Capoeira Cordão de Ouro Torino

a dream turned into reality

1issued by: Michele Richichi

What does capoeira represents for me?

why do I speak about capoeira?

it says a lot about me

anyway I hope to have the chance to present also my professional experience in details

What capoeira represents for me

friendship

humble & true people: respect

self-consciousness

harmony with our own body

being moved by the rhythm

expression of joy

2What iscapoeira?

Circle of people

2 player 1 game

rhythminstrumentsc

horusenergy

Intelligence creativity

Falling in love with capoeira CDO style

I have been playing capoeira for many years, practicing different capoeira styles

When I was in London

I practiced Cordão de Ouro style (with Mestre Poncianinho)

I fell in love with his philosophy and the capoeira CDO style

I wished to continue practicing

the poetical CDO-style capoeira everyday!

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How to bring a good capoeira-CDO master in Italy?

Contact with the great capoeira master in Brazil (in Portuguese) …I gained his trust!

Pre-requisites:

adequate infrastructure

minimum group of people

support to ensure the initial livelihood

I spoke with a couple of keen-on-capoeira friends &

I proposed them to create a new capoeira group together.

many thought it was impossible,

some had been dreaming for years to have the chance to practice the CDO-style

Selection of our future master: looked like a good person and a very promising capoeirista!

I started imagining and planning how to achieve the goal!

I committed myself with the great master:

I promised I would do anything in order to make it real! 4

Collecting information

Thanks to the past experiences with the capoeira groups in my city,

I knew what was missing in Turin:

a great capoeira style

a good organization

a warm gym

respect & a serene atmosphere

We can do it!!

set up a sports association to rent the municipal gyms at a lower price

affiliate ourselves to a sport promotion organization to have a basic insurance coverage

minimizing the start-up investments

I explained the plan to my 2 friends (future partners)

we believed it was really possible and we decided to make it happen together!!!5

Conceiving the infrastructureThanks to the support of a sport promotion organization

we understood what had to be done:

have the necessary insurance cover & find our sport association

I was appointed President and legal representative of the

“Accademia CDO Torino” association

Initial investments: constitution of the association

gym rental - group promotion

hosting and air flights for the capoeira master

Division of tasks:

The secretary sought for the convenient equipped gyms

I created web site & leaflets

The vice president and I were replying emails/calls transmitting our passion and our vision

Our master would arrive shortly!

We started to spread the word and organize for the welcome event !! 6

The capoeira CDO master in the city

At the Welcome event there were more than 40 people: a success!

When the master arrived finally we finally started enjoying our beloved CDO style!!

The master was living with me

I helped him to settle in, to learn Italian and to manage the association

Through word of mouth we started our classes with 8-10 students

At this stage it was important to build a solid group, taking care of all members

I really tried personally to create a place where everyone could feel at home!!

We were creating and striving for what we believe in!

something good living unforgettable experiences

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Living capoeira everyday

We organized many exhibitions and distributed lots of leaflets

My master and I decided to hand paint the CDO logo

The music, the instruments, our logo and the banner with the web site

represented us during training and all outdoor performances

We participated to many international events all over Europe

This allowed me to live a unique capoeira experience:

culture, music, technique, style and movements in everyday life

I was his right-hand man

supporting my master and proposing a lot of initiatives and ideas!

The group was naturally growing!

As my great master says:

“Everything that is done with love gives good results !!”

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high schoolstudent professional

sportsman

House keeper

…houseowner

Marriage

professionaldancer

Possible solutions to obtain the residence permit

The master arrived in Europe as a tourist, here only for three months out of 6

Since the beginning we have been trying all the possibilities to obtain the residence permit

for the master, studying the laws, asking some advice and never giving up !!!

We met up regularly dividing tasks among us

brainstorming them

actively attempting all possible solutions !!!

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Coordinating the group during the absence of our master

During the absence of our master

we took care of the group and trained among ourselves,

always instilling enthusiasm and good energy!

The goal was to hold the group together,

making it grow and setting everything for his return

Making sure that everyone felt like part of a big family,

maintaining the equilibrium of the group and possibly gave his contribution

I proposed to organize a course for children

I created a new specific leaflet

we distributed the flyers in front of the schools all together

I conceived contents and design of the flyer

trying to explain to the parents the benefits of capoeira

infusing all our passion through photos and colourful drawings

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Strengthening the infrastructure

I was dealing with the maintenance of the website:

FAQ section - capoeira history - CDO group history - videos

academies location (maps) - international contacts - posters of the events

I was also involved in the group promotion through various social media

Facebook® page and group YouTube® channel

Some active members were in charge of oversee the administration:

members affiliation - insurance cards - collect the subscriptions

The aims and valences of capoeira are countless: capoeira for children,

the elderly, disabled, it promotes social and cultural integration, …

So I thought to present a cultural integration project to the municipality

allowing us not to pay the down-town gyms!

