Natalia Korelina - It’s capoeira between us. Conversations with capoeiristas. Part 1

Curiosa: What did you do to form your first group?

Zumbi: I came to Korea with a yellow/blue belt, and I was an estagiario.

Curiosa: I know it as a monitor belt.

Zumbi: In the class, if you have yellow/blue belt, your teacher tells you what to do and you show that to the class, then you become a monitor. However, if you don’t have a master who teaches you, or like in my case, you’re the only representative of your group in the whole country, you are called an estagiario.

So, I was working out alone in a gym every day. One girl kept looking at me and finally I offered to teach her. I said, “If you want to learn, you should come every day at 6 am and be committed.” So that’s what she did. Soon she started to come with her best friend. We would have discussions and drinks after the classes until I eventually formed a capoeira club.

I got lucky. My employer sponsored my club with $800 per month that I spent it mostly on musical instruments. Soon there wasn’t enough space for everybody to train. We rented an acrobatic studio, which cost $2000/month, for free. Again, it happened because the owners of the studio wanted to have good partnership with my employer. There were fifty students by then.

Most of these students were highly educated Korean boys and girls between 22 and 32 years old. They all spoke English, so it was easy for me to give classes, although I had been learning Korean.

Curiosa: How quickly did you learn Korean language?

Zumbi: It took me four months to learn 40% of Korean language that I now speak. The rest took me more than three years.

Curiosa: What are the major milestones of your work with capoeira in Korea? Were there any dramatic or difficult moments that caused you to consider giving it up?

Zumbi: This big group existed for one year. Many people already knew about me and my club but some of them couldn’t participate because they were affiliated with the competitors of my employer.

That was one of the reasons why I decided to form a real group and to start giving paid classes in a dance studio. It happened in 2012. Believe it or not, but in that studio, I had just 6 people. I think most people just didn’t take it seriously and gave up capoeira because they had to pay for the classes.

Curiosa: How do Koreans see capoeira? Why do they choose capoeira?

Zumbi: Koreans are a very busy nation where the people are highly competitive in studies and in the work place. They are always busy with crazy hours at work or with their families. Korean people have many sports to choose from, but they don’t really need a hobby. Some find their passion and follow it. But majority just try things out and drop them for things of a higher priority such as work or family.

So, for me, it was a time to learn this bitter truth, but I also had mainly foreign students who naturally wanted to have a hobby and a community to socialize with. And yes, they were ready to pay for this. So, I was back to over fifty students again.

I worked hard to attract people at that time. I made many street rodas and distributed some flyers. And from a small number of foreign students, my group grew to fifty-five people, half of whom were Koreans. Those were the best years for the group: I held 10 events with many masters including Chicote, Acordeon, Tico 25 25 Something small, a piece of something. , Cobra Mansa 26 26 A peaceful cobra. , Kibe 27 27 A kebbe, Levantine dish, bulgur cutlets popular in Brasil. and many other. At that time, I had two students with yellow belts and one monitor in my group.

But, in around 2015, there was a major change when I had to leave often to see my sick father. I wanted to be quiet at that time and stopped going to the parties. The way I taught capoeira changed as well. I focused more on capoeira wellness rather than on fighting aspect. I introduced meditation sessions before the capoeira classes. They were optional and free. Students started to leave. I think only those who genuinely liked me and capoeira stayed with me.

In 2017, I made a decision to close the studio. It was a sad time.

I found a new passion though. This was my work with cryptocurrencies that I still have as my main occupation today.

But as for the students who remained in my group, we moved from place to place every 2—3 months.

Curiosa: Are there any the legal requirements for teaching capoeira in Korea? Did you need to provide any documents in order to give classes?

Zumbi: As for the legal requirements are concerned, I formed a legal company. To be a capoeira teacher in Korea, you don’t have to have special education.

Curiosa: What are the main competitors to capoeira in Korea?

Zumbi: I stopped thinking about competition between capoeira and other sports. You just have to inform people about capoeira and let them decide whether they want it in their lives.

Curiosa: You don’t have a master next to you anymore. How do you stay motivated and develop your capoeira?

Zumbi: I don’t really need anybody to motivate me. I am developing my capoeira through teaching.

Chicote put no limits on my creativity as long as the result of my teaching methods were good. However, when the master was around, it wasn’t easy. He saw and mentioned all the mistakes.

Nowadays, I am working with Mestre Xangô. Xangô comes to my events every year.

We haven’t set the date for this year yet because my students haven’t completed their curriculum yet.

Curiosa: Do you students have a curriculum?

Zumbi: Yes. I’m not just teaching capoeira – I am teaching life skills. If they can’t set a goal and commit to achieving it in capoeira, they won’t be able to do it in life either.

I require all my students to start giving classes with yellow belt. I only give them a goal, the way to achieve it, they choose themselves.

Curiosa: How do you see the future of capoeira in Korea? Are you planning to stay in Korea for the rest of your life?

Zumbi: I plan to stay in Korea for the foreseeable future as well as expand and grow my group again. I want to teach capoeira in the USA and Jamaica as well.

I received the professor’s belt in 2015 from Mestre Acordeon in Paris and I am completely satisfied with it. I don’t really want to get the next belt because of the responsibility that comes with it.

Curiosa: What place does capoeira take in your professional and personal life?

Zumbi: From 2000 to 2011, capoeira was my first priority. But, as of 2012, the first place has gone to meditation. My priority shows in my commitment.

My everyday schedule shows it in the best way: at 6am I start meditation, then at 7am I train capoeira, and then go to work. Relationships and other stuff come after. Capoeira is a big hot fire. And you need to know how to manage it. Capoeira enhances one’s life but one should be careful not to let capoeira become a burden.

Interesting facts

– Zumbi doesn’t teach kids. He says he is very much into the discipline and doesn’t have enough flexibility to have kids’ groups.

– He got his apelido 28 28 Apelido is a nickname, a name in capoeira. because he was “big, black and scary”.

– He has a Brazilian student. Yes, a Jamaican is teaching capoeira to a Brazilian guy in South Korea. (It made me smile).

China is not an easy country. There are too many people here, and this is not just statistics. Shanghai airport and railway station are overcrowded. Just to get into a taxi, I had to wait in line for 40 minutes. Roads, overpasses and bridges are multi-level and multi-lane. There are separate lanes and even tunnels for scooters and bicycles, because there are too many of them as well. The traffic is confusing, chaotic. Everyone runs and drives, and it seems that if you stop even for a second, you will be run over or trampled. Prices range from ridiculous to sky-high. And many foreigners believe that all products in China are counterfeit. Kinder and Nutella are not tasty here, for example.