Julia Calderon

Humanities 1/2
27 April 2016
Power Dynamics Narrative
When I was in the 5th grade I found out my fathers work would be moving to Nevada, by
the time I started middle school he was already living over there. My dad visited as often as he
could, but even then he was starting to get really bored. Until one day my dads roommate
asked him if he wanted to go to the gym and take a Brazilian martial arts class. Now this guy is
named John Berry, but he is actually from Brazil and he used to train this martial art when he
was a kid. So they go for fun and my dad liked it a lot. He liked it so much that he started going
to the classes every day, without his roommate. He would always tell me all about it over the
phone, and when I went to visit him we would go to the classes together. I really did not like it at
first, he told me it was called capoeira, but I was not convinced. Either way I still went with him
even though I didnt like it. My dad definitely liked capoeira a lot more than I did, so much to the
point where he wanted me to practice it while I was in San Diego. I was not very happy about
that, but he thought I liked it, so I understand why he wanted me to join a group. In his free time
he looked for capoeira groups in San Diego, and eventually he found one called Capoeira
Brasil. When he came down to visit we stopped by their studio and he fell in love with it,
Capoeira Brasil was definitely the place he wanted me to train at. Per his request I was training
two or three times a week. It was tolerable and I went but I still didnt really like it. It wasnt until
two years later that I really fell in love with it. I even asked my parents to get me a lifetime
unlimited membership. That studio became my heart and home, it became the place that could
make all my problems disappear. However, it wasnt very long until I would come to find out my
instructor was having financial difficulties. He is a great instructor but he is very irresponsible,
and he couldn't handle the amount of work that came with running our studio. Sadly a few
months after I had really acquainted myself we lost our studio space, and things haven't been
the same ever since. This change has not only affected me but my family and everyone else
who attends classes.
While it is very easy to blame my instructor for everything it is important to understand
where he comes from and what has lead him into this situation. My instructor grew up in the
favelas of Brazil, when he turned 13 he started playing capoeira. His named Mindinho, this was
the name he was given when he started capoeira. He has been playing for over 30 years, and
now he teaches capoeira in San Diego. He moved to the New York in 2001 shortly before
September 11th. He came with a close friend of his also from Brazil named Masape. In 2002
they gathered enough money and resources to move to San Diego. Upon their arrival my
instructor met a woman named Mahli. They quickly became familiar with one another and got
married, together the three of them opened a studio in Liberty Station. For quite a few years the
three of them lived happily running their little studio. However one day my instructor had a
relation with another woman and this upset Mahli a lot, so she left him with Masape and the
studio. There was a great problem with Mahli leaving, she was in charge of all the administrative
encounters and when she left my instructor couldn't function and manage everything on his

own. So his new girlfriend named susan helped take over administration. Mahli leaving definitely
started a long line of issues that would follow my instructor later. Susan messed the studio up in
a number of ways, the first was she kicked Masape out. Kicking him out caused them to lose
many students. Since she took over all of the administrative work she started to become
overwhelmed after a number of years and eventually started neglecting the studio. My instructor
had no knowledge of this neglect, because he was focusing on teaching, and traveling to other
schools. So when they began to have problems in their relationship he was left with the studio
because Susan could not be with him anymore. As Susan was running the studio however, she
failed to turn the rent in numerous times. So after she left me and my dad tried helping him out
with running the studio. When we started helping we realized that our instructor has never had
any part in running his academy, and has always been dependent upon others ever since he
has been with Mahli. So because Susan decided not to pay rent for 3 months it put my instructor
in a lot of debt and we had to terminate the contract with Liberty Station. This all could have
been avoided if my instructor had not depended on so many people to run the business,
however I understand why he has not been responsible enough to take over the studio sooner.
He has always wanted to live a carefree life, but his career and life choices dont allow him to
live that way. However he still believes he can live carefree despite all of his responsibilities.
Capoeira Brasil losing their studio is very significant to me because it was my home. I
developed a great passion for the sport and it became a safe and sacred place. It it comforting
to know that I am not the only one who is affected by this. Many of the other students feel as if
they have been robbed of something or they have lost something. A lot of the kids loved coming
to class when they could because they felt a sense of community and support when training or
playing. The adults loved to come because it helped them relieve a lot of stress they had from
their personal lives.