Dancing, singing and joking around probably aren’t the first things that come to mind when describing a martial art. But in capoeira, these social aspects are just as important as the discipline itself.

During meetings at the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, members of the KU Capoeira Club, known as capoeiristas, ignore the somber environment of the martial arts room and clap their hands and sing in celebration of the 400-year-old Brazilian martial art.

Watching the capoeiristas move across the padded floor, it’s unclear whether each pair is engaging in combat with high-reaching kicks or dancing to the Hispanic rhythms coming from a boom box in the corner.

Even after the leaders of the group begin to give instructions about proper movement, it still doesn’t seem like this could be a martial arts lesson — after all, one of the five pairs brakes off by themselves to compete in a spinning headstand contest.

Eventually everyone makes it through the motions demonstrated by Jacob Dysart, Overland Park senior, and the club’s president, Alaide Vilchis, Mexico City junior.

As the group begins to form the roda, which is Portuguese for circle, Dysart strings up his berimbau, a percussive instrument with one string that resembles a bow. Dysart explains that a roda can include up to three berimbaus and that the number determines the pace of the exercise.

With the berimbau strung and the capoeiristas in a circle, the group claps and repeats each verse sung by T.J. Staley, Battery Hill, Ala., graduate student. The roda is formed and, within it, capoeira is performed.

According to Vilchis, one of the songs in the roda roughly translates to “Capoeira: It’s defense, attack, movement of the body. It’s trickery.”

“As the song says, capoeira can’t be categorized as only a fight, or definitely not a dance, or only trickery,” Vilchis explains. “Capoeira is all of them put together.”

Trickery is malandragem in Portuguese. Vilchis believes that malandragem, as well as verbal and physical dialogue, is a big part of the roda because the circle is reflective of the relationships that are found in everyday life.

“I often think of a roda as something that symbolizes the world and all the interactions in it,” says Vilchis, who has practiced the art for more than four years. “Sometimes things can get ugly and you might get kicked, and sometimes everything goes well and as planned. Not every day is perfect, just as not every game you play in roda is perfect.”

Besides the lessons learned in roda from malandragem, Dysart also says that verbal dialogue is important because capoeiristas have to explain to each other what they are doing and why they are doing it during training. Dysart explains that this type of dialogue may not be the most important type that takes place in capoeira though. Dysart, who has studied the art for two years, also describes what he calls physical dialogue.

“You throw a kick and they escape from the kick,” he says. “It’s like saying hello and having a response.”

Dysart says that to learn how to effectively attack and defend, the participants must understand themselves as well as the other capoeirista. This view of combat may seem counterintuitive, but it actually helps build relationships within the capoeira community.

“If somebody gets hit in capoeira, which happens all the time, it’s not the person who kicks who is at fault — it’s the defender’s fault for not getting out of the way,” he says.

Dysart, Vilchis, Staley and Leah Goldblatt, Kansas City, Mo., freshman, also participate in a capoeira group in Kansas City. Amongst these more experienced capoeiristas, terms like hit, kick, trick and takedown aren’t the only prevalent themes. There are also many sentiments of how much the members rely on each other.

“We’re an extremely tight-knit group of people,” says Goldblatt, who has practiced the art for four years. “Although we all have lives beyond capoeira, when we’re there training and playing in rodas and performing, we’re all a family. When something happens to one of us, other group members are there to congratulate, comfort, or joke with you.”