ABADÁ-CAPOEIRA OVERVIEW

OUR MISSION

ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco (ACSF) works to preserve, develop, and share the martial art of capoeira with integrity, and to use capoeira to ignite positive change in individuals and in communities. 

ACSF has the mission to address the social and economic disparities that exist in our communities by inspiring personal and athletic success through artistic, cultural, physical and health education. 

Through multi-faceted programs, ACSF is constantly addressing prominent social issues including obesity, youth violence, racial and gender stereotyping, and the real cultural and economic inequalities to accessing quality physical and cultural training programs. By consistently seeking out new creative ways of exploring and sharing the dynamic aspects of the multi-faceted art of capoeira and related arts, ACSF remains a pioneering force in the preservation and development of Brazilian cultural arts. 

OUR HISTORY

ACSF now offers professional instruction and performance of capoeira at its Mission-based Brazilian Arts Center, and at over 30 partnering sites throughout the Bay Area.

Founded in 1991, by master capoeira artist Márcia Treidler "Mestranda Cigarra" , ACSF shares its name and philosophy with its parent organization-the Brazilian Association for the Support and Development of the Art of Capoeira founded by Mestre Camisa and based in Rio de Janeiro. ABADÁ-Capoeira is an international organization with independent branches in over 20 countries with over 40,000 practitioners. The organization adheres to a philosophy founded on the belief that capoeira has the power to improve society.

In 1991, Márcia Treidler, then a recent immigrant from Brazil, established ACSF to expand capoeira outside of Brazil, and to ensure the integrity of the art was maintained during its development in the United States. Working in dance centers, schools, and community venues, Márcia introduced capoeira and her unique philosophy and teaching methodology. 

Based on respect and the belief that given the skills and opportunity, all people have the ability to succeed. Her teaching aimed to provide all participants, regardless of socioeconomic status, identity, or ability, the tools to become professionals in the art.

What started with just two weekly capoeira classes for about 10 students generated overwhelming community response and developed into a Bay Area cornerstone for cultural arts. In 1997, Márcia partnered with Executive Director Jennifer Walsh "Instrutora Sereia" and established ACSF as a legal non-profit. With a grant from The San Francisco Foundation, they opened the ACSF Brazilian Arts Center. Within two years of opening the Center, ACSF's constituency had grown from approximately 600 to 15,000. After five years of operation in its original SF Mission District location ACSF outgrew the facility and relocated in 2002, to its Center to its current, better-equipped facility only two blocks away from its former site. The current facility does justice to the caliber and potential of ACSF's work.

Today, ACSF continues in its mission to improve the vitality of the Bay Area through accessible, high-quality arts programming.

PHILOSOPHY

ABADÁ-Capoeira believes in using capoeira as an effective vehicle for promoting social change and integration and stimulating individual growth. ACSF uses the instruction and performance of capoeira to transcend socio-economic barriers between communities and encourage community empowerment. ACSF helps meet the community's need for safe, accessible space for participants of all ages and abilities to participate in meaningful activities that engage body, heart, and mind, and serves as a valuable cultural resource. The organization promotes individual and community values of respect, cooperation, and freedom.

TEACHING METHODOLOGY

ABADÁ's teaching methodology is both challenging and supportive, rooted in the belief that encouragement and positive role modeling enable capoeira to enrich the lives of all students, regardless of level or background. ACSF provides all students with leadership skills and tools to develop into competent professionals.

Read more about the ABADÁ-Capoeira international organization and style >

CORE VALUES or "Code of Ethics"

Respect: Maintain respect for ourselves, each other, our ever-evolving capoeira community, the training space we share, and the art that we practice together.

Freedom: Create a safe space to express ourselves as the unique individuals we are.

Equality: Acknowledge everyone's contribution as valuable. Never underestimate anyone – especially yourself.

Integrity: Be fair, impartial, and true to our word. Don’t cheat ourselves or others. Admit when we are wrong and strive to make it right.

Leadership: Serve as positive role models, both inside the studio while training and outside of the studio as community representatives of ABADÁ. Offer help when we can give it and ask for help when we need it. Hold ourselves and each other accountable for our actions.

Community: Share experiences – both hard and easy, fun and frustrating, painful and pleasurable. Foster a sense of belonging, camaraderie, and wonder. Extend our skills, knowledge, friendship and time. Act for the betterment of the whole.

Education: Seek to understand and honor the rich traditions of capoeira. Choose to expand our knowledge and to take advantage of opportunities presented to us.

Strength: Commit to challenges. Push physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual limitations, building stronger bodies, minds, and souls. Approach fear and challenges as opportunities for growth, remembering that failure is a benchmark for future success, and achieved goals are marks of success to celebrate and benchmarks to exceed.