What is a Batizado and Troca de Cordas?
At this special event, occurring every four months, students will be showcased, earn their first or next capoeira cord, and also have their capoeira nickname (apelido) given to them. This event is free and is included in membership. Please read the following carefully and reach out with any questions.
Batizado and Troca de Cordas translates literally to "Baptism and Changing of Cords". There is no religious connotation to the event- the use of the word "batizado" is simply the traditional way of referring to the event when new students become "official" capoeira students by earning their nicknames.
What to expect:
- Brief Warm-up
- Batizado: Each new student will play with a teacher (Vespa or Coruja). We will do this first as a group, and students will play with either Vespa or Coruja for a short game. After students play, we will announce their new capoeira apelidos (nicknames)!
- Graduation/Troca de Cordas: students will be earning their belts. We will spotlight students in pairs or small groups, to demonstrate a planned and practiced short capoeira combination that we will be working on in classes. These combinations can be created by the individual to spotlight their favorite movements, or can be set combinations we practice in class.
- Music Celebration: We will end with some high energy live music, where students can clap and sing along, play capoeira if it strikes them to, and we may even do some maculele (see below for music class)!
FAQs:
- Being spotlighted is not something I am ok with. Can I still participate? YES! This event is for ALL of our students. If any part of the event makes you uncomfortable, please reach out to Vespa. We can come up with a plan to keep you feeling safe and also proud of your hard work in capoeira. You should still attend this event and be part of it (that is important to us!) but we will work together to accommodate your needs and make sure it feels safe and accessible, and fun!
- I am just joining capoeira. Should I participate? Absolutely! This event is for all levels. No one will be asked to do anything that they do no already know how to do.
- Can my friend or family watch this event? Yes! They will be able to login with the link provided on the Class Login Page.
- What belt will I receive? This time, everyone will receive a white cord since it is everyone's first event! Anyone training with us from 0-4 months receives a white cord, and at students' second event, they will receive the second cord color, and so on.
- How do I receive my cord? How is my nickname chosen? You must fill out the registration form by the deadline prior to the event. We handmake each belt and ship them to you. The registration form answers all apelido-related questions. You may register after the registration deadline, but your cord may not arrive in time for the event. Please do not wear your cord before the event- it is awarded during it!
- I am earning a cord with color. Do you send it to me? No we do not send cords past the first plain white cord to students. Below is information about how to create subsequent cords.
These events are so much fun! Please reach out with any questions!
Cord Knotting and Dyeing
Supplies and How to
Learning how to tie and dye a cord is one of the fun and traditional elements of capoeira- it is personal and meaningful to learn to do this and is part of the reason why capoeira cords are (barely) commercially available.
If you have not yet earned your white cord, Vespa and Coruja will make that and send it out by your first Batizado. . New students do not need to learn to knot and dye their cord yet!
If you have already attended your first batizado and are currently a white cord rank or higher, moving forward, we will be doing a get together each trimester (~every four months) so that students will cut, knot, and dye their next belt prior to the upcoming batizado. These belts that we are making collectively will be the belts that we earn during the upcoming batizado.
We will do these steps together on Zoom in a workshop prior to each batizado and troca de cordas event.
Students about to do their second or later event will need to have the following in order to make their next cord:
1. Your cord cut to the correct length (see below for details).
2. A parent present if you are a kiddo.
3. Rit dye in the correct color (see belt order above), water (will be boiled), and a bucket or pot
4. Optional Painters or Masking tape to mark end of where belt gets dyed (only for half belts, not tips)
DETAILS:
1. An appropriate length of white cotton braided cord per student in your household. You will need this in hand during the cord-making event. To pick your length of cord:
-We suggest measuring the length of your current cord, and deciding if you need to add or take away length. The tassels should hit anywhere from mid-thigh to the top of the knee. (Example: a cord is 100 inches long, but you want it to hit 4 inches longer down your leg... so you add 4" to each end, making the necessary cord length 108")
-Then, add about 6 inches to the total length you decide on/measure to give yourself some wiggle room, as some length is taken out when you knot the ends. (Example: add that to the 108" example cord from above, and you would order 114" of cord). You may end up cutting a bit off before tying the second knot, but it's always better to have too much than too little.
We recommend ordering from this site, for this specific rope, in the United States.
Here is a Canadian site option.
You want a cotton-braided rope that is about 3/8" / 10mm in diameter. A bit larger or smaller is ok!
2. If you're a kiddo, a parent MUST be present to help with the knots. We will be able to teach the knot tie repeatedly during the class but adult finger dexterity will be needed.
3. RIT dye of the correct color or the equivalent as we will be dipping the tips of the cords in the dye (second-event students will be earning yellow-tipped belts) and a place to do the dying (tub, old pot on a stove, etc). This may vary per student based on the product you use, but we can make some recommendations- essentially after the knots are tied, the tips, half or whole belt will be dipped in the dye and then you leave it to hang dry (you will probably want a hanger to hang from and a plastic garbage bag to place beneath to catch any drips). (Any yellow RIT is ok- lemon, golden, daffodil, etc. And we recommend Sunshine Orange or Tangerine for those receiving orange).
If you cannot make the cord knotting and dyeing workshop each trimester prior to the event, please see the following. Please note that this demonstrates the yellow tip dyeing only. Depending on your belt level, you may need to dye half of your belt, or all of your belt. Or half of your belt one color and half the other. Please check with Vespa with any questions! =)
Recording of the spring workshop (showing how to dye the tips of a cord): https://youtu.be/2Hk6hdPer7E
Recording of the summer workshop (showing how to dye half of a cord):
Please be patient with the mild level of chaos- we recorded our screen only, and we involved our three kiddos who train in capoeira with making their own belts as well... =). This is a recording of the workshop as everyone worked at the same time in their own space so there may be lots of times you can skip through.
The video of the knot tie: https://youtu.be/Z1Z9q5ixqPU
