Capoeira Comes to San Juan! (New EBC Philippines Schedule)

Wow! It has been over a month since my last post.

For those of you who don't know, I've been on vacation. I visited some family back in New York and spent two weeks in Brasil for Carnival. So I've been a bit busy.

I'm going to post about my trip once I get back into the groove of things but for now I thought I would update everyone about the new Escola Brasileira de Capoeira Philippines Training Schedule.

Good news to all the people from the North end:

"Below is the updated 2008 training information of Escola Brasileira
de Capoeira Philippines. Please feel free to forward this to your
family & friends. These are open to the public, no prior experience
or background necessary. Hope to see all of you in training soon!

Feel free to contact us for more information, requests for other
venues,schedules or performances.

Obrigado!

Escola Brasileira de Capoeira Philippines
www.ebcphilippines.com
+63.915.306.9456

SCHEDULE & VENUES:
Mondays 8:00pm - 9:30pm Manila Polo Club, Makati City
Tuesdays 8:00pm - 9:30pm Manila Polo Club, Makati City
Wednesdays 8:00pm - 9:30pm Xavier School, San Juan
Thursdays 8:00pm - 9:30pm Manila Polo Club, Makati City
Fridays 8:00pm - 9:30pm Manila Polo Club, Makati City
Saturdays 4:30pm - 6:30pm Xavier School, San Juan

* All classes are led by Professor Fantasma of EBC Brasilia, Brazil.
** Please note that there are no more sessions at the Moro Lorenzo
Sports Center in Ateneo. These sessions have been moved to Xavier
School. Capoeira clubs for students in Ateneo High School and De La
Salle University will continue as scheduled.

The Complete addresses of venues are as follows:

- THE MANILA POLO CLUB
The Dojo
#17 McKinley Road, Forbes Park, Makati City

- XAVIER SCHOOL
Table Tennis / Aikido area of the Rafael Cortina, SJ Sports Center.
#64 Xavier St., Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila

FEES:

Per session: Php350.00
Package #1: Manila Polo Club & Xavier School - Php3,300.00 for 12
sessions valid for 2 months.
Package #2: Xavier School only - Php1,200.00 for 4 sessions valid
for 1 month."

That's it for now. I'll try and post soon about my trip.

EBC Philippines' Capoeira Training Resumes!

After a long long long long long break, Capoeira training finally resumes tonight at Manila Polo Club.

I've been wasting away here at the house. I feel the holiday flab mocking me as I type this blog post.

Aside from training there's a lot of new things to look forward to this year from EBC Philippines.

NEW TRAINING FORMAT

Professor Fantasma has decided to change the format and schedule of classes. Now a student has even more opportunities to learn the different aspects of Capoeira.

The schedule is as follows:

Manila Polo Club Dojo (located not in Manila but on McKinley Road, Makati at 800pm to 930pm)

Monday - All levels
Tuesday - Beginners
Wednesday - Angola
Thursday - Movements/Floreios

and a new class on Fridays (Maculele, Samba, Music/Instruments, Culture)

The Friday class is still tentative. It all depends on the availability of the venue.

Rodas are unscheduled and unannounced. Fantasma will hold rodas depending on attendance and axe.

The DLSU Capoeira Club will resume training after the first or second week of the term. This depends on Fantasma and if the club is having a recruitment week.

The other training venues are still the same. You can check www.ebcphilippines.com for more information.

We are also looking for a new venue in the North (San Juan/Quezon City). Contact me if you have info!

To a new year and a whole new set of possibilities! Axe!

DLSU Capoeira Club!

The Capoeira Club at De La Salle University (DLSU) - Manila has been around since last school year (2006-2007). It took a lot of work on me, and my buddy, Besouro's part. The Student Council (Nadia Ong and company) also helped a lot.

Now that I've graduated, I'm glad things are still working out. I'm just hoping we don't have problems in the future.

What's funny is that I was recently interviewed by "The La Sallian" regarding the club. We've had several articles in the past, but up until now, the time I'm out of school, I've never been interviewed about the club. Thanks to Tina for finding the article!

The article has a lot of quotes. My friend Gaille (Carochinha) was like, "You practically wrote it." Actually, the thing I pointed out as one of the most important parts wasn't included.

I told them in the interview that people who want to learn about Capoeira should beware. There are lots of people that are trying to take advantage of the art. People with little or no real experience, sometimes try to pass off as teachers. So when looking for a school, you should try to look at its history and their teacher's lineage. This is a good way to find out if they really know what they are talking about.

Aside from that, the article was a good way to promote the club. I even have a picture where I look like a child. Man, I have a huge head (literally).

You can check the article online here. You can download the PDF (in original page layout) here. The second link has the picture.

For more info about the club, you can contact me here or just join the yahoo group. The club is right now on break. We start again next year.

The schedule is currently set at:

Tuesday and Thursday - 4:10-5:40 (any changes will be announced in the group)

For other training schedules check out: http://www.ebcphilippines.com

I met two Gracies in one day! (Ring of Fire: World Team MMA Makes Its Way to the Philippines)

While I was watching Ring of Fire, an International Team Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Competition, I planned to write a simple review. It was, after all, a major MMA event in the Philippines. I was actually planning to rant about all the technical problems but after the third fight... everything changed.

Truth be told, I wasn't very happy with my seats. They were in the nosebleed section. But magically, my Capoeira buddies (the EBC people) and I made it ringside (the life of a capoeirista is an interesting one indeed).

The projectors weren't working properly. The camera angles and the way they were directed sucked. But I could care less while I was ringside.

The title says it all. I met two MMA legends, Royce Gracie and Royler Gracie. They were both short encounters but they were great experiences that will be hard to come by again. The little Portuguese I knew really helped. It made the me and the EBC people there stand out. My teacher Fantasma's fluency also helped greatly.

They took my camera at the gate so I had to use my cellphone. My picture with Royler is a bit blurry. They were all rushing backstage when I asked for the picture. But, you get the idea. Below, is a picture of my buddy Mark Barreto from EBC with Royce Gracie. It was another rushed picture. I didn't get one with Royce but the picture I took of him with Mark serves as my proof that I was there.


My other buddy, Manny Distor, has clearer shots. Some of the other great MMA figures we were able to take pictures with include:

Ken Shamrock
Kimo Leopoldo
Daniel Serafian

Kimo was great. He sat outside the fighter's area for a while and took pictures with everyone who asked.

Daniel Serafian was really nice. He seems like a very simple guy. The EBC people (including myself) had the opportunity to talk to him for a bit. My friend, Katie Dilao, asked him for a picture and he even came outside the fighter;s area to talk to us for a little while.

This wouldn't be complete without mentioning the fights. They were entertaining. A lot better than what I'm used to.

I usually watch URCC. The matches were a lot longer at Ring of Fire. Usually, one big punch in URCC, and they end the fight. You could tell the difference in experience as compared to our local fighters. Our MMA is good but it can still get better.

The best match had to be the women's bout. It showed the most technical skill and it had some good strikes and take downs. Everyone else agreed too. It was voted as the best match.

Wow. What a day. I hope they do something like this again in the near future.

The links to the other pictures will most probably follow. I still have to get them from Manny.