In my first years of starting capoeira, this article (which has an unwieldy name "'Os negros lutam suas lutas misteriosas; Bimba é o grande rei negro do misterioso rito africano', par Ramagem Badaró(1944)", coloquially known as "Bimba vs Creole" or "Bimba's jogo") was one of my greatest inspirations.
It described capoeira as a combat game full of tight, sophisticated exchanges; totally unlike contemporary capoeira that just spams kicks loosely and swings the legs in the air, interspersed by absurd individual contortions.
I remember saying to myself back then: "Wow, he did Armada, got rasteiraed, and escaped in Au - how cool is that? How did he do it?"
I know now; and I and my students can do it too.
The only problem with the article is that many of the techniques are hard to imagine for a contemporary capoeiristas - as they were for me back then; because they are not done anymore in capoeira.
This is why I decided to create 'annotated version' of Bimba's jogo - adding a video to every technique, so anybody can see what capoeira was like when Bimba was the king of capoeira - or rather, what was the capoeira Bimba was king of.
Enjoy it, my dear reader; as I enjoyed it back in 2000s.
(...)
At that moment, a shout was heard:
"Mestre Bimba is going to fight!"
Everyone turned around, clapping and shouting.
"Mestre Bimba... mestre... viva...vivaaa!"
A gigantic black man entered the circle formed by the people. Smiling. The crowd applauded even louder. The sun beat down hard on his dark face, illuminating his features.
He was, in fact, tall. His face was oval. Deep-set eyes hidden behind a prominent forehead. A flat nose. A an almost bald head. And a small, thin, triangular mustache over his thick lips. But overall, he was charismatic.
When Bimba entered the circle, the berimbaus began to practice some toques. And the crowd that filled the terreiro applauded their idol frantically.
Just then, a powerful Creole entered the circle, accepting the challenge. The people commented on the courage of this man who was going to fight Bimba. Because entering into a fight with Bimba without being invited by him is asking for trouble. Even if it was just a demonstration. Because Bimba is the king of Capoeira.
The berimbaus practiced a toque and one of the men asked:
"What's the toque? Sao Bento Grande Repicado, Santa Maria, Ave Maria, Benguela, Cavalaria, Calambolô, Tira-de-lá-bota-cá, Idalina, or Conceição da Praia?"
Bimba thought quickly and said:
"Play Amazonas and then Benguela."
The berimbaus began to play. The Creole approached and Mestre Bimba shook his hand. And the people began to follow the tin-tin-tin of the berimbaus, clapping.
Bimba swayed his body and sang:
No dia que eu amanheço
Dentro de Itabaianinha
Homem não monta cavalo
Nem mulher deita galinha
As freiras que estão rezando
Se esquecem da ladainha
But the Creole didn't stay behind and sang, shaking his body to the beat of the berimbaus:
A iúna é mandingueira
Quando está no bebedor
Foi sabida e é ligeira
Mas capoeira matou
Applause celebrated Creole's "counterattack". However, Bimba didn't give up. He replied:
Oração de braço forte
Oração de São Mateus
Pro cemitério vão os ossos
Os seus ossos, não os meus
Once again the people applauded and sang the refrain of Capoeira:
Zum, zum, zum, zum
Capoeira mata um
Zum, zum, zum, zum
No terreiro fica um
The Creole, however, did not let himself get 'taken down' by Mestre Bimba's quadra and replied:
E eu nasci no sábado
No domingo me criei
E na segunda-feira
A Capoeira joguei
The crowd cheered and clapped for the two fighters in the center of the circle. A black woman commented:
"Good boy! If you're as good in fighting as you are in singing, good luck to Bimba."
[Note several interesting things.
First, Bimba let the berimbaus play two toques: Amazonas, then Banguela. Why was it done? Was it so they could have a 'singing contest' first to Amazonas; and then jogo to Benguela?
Second, note the singing contest itself. This strongly hints that old capoeira was also a 'singing wrestling'; but more about that later.
