Instrutor Capitão

Meet Instrutor Capitão. Otherwise known as Joy Karkera. Capitão and capoeira were made for each other. Grace, beauty, elegance, rhythm, balance, co-ordination – all the elements that make capoeira a compelling spectacle are personified in Capitão.

Capitão has been a student of capoeira for 8 years, beginning as a shy teenager to someone who is now always in the forefront of any performance we put together. An innately curious person who is up for any adventure any time, Capitão loves music, football, surfing, extreme sports, travelling, and art. Give him a book though and you will find him looking at excuses to not read one.

Capitão idolises David Beckham, Bob Marley and Professor Baba and believes in working hard and letting your success do the talking for you. Another motto Capitão lives by is "Work hard, Play hard" and anyone who has ever met Capitão will agree that this is true, 100 percent.

His three favourite capoeira songs are Paranaue, La La La E, and Tem Que Ter Axé. When it comes to singing though, you will never find Capitão singing without playing an instrument too. According to him, singing without an instrument is like food without taste. And he loves him some samba. The music, the songs, the dance… in his own words, "it is so warm, cultural, cheeky, flirty, has a lose yourself feel to it."

What brings him joy in capoeira is that he believes in capoeira his sorrows disappear and he can express without saying anything. He says capoeira philosophies and real life experiences have played an instrumental role in shaping his life. And capoeira music is THE out of the world aspect of capoeira for him. Capitão in Portuguese means captain or leader, and Professor Baba gave him this name because he is a someone who always leads by example.