Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art created by enslaved Africans during the 16th Century.  Participants form a roda (circle) and take turns playing instruments, singing, and sparring in pairs in the centre of the circle.

The art of capoeira is in the fluid acrobatic play, feints, subterfuge, and extensive use of groundwork, as well as sweeps, kicks, and headbutts.  Technique and strategy are the key elements to playing a good game.  Capoeira has two main styles, known as "regional" and "Angola."

The homogenization of African people under the oppression of slavery was the catalyst for capoeira.  It was developed as a way to resist oppression, secretly practice the art, transmit culture, and lift spirits.  Some historians believe that the indigenous peoples of Brazil also played an important role in the development of capoeira.

After slavery was abolished in 1888, the freed people moved to the cities of Brazil and with no employment to be found, many joined or formed criminal gangs.  They continued to practice capoeira, and it became associated with anti-government or criminal activities.  As a result, capoeira was outlawed in Brazil in 1890.

The punishment for practicing it was extreme (practitioners would have the tendons on the backs of their feet cut), and the police were vicious in their attempt to stamp out the art.  Capoeira continued to be practiced, but it moved further underground.  Rodas were often held in areas with plenty of escape routes, and a special rhythm called cavalaria was added to the music to warn players when the police were coming.

Capoeira practitioners (capoeiristas) also adopted "apelidos" or nicknames to make it more difficult for police to discover their true identities. To this day, when a person is baptized into capoeira at the "batizado" ceremony, they may be given an apelido.

Persecution of the art faded eventually, and was entirely gone by 1918.