Capoeira shoe

The Capoeira shoe is heavily influenced by the history of Capoeira and the culture that’s grown around it. Capoeira came into being after African slaves were brought to Brazil. To keep their culture, the Africans would seemingly ‘dance’ with only their legs, for their hands were bound in chains. But it wasn’t a dance at all. They were actually keeping alive and adapting a traditional fighting technique they learned from their homelands.

Capoeira focuses mainly on beat, footwork and aerial movement. The main action of Capoeira is the Ginga, a movement of the feet that allows for the artisan to quickly adapt to the attack technique presented by his or her foe. The Ginga’s primary movement deals with the artisan brushing their toe-tips on the ground in semi circular motions. When the artisan will react, he or she will more than likely flip or engage in an aerial movement. With this in mind, the Capoeira shoe utilizes an oversized inner sole cushion (for landings) and a steeply inclined lip on the front of the shoe (for the Ginga). The drastic angle of the lip of the shoe allows the Capoeirian the ability to Ginga without discomfort and greater protection to their toes. The large lip is made possible by the oversized inner sole of the shoe, which in turn, adds the much needed shock resistant's for landing the complex and jarring Capoeira moves.

The design elements of the Capoeira Shoe are purposefully understated. Mimicking how the original Africans had to hide their culture from their captors, the Capoeira shoe conceals its major design movements from the average viewer. The exterior of the Capoeira shoe is very minimal and understated. Early on in its creation it was determined that the ‘flash’ for this shoe would actually come from the Capoeira itself instead of excess graphics. Then when graphics are used, the graphics would have to convey a story or a message about Capoeira. One such place is on the sole of the shoe. The rounded rectangles and the patterns of the shoe sole are inspired by African and Aztec/Mayan art of capoeira's origins while the black and yellow color scheme pays homage to the first Capoeira schools colors. As an homage to that school, the Capoeira shoe is offered in Black and Yellow only.