Third, there was no entering Au; they simple stood in the middle of roda and then went straight into ginga: ]
--
The two fighters shuffled their bodies [ginga] to the sound of the berimbaus. Facing each other, they looked into each other's eyes, studying each other.
[The Creole: Physical-game ginga]
https://youtu.be/DT4-6uiYKRw?t=37
[Mestre Bimba: Nemer ginga]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfM0FBCqpQM
The Creole was the first to begin feinting, trying to discover his opponent's weak points. And Mestre Bimba apparently allowed himself to fall into the trap. The Creole capitalized and opened his guard further, focusing on attack.
The crowd at the terreiro of Roça do Lobo continued to clap their hands to the tin-tin-tin of the berimbaus. And chanting the Capoeira refrain in chorus:
Zum, zum, zum, zum
Capoeira mata um
Zum, zum, zum, zum
No terreiro fica um
Meanwhile, the fighters continued to maneuver their bodies, trying to find their opponent's weak points.
[Note how long the fighters just did ginga in front of each other; trying to find an opening; and then launched one - one! - kick. And compare it how today, there is almost no ginga between ten thousand aimless kicks]
--
Suddenly, the crowd froze; remaining mute with attention, watching the sudden attack. The Creole advanced quickly, raised his leg and launched right Armada.
However, the kick didn't connect because Bimba was faster. He dropped down into guarda[Cocorinha] and tried to pull Creole down with [Low Bahian] rasteira.
But the Creole was also fast and escaped the takedown with an Au to the left.
https://youtu.be/DT4-6uiYKRw?t=193
--
Bimba persisted, attacking him again, trying to catch him with Cabeçada presa [guardbreaker].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLZ6pS0RVAc
But the Creole countered [broke the grip] with a violent Calcanheira.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBqPU8piBbo
However, Bimba nimbly escaped with Pulo mortal.
<TO_BE_ADDED, STAY TUNED!>
--
The berimbaus played more frenziedly, demonstrating the players' nervous excitement. The accompanying clapping also diminished considerably, almost ceased. Meanwhile, the audience, completely transfixed, enjoyed the fight in its smallest details.
Bimba realized he had a good opponent. The Creole was truly good. Sly, agile, and courageous.
--
The Creole began to back away from Bimba as if he were about to turn his back on him in an escape. Bimba caught his opponent's trick at a glance and was on guard. His muscles were completely controlled, ready to seize the opportunity. As he expected, the Creole completely turned his back on him, as if fleeing the fight.
He was expecting Bimba to fall for the old Capoeira trick and dive into Arpao de cabeça [which Bimba did], giving him the opportunity to counterattack with a deadly Arpao de joelho.
Mestre Bimba, who had already anticipated the blow, defended himself with [Rear] Negativa. At the same time, he pulled the Creole's standing leg off the ground with a violent sweep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_NPGCOT0yE
[The finish is a bit different from the video, because in Nemer system, the final Negativa works a bit differently]
Caught by surprise, the Creole lost his balance and collapsed on the ground.
--
A resounding roar celebrated Bimba's sagacity. Everyone was excited, except Mestre Bimba.
The fallen capoeirista got up as quickly as he fell. However, he was furious, his blood boiling in his veins.
Enraged and out of control, he moved away from Bimba, constantly shaking his body, trying to clear his head.
The crowd cheered and clapped along to the nervous tin-tin-tin of the berimbaus and the chiming of caxixis, constantly singing the capoeira refrain:
Zum, zum, zum, zum,
Capoeira mata um
Zum, zum, zum, zum
No terreiro fica um
--
At that moment, the Creole returned to the center of the circle. He advanced towards Bimba, trying to take him down with a Vingativa from the left.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgMM88LZKOU
He did not succeed and was booed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ8XWfbvj-M
The Creole lost control and advanced in a fury. He tried to catch Bimba with an elbow strike and a slap.
