The Capoeira Belt System Explained: A Guide by a Capoeira Teacher

Mestre Bimba, the creator of Capoeira Regional, used a system of progressing at his academy with his famous “lenços” or scarves.
These scarves were given to students to show their competence in several aspects of Capoeira.
The scarves were made of silk.
This paid paid homage to the old days when capoeiristas would use these scarves to protect themselves against knife attacks.
There were four lenços: white, blue, red, and yellow, each one representing a new advancement by the student in their capoeira training.

Mestre Bimba, the creator of Capoeira Regional, used a system of progressing at his academy with his famous “lenços” or scarves.
These scarves were given to students to show their competence in several aspects of Capoeira.
The scarves were made of silk.
This paid paid homage to the old days when capoeiristas would use these scarves to protect themselves against knife attacks.
There were four lenços: white, blue, red, and yellow, each one representing a new advancement by the student in their capoeira training.

After the basics course, created by Mestre Bimba, a student was awarded the blue lenço and a medallion.
The blue lenço was given to students after about 6 months to a year of training.
Receiving your blue lenço meant performing all eight basic sequences and playing a game where you would demonstrate the balões.
Below is an example of the balões.
Students who reached this level were known as “graduados” or advanced students.

After the basics course, created by Mestre Bimba, a student was awarded the blue lenço and a medallion.
The blue lenço was given to students after about 6 months to a year of training.
Receiving your blue lenço meant performing all eight basic sequences and playing a game where you would demonstrate the balões.
Below is an example of the balões.
Students who reached this level were known as “graduados” or advanced students.

The red scarf was for those who wanted to deepen their knowledge of the fight elements of Capoeira.
It was optional to sign up for this course, which required perfecting basic movements, sweeps, throws, and damage dealing blows (traumatizantes).
Students were taught how to defend themselves on the streets vs multiple opponents.
This multiple attacker training was called “Bumba meu Boi”.
The last part of the training was the “emboscada”.
The embuscada challenged a student’s ability to ward off multiple surprise attacks as they made their way through from one point to another.
Emboscadas were often held in the jungle, meaning your opponents could pop up from any direction as you made your way.
This exercise caught the interest of the military, who used it as a part of their training program.

The red scarf was for those who wanted to deepen their knowledge of the fight elements of Capoeira.
It was optional to sign up for this course, which required perfecting basic movements, sweeps, throws, and damage dealing blows (traumatizantes).
Students were taught how to defend themselves on the streets vs multiple opponents.
This multiple attacker training was called “Bumba meu Boi”.
The last part of the training was the “emboscada”.
The embuscada challenged a student’s ability to ward off multiple surprise attacks as they made their way through from one point to another.
Emboscadas were often held in the jungle, meaning your opponents could pop up from any direction as you made your way.
This exercise caught the interest of the military, who used it as a part of their training program.

After receiving the red lenço, students could take a second specialization course, where they would receive a yellow lenço.
In this course, participants were taught to defend themselves against knife and gun attacks.
Students would learn how to handle a switchblade, a knife, and how to disarm opponents with these weapons.
Knives in particular were very common during the 1930's,40s, so it makes sense why this was included.

After receiving the red lenço, students could take a second specialization course, where they would receive a yellow lenço.
In this course, participants were taught to defend themselves against knife and gun attacks.
Students would learn how to handle a switchblade, a knife, and how to disarm opponents with these weapons.
Knives in particular were very common during the 1930's,40s, so it makes sense why this was included.

A common misconception was that the white lenço was the “mestre” lenço.
Meaning that once you received this lenço you were given the title of mestre.
This is not true, however the title of “mestre charangueiro” is used and could be the cause of this confusion.
The white lenço was a recognition of a Capoeirista’s ability with music, which included the berimbau, pandeiro, and singing.
These were the only instruments used in the roda of Mestre Bimba.

If you look at a modern Capoeira video, you’ll notice that scarves are not being used.
Instead of scarves, people use chords made of yarn.
These chords came after Mestre Bimba created his lenços and is often attributed to being rooted in Grupo Senzala.
Grupo Senzala is one of the oldest Capoeira schools that grew to a global scale.
Their graduation system is one of the oldest and helped lay the foundation for what you see used today.

A common misconception was that the white lenço was the “mestre” lenço.
Meaning that once you received this lenço you were given the title of mestre.
This is not true, however the title of “mestre charangueiro” is used and could be the cause of this confusion.
The white lenço was a recognition of a Capoeirista’s ability with music, which included the berimbau, pandeiro, and singing.
These were the only instruments used in the roda of Mestre Bimba.

If you look at a modern Capoeira video, you’ll notice that scarves are not being used.
Instead of scarves, people use chords made of yarn.
These chords came after Mestre Bimba created his lenços and is often attributed to being rooted in Grupo Senzala.
Grupo Senzala is one of the oldest Capoeira schools that grew to a global scale.
Their graduation system is one of the oldest and helped lay the foundation for what you see used today.

According to Mestre Nenel, Mestre Bimba believe that the rank of mestre was something bestowed by the Capoeira community.
This was not a title that could have been given with a lenço, belt or anything else.
Mestre Bimba never graduated anyone to mestre during his lifetime.
However, before leaving to Goiânia, Mestre bimba left a handful of blank certifications with Mestre Decânia (a student of his).
These certifications were meant to recognize the name placed on them as a Mestre.
Mestre Bimba even signed these documents so that they would be seen as legitimate once used.
They were used, and to this day, the following people were awarded the title of mestre with these certifications.
Mestres Itapoan, Luizinho, Acordeon, Camisa Roxa, Fauzi Abdala, and Decânio.

