vital vulnerable points is exposed to the opponent. Hence capoeira is criticized and ridiculed for the ginga. Even the author of the Razorwire blog, who states to love capoeira, doesn’t use the ginga.

He instead prefers a move called peneração. He knows more such basic moves. He claims that the capoeiristas of Recife once preferred a basic move, which he calls “combat passo”. I have to doubt this because he wouldn’t need an English-Portuguese-mix for naming it if it wouldn’t be his own invention. It furthermore looks like dancing in a discotheque. The ginga shall have been used only in Bahía. This probably means Salvador de Bahía, the capital of Bahía, instead of the whole state because the other styles of capoeiragem (historical capoeira) shall also have been typical for certain cities. The original ginga shall have been different from the current ginga de Bahía. The author of the Razorwire blog believes that additionally to changing from left to right and vice-versa leaning backward and bowing forward and again leaning backward and then the same in the opposite direction was combined with the footwork. This looks only more exhausting instead of more effective. The author of the Razorwire blog indeed criticizes that the modern ginga is lazy. His peneração did he take from the capoeiragem of Río de Janeiro and it consists of jumping from a left single-foot stance in a right single-foot stance and then back in a left single-foot stance, again in a right single-foot stance, and so on. The author of the Razorwire blog took freeze frames from his video clips and compared these freeze frames to old drawings depicting capoeiras (historical capoeiristas) performing capoeiragem. I must credit to him that the freeze frames and the old drawings really show the very same moves, not only something similar. Probably the capoeira way to avoid perilous double-weighting. A commonality of all martial arts, although forgotten in some. But I must also state that the peneração as well as similar old basic moves are very exhausting. This probably is the reason for the invention of the modern ginga, which is not too exhausting (as soon as you’re used to it) for an hour or two of training.

When you watch a karate match, then the first thing, which you should notice, is that the karateka immediately give up the concept of static stances. The karateka instead either let their heels jump up an down or alternately shorten and lengthen the distance to the opponent, who adapts to this move and so both karateka move forth and back and forth and back and so on. This move shall disturb the opponent’s mental focus and make aiming more difficult. The left-right-left-right moves in capoeira serve the very same purpose and are equally effective. So there certainly is no reason for looking down on capoeira for this basic move.

The ginga includes some arm moves. The arms are swung in a circular motion, the end positions are protecting the throat with one hand and hiding the other hand behind the back. The arm moves remind at the fact that capoeiragem originally included fighting with knives. The Czech guy, who is the author of the Razorwire blog, criticizes that the arm moves are done on only one height level, while they originally were done on three different height levels. Other people criticize that capoeira would know no hand techniques. Capoeira in truth knows many hand techniques and they all are already adumbrated in the basic arm moves. Nothing more than turning the wrist and adapting the distance is needed for applying various capoeira hand techniques.

The only real reason for criticizing capoeira is it causing postural deformities. For example had a study found that hundred percent of all capoeiristas developed hunchbacks. This probably is due to the crouched posture, in which most capoeiristas perform the ginga. So this is a bad idea! All martial arts have the purpose to protect health and physical integrity. A martial art being a health threat can’t be a martial art at all. Yet there is absolutely no need to perform a crouched ginga! To perform it upright is what you can watch in old videos, but leaning forward should also be acceptable because the main reason for not upright postures is that the capoeirista wants to be able to reach very fast to the ground, from where he can perform his most surprising techniques for defeating his opponents.