History of Grupo Axé Capoeira – Grupo Axé Capoeira began in Recife, Brazil in 1982. Today, with academies throughout Canada, United States, Europe, Asia and South America, the Grupo continues to rise as one of the world’s leading Capoeira organizations. Backed by worldwide releases of eight albums of music on CD, the video release of the 2000, 2005, and 2009 International Capoeira Encounter and two Performance videos from the Axé Capoeira Volume IV and V DVD releases, enrollment continues to steadily increase. The Grupo also continues to travel around the world promoting Brazilian culture, music and dance, and participating in Capoeira and open martial art exhibitions and competitions.

Philosophy & Methodology – The philosophy of Grupo Axé Capoeira is to respect all the mestres, preserve the roots and traditions of Capoeira, and train Capoeira in all its aspects: as a fight, art, dance, music and culture. We endeavor to teach and educate so that capoeira will grow in a positive healthy way. We attempt to pass on to the students physical and mental methods of training so that they learn to create situations and maintain a dialogue within the game. By playing both with friends and enemies, students learn to deal with any situation in or out of the roda. In North America, we not only teach movements, but the Brazilian language and customs as well so that the students may become true capoeiristas.

Objectives – Axé Capoeira is working hard to ensure that Capoeira has a strong future. Through research, travel and participating in events, we hope to increase our knowledge in the art and contribute to the evolution of Capoeira. Our goal is for Capoeira to be placed among the most widely practiced and respected martial art forms in the world.