Capoeira is a Brazilian fight-dance, game, and martial art created by
enslaved Africans during the 19th Century Participants form a roda
(circle) and take turns playing instruments,singing, and sparring in pairs
in the centre of the circle. The game is marked by fluid acrobatic play,
feints, subterfuge, and extensive use of groundwork, as well as sweeps,
kicks, and headbutts. Less frequently, elbow-strikes, slaps, punches,
and body-throws are used. Technique and strategy are the key elements
to playing a good game. Capoeira has three main styles, known as "regional",
"Angola", and the less-well defined "contemporânea".

Capoeira or the Dance of War by Johann Moritz Rugendas, 1825, published 1835.