[This is what happens when you get hit with the Vingativa counter]
But Bimba wouldn't let himself be reached. He continued to dodge his body, always feinting, with quick escapes.
[This was probably Bimba using plyometrics in his Nemer ginga]
--
The crowd went wild. This, however, distracted Bimba, causing him to relax his vigilance. And the Creole knew how to take advantage of this oversight.
He approached quickly, raised his leg, and gave a Bençao into Bimba's chest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eCnIGTZw5A
Mestre Bimba sensed the blow and tried to dodge. He was quick. But not enough to completely escape the blow.
His chest hurt, and so did his vanity. Because the audience applauded the Creole.
--
Bimba however gave no respite from the other's victory. He advanced to the Creole, as if the was trying to give him Balao açoitado
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrTaQEC2h-M
But then he raised his palm; and finally, raised his leg as if trying to give Bençao.
[Note that this chain of feints was only possible because Bimba did it from Nemer ginga]
The Creole was completely confused by the speed and succession of Bimba's feints. He thought that last blow was the real attack Bimba intended and tried to defend himself with [Low Bahian] rasteira.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdmZ5DweS1A
But he immediately realized his mistake [because the Bençao was fake] and tried to take Bimba down with Encruzilhada.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmUZRDCzftI
This was another mistake; and Mestre Bimba subdued him with Tronco de pescoço before he could free himself with a balao.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H4UORV4TUE
--
The fight had a winner. The people invaded the terreiro, applauding the king of Capoeira.
Bimba embraced his opponent. And the Creole showed he was truly a man. He sang:
Santo Antônio pequenino
Amansador de burro brabo
Amansai-me em Capoeira
com setenta mil diabos
Bimba appreciated the compliment and reciprocated, singing:
Eu conheci um camarada
Que quando nós andarmos juntos
Não vai haver cemitérios
P'ra caber tantos defuntos
The crowd applauded again, and Mestre Bimba embraced the Creole (...).
--------------
Excursus:
Note how tight the whole jogo is. Today, the description would probably be something like: "Bimba kicked. Then Bimba kicked. Then Bimba kicked. Creole evaded and kicked. Creole did a Macaco and Au sem mao. Bimba kicked.".
But back then, no: There are precious few kicks, and those are well aimed at opponent's openings; no kicking air. The whole game is built upon tight challenges, entered body-to-body, where each attack must be precisely answered.
This is a wrestling game.
This is real capoeira.
Excursus:
The jogo consists, basically, of five classic Bahian Physical-game challenges:
1)Armada, Rasteira, Au escape - the basic challenge of old Bahian capoeira
2)Cabeçada presa, Calcanheira, Mortal
3)Arpao de cabeça, Arpao de joelho, Negativa takedown - this is Bimba's 5th sequence
4)Spin-entry Vingativa, Vingativa counter
5)Bençao, escape - this is Bimba's 8th sequence
It is Bimba who 'breaks the rules' in the end; up to that moment, he played pretty clean Bahian game; he did not even use his feared hand strikes. But probably because he got hit, he wanted to finish it quickly; so he uses the complicated faking allowed by his Nemer system/Nemer ginga.
This completely confuses the Creole, because he probably never encountered anything like this; so he wrongly goes into Low Bahian rasteira, which he then tries to turn over into Encruzilhada from the ground.
And again, Bimba counters with something the Creole had never seen - Tronco de pescoço, speciality of his Nemer system.
The author of the article indicates that Creole could have escaped with balao from the hold. I think it is not true.
You do not escape Tronco de pescoço.
So in certain sense, Bimba cheated, because Bahian capoeira is based on challenges - if you are good, you can always escape.
But Tronco de pescoço is a death-trap. It is a punishment for Encruzilhada that is inescapable.
Excursus:
I personaly believe Bimba took the game friendly. That is why he let Banguela be played, so they could both show off their capoeira skills.
If he really wanted to rough the Creole up, I believe he would have picked Cavalaria; and used his hand strikes, Martelo etc.
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