On Our Cover

My name is Zachary Leo and I have been a Marley Park resident since March 2020. Before the pandemic, I lived in Brooklyn, NY where I worked as an animator during the day. By night however, I traveled to a studio in the Lower East Side of Manhattan where I practiced and taught the martial art of Capoeira. Capoeira is a martial art hidden in dance-like movements created by African people enslaved by the Portuguese in Brazil a few centuries ago.

My Capoeira journey began when I went to college in 2007. Being an avid martial arts enthusiast and practitioner for many years, I came across this art form and was immediately intrigued. Having done Tae Kwon Do, gymnastics, and breakdancing, I initially saw Capoeira as a fun mix of these three things. As my training progressed throughout college and beyond, I found Capoeira to be so much deeper, so much more profound than simply “dance fighting”. Its innocent acrobatics and flowing nature would lure you in, then its hidden attacks and takedowns would demonstrate its martial prowess and skill.

Capoeira emphasizes the art of the escape. One hardly blocks an attack; rather one moves with and around the attacks instead, like a boxer dipping and ducking around a flurry of punches. Music plays a huge role in Capoeira, providing a rhythm for sparring (or “playing” as we call it) as well as relaying cultural wisdom and history within the songs that are sung. The most amazing moment is the culmination of the training in a circle called the “roda” where participants sing and play Capoeira, sparring freely with each other, each one testing the other’s limits and reactions with kicks, takedowns, and flips.

As I continued my training, I took on teaching roles helping lead children, teen, and adult classes under my head teacher’s guidance. This expanded to helping run Capoeira programs and workshops for various schools and organizations in NYC. Recently, here in Surprise, I began a small Saturday afternoon class for some local teens in Heritage Park. I’m interested in starting public venue classes at a local library or recreation center so that more people can learn this wondrous art. Capoeira is a fundamentally human artform, using the whole body to dynamically move, dodge, counter...and it is accessible to any age and ability!