Capoeira Chichester: Oficina da Capoeira cordas (belts) and titles

A few people have asked me about the colours of the cordas in capoeira, so I thought I would explain the grading we use.

Different schools use different systems - the colours of the corda can change, and some schools do not use cordas. In addition, the titles/ranks that schools use can change, as can the order in which they are given. Below is the system we use in Oficina da Capoeira.

You start with a white corda. This can be exchanged at a batizado for a different corda, and the progression is shown below. Batizado translates as "baptism", and whilst some capoeiristas bring their religion to their capoeira, it is not a religious ceremony. At certain levels, a title is also given, these are shown in bold above the first corda for that title.

In time, we will organise a batizado in Chichester, but the next batizado for Oficina da Capoeira in the UK will be during the 8th International Capoeira Festival in Cheltenham. The festival starts on Friday 26th, and finishes with the batizado on Sunday 28th.

Oficina da Capoeira's main batizado is held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in December.

There is an additional title not mentioned below: "Estagiaro" - these are for capoeiristas that have come from a different group. As different groups have different systems, their cordas may put them above or below where they would fit with Oficina, and so they are given a white/blue corda. This is exchanged for the appropriate corda for their level in the Oficina da Capoeira ranks at their first Batizado with us.

White