Capoeira kicks applied in MMA competition

Aug 31, 2010 by Capoeirasa

Posted under: Newsroom

We recently recieved a link to a website dedicated to mixed martial arts (MMA) commentary, Bloody Elbow. After going through the full article (click here to check out the full article) we thought we’d pull some of the content (with permission of course) and add it to the site for all to see. MMA is gaining a lot of popularity here in SA and we are certain that it wont be long before we start to see some capoeira techniques being employed by the local fighters.

Anthony Pettis lands the Aú Batido, a capoeira move rarely seen in MMA, on Shane Roller at WEC 50. Photo by Tracy Lee for via Cage Writer

Here are the excerpts from Kid Nate’s original post:

“On the left we see the first of two capoeira kicks that Pettis threw late in the first round. The second one is captured in Tracy Lee’s spectacular photograph at the top. This one landed much more cleanly though he doesn’t actually put his hand on the ground in this instance. Here we see Roller lunge forward behind a jab that Pettis slips by moving to his left but then he continues to torque his body down and to the left and brings his right leg up high for a beautiful Martelo kick. Note how his shin and instep crash down onto Roller’s head, shoulders and neck.”

“Dave Walsh of Head Kick Legend diagnosed this second kick as being the capoeira move Aú Batido or the “broken cartwheel kick” or the “banana kick”.

Here’s wikipedia’s definition: aú batido is an aú variation where a practitioner does a handstand, followed by a twist with the hips and a split, performing a downward martelo. During the kick, one arm is protecting the face while the other one is obviously supporting the body. Aú batido literally means “broken cartwheel”. This movement is a defensive move, used when attempting to perform a cartwheel and the opponent attacks, generally with a cabeçada, a headbutt, the aú batido takes place, attacking the opponent by surprise before the attack is executed. The aú batido is sometimes also used in doubt or simply as a trick move. This move is also performed in tricking, and for quality, it is also used often in breakdancing where it is known as the L-kick. Names used in different schools may also include Beija Flor (Humming Bird, literally Flower Kiss(er)), Leque (Fan), Aú Québrado (also “broken cartwheel”), Aú Malandro (wily cartwheel), Aú Amazonas (Amazon cartwheel) or Amazonica).

The second kick looks suspiciously more like a chibata no chao/chibata presa, and almost like a chapeu de coro. What do you guys think?

A big shout out to Kid Nate for allowing us to use his text and images here on our website!

Axe’

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