According to Mestre Nenel, Mestre Bimba believe that the rank of mestre was something bestowed by the Capoeira community.
This was not a title that could have been given with a lenço, belt or anything else.
Mestre Bimba never graduated anyone to mestre during his lifetime.
However, before leaving to Goiânia, Mestre bimba left a handful of blank certifications with Mestre Decânia (a student of his).
These certifications were meant to recognize the name placed on them as a Mestre.
Mestre Bimba even signed these documents so that they would be seen as legitimate once used.
They were used, and to this day, the following people were awarded the title of mestre with these certifications.
Mestres Itapoan, Luizinho, Acordeon, Camisa Roxa, Fauzi Abdala, and Decânio.

Aluno - Student (6-12 months experience)

Aluno means student in Portuguese.
The number of student belts differs amongst groups, however the aluno will be expected to know more and more with each chord they unlock.
Chords are a sign of your hard work and are given during a troca de cordeõs (changing of the chords) .
The event is usually done once a year and is hosted by your school or the headquarters in your area.

The very first chord usually takes six months to a year to receive and is unique because Capoeiristas refer to this event as the batizado.
Your batizado is your introduction into the world of Capoeira.
It’s a symbolic transition to being a capoeirista and starting on the path to one day becoming a mestre.

Aluno - Student (6-12 months experience)

Aluno means student in Portuguese.
The number of student belts differs amongst groups, however the aluno will be expected to know more and more with each chord they unlock.
Chords are a sign of your hard work and are given during a troca de cordeõs (changing of the chords) .
The event is usually done once a year and is hosted by your school or the headquarters in your area.

The very first chord usually takes six months to a year to receive and is unique because Capoeiristas refer to this event as the batizado.
Your batizado is your introduction into the world of Capoeira.
It’s a symbolic transition to being a capoeirista and starting on the path to one day becoming a mestre.

The aluno’s main responsibility is to train the lessons that their teacher shows them.
Students are always encouraged to ask their teachers how to do certain moves, what things mean in Capoeira, and how to continue improving.
In the beginning, it might seem overwhelming, but you learn Capoeira with persistence and patience.
One hack to getting better faster is to keep some close Capoeira friends that you can hang out with and train with at the park or over someone’s house.

The aluno’s main responsibility is to train the lessons that their teacher shows them.
Students are always encouraged to ask their teachers how to do certain moves, what things mean in Capoeira, and how to continue improving.
In the beginning, it might seem overwhelming, but you learn Capoeira with persistence and patience.
One hack to getting better faster is to keep some close Capoeira friends that you can hang out with and train with at the park or over someone’s house.

Many groups have a chord that represent an advanced student who is an example to the beginners.
After about 5-7 years of training, this student may graduate to monitor/graduado.
These are titles for an advanced students, although not all schools use these names.
These chords are also given at the troca de cordoes.

The responsibilities of an advanced student varies depending on the student and the teacher.
The graduado/monitor may be asked to run the warm ups, provide demonstrations of movements during class, or teach some classes.
Many people consider this as the stage where a student begins to develop a level of independence and ability to teach.
This means being able to play all the instruments, as well as playing good Capoeira, and teaching.
Teachers hold a lot of responsibility, so the advanced students likewise will carry a part of that responsibility.

At this level newer students will confide, trust, and look up to you.
Make sure you’re an example to new students like a big brother or sister.
Train harder than before and welcome new responsibilities, because new students will benefit from the work ethic you show.

Many groups have a chord that represent an advanced student who is an example to the beginners.
After about 5-7 years of training, this student may graduate to monitor/graduado.
These are titles for an advanced students, although not all schools use these names.
These chords are also given at the troca de cordoes.

The responsibilities of an advanced student varies depending on the student and the teacher.
The graduado/monitor may be asked to run the warm ups, provide demonstrations of movements during class, or teach some classes.
Many people consider this as the stage where a student begins to develop a level of independence and ability to teach.
This means being able to play all the instruments, as well as playing good Capoeira, and teaching.
Teachers hold a lot of responsibility, so the advanced students likewise will carry a part of that responsibility.

At this level newer students will confide, trust, and look up to you.
Make sure you’re an example to new students like a big brother or sister.
Train harder than before and welcome new responsibilities, because new students will benefit from the work ethic you show.

All schools have a teacher rank and lies somewhere at the half-way point of a Capoeiristas journey to mestre.
After about 8-12 years, most people reach the rank of Instructor and beyond that professor.
Instructor is a widely used title name, but other names that are used for this or similar ranks include formado among others.

Receiving this chord is a big deal and a sign that you’re ready to start teachers others the art of Capoeira.
But keep your ego in check because instructores and professores must continue learning and develop their craft.
This is why even though you might start teaching, it’s more important than ever to stay close to your mestre and continue learning from them.
Once you receive this rank and start teaching you’ll likely have more questions that you thought possible.
Keep you teacher close and learn from them all the little things about Capoeira that you forgot to ask about when you were a student.