Capoeira Crusader
Brian Ellis is a Tuskegee resident who talks about mechanical engineering with ease. He can do this because he has immersed himself in this trade since he was a teenager in high school.
Trey, Lucas Architecture and Construction, an engineering firm in Decatur, Georgia discovered his skills when he was 16 and brought him on board where he refined his CAD, construction management and engineering abilities.
And as he was investing time and effort preparing for college, the leadership in his hometown was also investing time, funding and resources in a growth and development plan for Decatur.
For much of his life, the city had always existed in the shadow of Atlanta — just a sleepy, little place with not much to do. By his senior year in high school, he says, “Decatur became very curated and culturally diversified.” From the changes he described, it is obvious a lot of thought went into decisions about businesses that would be a good fit.
Brian says “Everything is uniquely specialized like Farm Burger restaurant, where the hamburgers are made from grass fed cows raised on farms located near Decatur.” That’s just one example of the character of the city. The Decatur Website, lists lots of interesting places to eat and socialize and also celebrates a thriving art and festival scene. The enhanced infrastructure gives locals and tourists great options for leisure, dining and overall enjoyment.
Brian feels Tuskegee can experience a similar transformation. However, he envisions a rebirth that is authentic to Tuskegee and its history of life changing innovation. He wants Tuskegee to be the epicenter for the Black Diaspora saying ”I see Tuskegee as the holistic version of Silicon Valley, a convergence of technology and nature.” If he were the curator for the Tuskegee renaissance, he would start with this principle. ”Tuskegee can be a concept model of a perfect city, a place that other cities study. That’s what Tuskegee can mean to the world.” The way his scientific mind yearns to ease Mother Nature’s suffering is like listening to a modern-day reincarnation of Dr. George Washington Carver.
This is a smart, young man who is on the path to success defined by his own terms.
This will definitely involve a heavy concentration of capoeira, an African martial art usually associated with Brazil. By mastering capoeira, Brian once again has shown the impressive capacity of his intelligent, young mind. These days, he is on a mission to get more people thinking about, talking about and engaging in capoeira. This ancient martial art involves leaps, twists, flips, ducks and other beautiful, powerful body movements. What led Brian to initially seek capoeira training? It was the hand of fate.
His father married a Korean woman and together they produced children who identified with their Asian heritage. Brian was raised on the rough side of Decatur in a neighborhood where fighting was common. He says he could beat almost everybody and then one day he met his match. It was his brother who put a whipping on him by using Asian influenced martial art techniques involving legs and moves not familiar to bare knuckle fist fighters. Brian decided to look for martial arts that were indigenous to Africa and found only one. It was capoeira and the story behind it resonated with his ethnic spirit.
The tradition traces back to Africa where villagers would dance to drum rhythms using specific moves to signify mating and male strength. In the 16th century, Portuguese and other European colonists enslaved Africans and transported them to North and South America. It is well documented that slaves lived in the worst conditions and often suffered cruel physical punishments.
Escaping and rebelling were not practical options due to lack of weapons, harsh laws, language challenges and lack of knowledge about the new land and its surroundings. In Brazil, capoeira was reborn as a weapon to level the odds. It was a means for an escaped slave, completely unequipped, to survive in the hostile, unknown country with armed and mounted men looking to recapture escapees. The slaves defended themselves using capoeira and thus it evolved from an innocent dance ritual into a martial art for defensive combat.
Eventually, Brazilians embraced capoeira and today, Brazilian practitioners are world renowned for their version of capoeira, which is more akin to theatrical acrobatics.
When Brian teaches capoeira, he incorporates into his lessons the history, philosophy, African heritage, Portuguese language, musical instruments, breathing, stretching and acrobatic movements.
He is accepting new students who may see capoeira as a new form of exercise, a way to achieve peace or a connection to the African and Afro-Brazilian experience. He feels like capoeira is on a growth trajectory in Tuskegee and the United States. With his mind, body and soul invested, Brian Ellis is a leader of this movement.
