I often wondered why Mestre Bimba liked to photograph himself (and his students) executing Cruz de carreira.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bFS3lbHrkY
I mean, the movement is sure pictoresque; but other than that, this is a typical Batuque takedown and cannot be done from any type of capoeira ginga (except Batuque footwork of course).
Now I believe that answer is simple: Cruz de carreira was an ambush technique in Mestre Bimba's Nemer system ("original Regional").
So it was not applied from ginga or in the roda; but against an unsuspecting opponent on the street.
You casually walked up to the opponent, as if trying to friendly hug him with one arm - and BUMP! - his leg was up on you arm and BOOM !- you threw him on the back of his head on the ground.
This rhymes with other ambush takedowns, which also have potential for big smash (as you can jump while sweeping opponent's leg).
Namely:
-Fig-4 ambush rasteira of Tiririca2 Paulista - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctqnmdFSMzU
-Rasteira antiga of Capoeira Carioca - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQfQW7Pgk0M
However, to properly use Cruz de carreira as an ambush, you have to execute it with LightSkills (LightLegs+Nemer), as Bimba does on the photo. This makes the entry movement innocent, so the opponent will not react to it before it is too late.
At first glance, Cruz de carreira looks too huge to be an ambush technique; you would think you would see it from mile away; but this trick makes it very hard to detect until your leg is up in the air - and then it is already over.
The LightSkills version is also more powerful. However, as this version has a potential for really crippling the opponent, so you would only use it in life or death situation.
The LightSkills/ambush version of Cruz de carreira of course does not belong to Batuque, as Batuque is not streetfighting. But it was probably an integral part of the tactical scheme of Mestre Bimba's Nemer system.
Excursus:
A similar example of using a high throw for ambush is described in the book of Mestre Decanio: Herança de Mestre Bimba. Here, the defender feigns crying at the feet of the attacker; only to throw him using Boca de calça, legs high over his head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_BryDjZuqQ (Boca de calça)
This Web Page was Built with PageBreeze Free HTML Editor