 Capoeira
is a discipline practiced by captured Africans while in the belly of the
beast. It is the graceful simulation of defensive and offensive
moves with your partner. So thorough is this martial art, that it
survived the middle passage and has made its way back to the land of its
origin, via dedicated students who breath new meaning into the art.
Obadele Kambon is one such student/teacher. A son of the revolution and
now an active member, this soldier escaped the clutches of Babylon by
the skin of his teeth and decided to make Ghana his home.
A former resident of Chicago, U.S.A., Obadele experienced a different
side of Chi-town than President Barrack Obama, of the same state. For Obadele
as
for most black men in urban America, the law knows no justice, just us.
And so the law pulled him over one unsuspecting night, seized his
licensed fire arm, his car and kicked his pregnant wife to the curb
while they hauled him in on some trumped up charges. This led to a
year of the most frightening ordeals in and out of court. During
the process he witnessed first hand, how the system was derailing
countless brothers in the same manner. 95% of the cases that he
observed in the courts led to a minimum of 5 years detainment for
charges all very similar to his own. A literal factory of turning
free men into prisoners/slaves. Though things were steeped against
him, he stood the course, spent that dough and beat them bleepin
charges. Now he sips palm wine on the shores and laughs at them
fools, with no desire to give them a second chance.
Obadele's natural aptitude is to teach. He owns and operates a
web-site,
abibitumikasa.com, where he offers classes on most relevant
subjects of interest for the modern day revolutionary. Included
are a number of African language courses, knowledge-of-self courses and
repatriation courses, to mention a few. He also teaches a course
on the Diasporan experience in the University of Ghana, as well as a Twi
(the local language) course for new comers. Yes, this Chicago born
soldier has mastered the local tongue well enough to teach it! But
Sundays, at 2 p.m. Obadele can be found on the football field in the
center of Legon University, working it out with several students.
Capoeira appears to be a dance with elements of martial art, but do
not be fooled. It is a martial art in every regard. The
training is rigorous but the results are invigorating. Most are
exhausted by the end of the 2 hour session, but all return for the
grueling exercise again and again. It clearly helps to build self
confidence, develop coordination and build a stronger, better you.
Each class is just 5 cedis and promises to be wonderfully challenging.
For more details, contact Obadele directly
@:
akyeame_kwame@yahoo.com
233-24-919 5150
|
