From Powerlifting To Capoeira: My Journey To Today

Growing up, I was your typical millennial; eyes glued to the TV with my Playstation controller in hand and playing Tekken with Eddy Gordo, the capoeirista character. For those of you unfamiliar with Tekken, it was another combat game with a choice of characters of different fighting styles. I always thought Eddy was so cool—and easy to play with!

I’ve always known capoeira existed since this point. Fast forward to university where salsa dance took precedence and there was no time for capoeira as I practiced to perform, taught classes and ran my organization.

Then, I dated a powerlifter starting in 2017. Though Brazilian, capoeira was not her cup of tea. She loved, and I believe still does, love powerlifting. At the time, I was unable to do anything at night working a late shift at my former company, but I always had time to lift in the mornings. Powerlifting became a way for me to improve my physique and create strength goals to work toward during each training session. It was great—until 2019, where I realized I needed another challenge…

I still lift today. Resistance training will always be part of my life. It’s just that, on the random day in July 2019 when I saw capoeira in the distance, I knew it was my time to revisit my interest. After that, as they say, the rest is history! What started out as an interest is now only less important than my family and my health! Being a capoeirista has changed the way I evaluate movement, immersed my into Brazilian culture and provided me with a community of people I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Today, I have backgrounds in powerlifting, salsa dance, rugby, taekwondo and, now, capoeira! Time to restore movement and keep capoeiristas training hard with the tools I’ve acquired!