Thanks to this idea and detailed year-end reports we have extremely reduced our expenses! 11

A concrete opportunity for the visa

The law that could allow us to get the coveted permit was finally approved!

The only way was to hire him as domestic worker

It was also the best solution in terms of taxes expenses

I decided to take this responsibility, hiring him personally as house keeper.

Not all applicants can obtain the permission: the quotas are very limited. It's a kind of online lottery

We had to get it at all costs! It was necessary to have a competitive advantage

So I tried to technically understand how to optimize the chance of succeeding!

I technically coordinated the various partners, differentiating the access points, connection types,

access times. We synchronized our clocks. Finally we were able to access the server among the first!

We were not sure that would be enough, but we gave our maximum!

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Winning the photo contest A sport promotion agency organized a national photo contest

with special attention to sports, disability and cultural integration

I decided to participate with some capoeira photos,

I just named this photo: “Beyond our own limits!”

probably the jury thought the person in the

photo had only one arm…

Crazy but true!

I won the photo contest… intelligently!

…I donate the prizes to the master/association

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Leaflets, logo & ideas

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Courses for kids/teens

We booked a new gym for the children course and

when the master came back, the new leaflets were ready

In these months I have tried to express all my passion for capoeira through the flyer and web

site design : "the art of fighting while smiling", "astuteness disguised in dance"

We started distributing 10k flyers in front of every school but with poor results

We had to change perspective:

since people were not coming to capoeira, we brought capoeira to people!

I got in touch with the principals of each school

proposing to let the children practice capoeira during one lesson of physical education

We reached almost 40 people among children and teenagers in less than 1 month

We even had to split the children course into two!

Because there is a discrete cultural difference between Italy and Brazil,

it was necessary to explain to the master how to manage the kids and parents,

also supporting him with translations15

Courses for kids/teens -

memories

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Courses for kids/teens -

memories

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The 1st international event

1st international event: many guests from Brazil and from all over Europe

It was crucial that everyone made a contribution:

The master was dealing with the international contacts,

invited the guest masters spread the word in person in all the previous international events

We met up to:

find new ideas: for the logo printed on the t-shirts

gym location for the party buy flight for the guest masters

weave woolen bracelets as memory/trace of the payment of the event

divide the tasks during the event: cleaning the gym buying food

transporting and hosting all guests recording photo and videos

I personally coordinated the event designed logo/poster promoted on website/Facebook®

We also involved children and released them a certificate of participation. It was lovely!

It was a very stressful week, but we managed all issues/situations brilliantly!

This would have been only the first of a series of great international events! 18

The 1st international event - memories

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Mission accomplished! We finally received the news that we obtained the residence permit for our master!!

We had to react promptly to problems/situations

When possible I supported my master during classes

I was translating/substituting him during the courses for children/teens/adults

I personally took care of a blind girl:

Her results were astonishing, really beyond her limits...

She was used to touch me in order to understand the various positions

I trained her tying some bells on my wrists and ankles in order to make her sense

the position of my position in the space. Finally we were able to play capoeira together!

We finally differentiated trainings, also for experienced capoeiristas,

as we dreamed since the beginning!

The master led over 20 hours of classes per week

We forged true friendships all over Europe

In little more than a year we achieved what we had dreamed of:

enjoy the CDO style, train and grow together!

We worked hard for that and I think we deserved it! It really was a dream come true!20

The handover

Working abroad and having a hip surgery made me pause capoeira for a couple of years

I have always managed the group even from afar

Nowadays I have no more time and opportunity to take care of the group properly as it

was once

it’s time to pass the torch to those who are more involved in the daily activities of the group!

those who have the opportunity and time to live capoeira every day and propose new ideas!

My master and I are still very good friends, he has lived in my house more than 3 years:

it was a completely different life style and an unforgettable experience of life!!

Despite I paused, I will never stop of being moved by the berimbau rhythm

Capoeira CDO will always be part of me: it is not a sport, it is a lifestyle!

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Thank you

for

your attention

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