From A Capoeira Angola na Bahia
Translation: Shayna McHugh

Observations that we must follow in order to use capoeira well

• Respect and make respected the norms, rituals, and traditions of capoeira Angola.
  
• Respect all the mestres of capoeira.
  
• While playing capoeira, do not apply aggressive hits, grappling, and kicks below
  the waist of your partner with players who are more experienced than you.
  
• When you crouch at the pé do berimbau to play, concentrate, relax your body, and,
  from the moment you enter the game, do not let your attention deviate from your
  partner. However, while you are playing, direct your gaze to the front or to the
  sides, appearing not to pay attention, without staring at your partner, because this
  will reveal your intentions. Your gaze must never fix itself on anything, although
  your field of vision should be the widest possible.
  
• Only enter a roda when you are already completely prepared for capoeira.
• In street rodas, only go to the inside game at the exact moment that your partner
  does his movement, while simultaneously applying a counterattack. Avoid
  descending when his movement passes at a distance, or when your adversary only
  feints a movement.
  
• When you are playing the inside game and your partner approaches rapidly to
  kick your face, not giving you the chance to escape in a rolê or hit him, try to get
  up together with him, putting yourself in the position to apply various hits.
  
• Aim to learn the ginga well. Remember that it is the main movement of capoeira,
  the first to be taught and, consequently, its base.
  
• Ginga constantly, aiming to always feint.
  
• Every good capoeirista, besides playing capoeira, must know how to play the
  berimbau and sing. Learn these.
  
• Don’t praise yourself to gain respect in the roda. If you are really a good
  capoeirista, you will be known as such.
  
• Don’t demonstrate what you know outside the roda. Only when it is necessary.
  
• Observe your more experienced training partners. If you do this, you will learn
  better.
  
• Try to imagine yourself in any difficult situation, seeking the best way to escape.
  When you find yourself in such a situation in reality, you will have a better
  chance of success.
  
• When a chamada is called, approach very carefully because, in the tradition of
  capoeira, the capoeirista who calls the chamada can apply any blow he wants if
  the other approaches without the necessary caution.
  
• When you are playing, only execute capoeira movements of which you have
  complete control.
  
• When you play with a stranger, don’t show all of your game. Save your best hits
  for the decisive hour, if necessary.
  
• Don’t play in a street roda or unfamiliar place without first having observed the
  environment sufficiently.
  
• Pay lots of attention when you get up. This is when the inside game turns into the outside game.
  
• The graduated capoeirista who still finds difficulty in learning a certain capoeira
  movement must stop doing it, trying instead to perfect himself in the movements
  that he has already learned.
  
• Try to play without touching your body to the ground. Only the hands and the feet must touch the ground. The best capoeiristas used to play in white clothes without
  dirtying them.
  
• Only after acquiring good technique through the execution of attack movements
  in a slow and progressive manner should the capoeirista worry about speed and,
  consequently, with the power of his blows.
  
• When practicing capoeira, keep your hands relaxed. If you make a fist for a brief
  instant, relax it immediately. The closed fist is completely foreign to capoeira’s
  characteristics, which consist of relaxed movements that allow the free circulation
  of the blood, and thus the execution of more spontaneous and agile movements.
  
• In the beginning of the capoeira game, try to execute slow, circular movements in
  the inside game, with the goal of warming up the muscles. Later you can progress
  to the outside game, in which the rhythm may stay slow or become faster,
  depending on the toque played by the berimbau-mestre.
  
• During the practice of capoeira, try to avoid using muscular force. The whole
  body must be stretched/extended; thus there is no place for this type of force,
  which is nothing more than superficial energy.
  
• Do not place importance on the ability to do flips, complicated movements, and
  series of extremely rapid blows that inevitably bring the capoeirista to exhaustion,
  which often occurs in the practice of modern capoeira. In traditional capoeira
  angola, we direct movements calmly.
  
• Capoeira angola is essentially defensive. The capoeirista must try to guide his
  opponent’s attack in his favor, attracting him with movements of the body, putting
  him in an unfavorable position.
  
• The capoeirista in the beginning of his learning should try to extend his blows in
  order to stretch his muscles. When he obtains a certain level of expertise, his
  movements can become more closed.
  
• Wherever the capoeirista is, capoeira must accompany him. The body and the
  spirit must be prepared for any situation.
  
• When you turn a corner late at night, step to the side and pass in the street,
  returning to the sidewalk later.
  
• When you are in any room, never sit with your back towards the entrance, unless
  there is in front of you a mirror or other object that fully reflects the entrance.
  
• When you pass through a dark street, always walk in the middle, never on the
  sides.
  
• Never enter a dark alley.
  
• Don’t let yourself be embraced by a stranger in greeting.
  
• Don’t attack. The violence of capoeira is contained in the innermost part of the
  capoeirista, only manifesting itself at the opportune moment.
  
• Never hit your partner when his back is to you.
  
• Be loyal to your friends.
  
• Try to avoid fights. Only fight when you are 100% correct.
  
• If you are unable to avoid a fight, try to defend yourself. Stay calm. Don’t rush to
  apply a blow; give it when the probability of failure is the lowest possible. Try to
  take advantage of everything the environment can provide. Remember that
  malícia is essential to the capoeirista, and through it you can decide a fight in a
  question of seconds.
  
• The good capoeirista has the obligation to cry at the feet of the adversary. He is crying, but his eyes and the spirit are active.
  
• Have faith in what you learned.