i'm still not sure if i've abused it above, but i think it's legit
Capoeirista's Log, Day 0 - Thursday night, 09/07/09
Followed Rafa to Jakarta to give some workshops there on thu night.
As usual Air Asia was late
We had a burger before our bus to our flight
And rafa had a plate of rice before our flight
he's an eating animal, which makes what ensued for the next four days quite unbelieavable.
Also. He was fluish.
Even though my face masks cost RM3 per piece, i had to give him one
To give him the illusion that at least he was looking like he was trying to 'avoid getting sick' instead.
Important when trying to avoid any H1N1-related mob justice.
Arrived at midnight, and when we got to sleep after catching up with Andrew
it was about 2am.
I didn't sleep till about 5 or 6 though.
Was too busy donating blood to the mosquito foundation in jakarta.
Apparently there's a shortage.
Capoeirista's Log, Day 1 - Friday, 10/07/09
Woke up to the perfect breakfast
our favourite Mee Bakso stall down the road
it's been 2 years since i last visited
great to see mister Bakso has progressed and from a humble street shack
he now has a not-so-humble-semi-permanent-house-like street shack
The rest of the day was spent sleeping in the car and travelling between malls
Rafa was looking for helmets, jackets and shoes in no particular order
found a killer biker jacket for only rm80. Value
The evening workshop was held at the national sports centre
at the wrestling room
a bunch of overweight nicotine absorbing 'wrestlers' were using it before us
wooo scary
the students slowly trickled in
traffic as usual
saw a lot of new faces
well the last time i was down it was 2 years ago
The energy level was high
lots of them have come because of Rafael, well actually all of them.
they were wide-eyed and very eager to be abused with a more physical training routine
it is the wrestling room after all.
i lead the warmup
and were given 3 very talented kids to coach
while rafa put them through some technique drills followed by floreios
it's nothing new from what we do in class
but for the students of Bantus Jakarta, it was a refreshing eye-opener
makes you think sometimes of how lucky we are that we have our own Graduado coaching us every day
kinda reminds me too how we sometimes take capoeira classes for granted.
The both of us were kinda weak
but i was determined to have some kinda relevant jakartan cuisine
and i love their street food
so off we went to jakarta central for some Nasi gila
and satay
and avocado shakes
and satay
and tofu
and sup ekor
burp.
Sleep was good.
Flooded the room with mosquito repellent
and we bought mat burners for extra effect
Capoeirista's log, Day 2 Saturday 11/07/09
Woke up
More traffic
Went to FX Mall which was a very designer-ish, lifestyle kinda place
bought myself an indie-electro-style T
hit a 7-floor slide
was fun, but rather short for 35 ringgit. Thank you Andrew!
We did class at another mall.
Margos City Square
They have a semi-dilapidated theme-park sports centre
played some futsal
rode a mini bike
taught the kids more classes
i think they were bored but just entertaining me
since their attention span was quite short
so i put in some games to make it more interesting
The main crew did another set of drills and movements
We went into the mall for a demo roda
it was good to see everyone with Axé
had a quick game, was lethargic and couldn't pull off many moves, will try a more technical game for tomorrow's roda
RODA RATING: 8/10 - good energy, singing and music.
Personal Jogo Rating: 6/10 - had a game and a half and didn't make the most of it
We went for Rawan, a traditional indonesian meat dish
it was like bak kut teh, but beef
and they had this grilled beef ribs that was as good as Tony Roma's
no wonder the place is called RAWAN SETAN (Satan's...errr... Rawan)
Went clubbing with the gang
They had to do a show at the Vertigo club
we were there for our very first road trip to jakarta
crowd comes in late cause clubs close at 6am
It was quite a simple, straightforward show with Rafa
bringing some brasilian jogo into the groove
We had a free bottle of Dark Horse whisky which tasted kinda dodgy
and we were entertained by 2 groups of breakers doing battle
they were kinda dopey
like the gangs you see in movies doing choreographed dance sequences
rather entertaining i must say
i like one of them crazy leg breakers
wish i could do that
the night went well into the morning
and we hit the sack at 5am
Capoeirista's log, Day 3 Sunday 12/07/09
whoa. Semi-hangover.
Drowned myself in water to detox.
Got ready.
Had 4 slices of white bread.
traffic.
then it's back to the National Sports Centre
this time at the acrobatics gym
Damn they have a fantastic venue for acro
the full works
Rafa split the group to mortals and non-mortals
i was coaching the non-mortals on how to jump and tuck
Rafa was just giving a few tips to the mortals to improve their technique
That girl 'Cinderalla' from another Capo group has a wicked assed mortal
damn
My right shoulder blade's been burning all day because i've been lugging students into the crash mats
but it's great to see them have lotsa fun
i haven't done a mortal in more than a month!
so i was a little hestitant.
joined them for some front mortal practice
i've never jumped off a catapaul spring
did one and a half front flip
sounds impressive?
not when you dive head-first into the crash mats
sprained my neck
i looked like a Michael Keaton Batman the whole day at the office today
Did a few mortals
Good to know i've still got the tuck
Roda was very good energied
I played as many games with as many students this time round
had lots of fun
and practiced more control and played a more tactical game with them
Faked a meialua into a chapa and switched into a rasteida, which was a good feeling to pull off having practiced it with Cueca
Also malandro'd a fake au into a bum bump when the other person was in an au
and a coupla other nice wholesome games
The Axé was fantastic
took over the berimbau and watched big smiles on everyone's faces as they played
i still had some pent up energy
those 4 slices of bread must've been good.
wanted to play more, but also wanted to man the berimbaus.
RODA RATING - 8.5/10 music was a little inconsistent at the start, but otherwise a wicked roda
Personal jogo rating - 7.5/10 had a tactical jogo. wish the roda could go on so i could practice throwing in some floreios but all in all wasn't too shabby.
Rafa paid an emotional tribute to the whole group
i echo his sentiments
they are a very good bunch of people
and i thank them for reminding me why i love capoeira so much
it brings people together
sure i've been through my share of stories and experiences about heartbreak
but that's what makes capoeira so beautiful
it mirrors life
and what you take out of it
is how much you put in.
So while i went to help give workshops
i think i'm the one that re-learnt a valuable lesson indeed
priceless.
We didn't eat much.
i had an indo mee goreng in indonesia.
i kinda like indo mee in KL better.
starved through the trip back
had coffee that was made from beans hand washed from the faeces of coffee-bean-eating-Civet cats. Tasted the same to my peasant tastebuds.
got back home at 2am
ordered myself a nasi goreng kambing and some sleep.
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