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Martial Arts Training in SalvadorBR
Bahia's colonial capital and the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture. Capoeira was formalized here, and its historic academies still teach in the UNESCO-listed streets of the Pelourinho.
Why here
Capoeira has academies on every continent, but it has one birthplace. Mestre Bimba opened Brazil's first capoeira academy in Salvador in 1932, the roda is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list, and in the Pelourinho you train inside the colonial streets where the art formed. Schools run by Bimba's own lineage still hold weekday classes and Saturday rodas with berimbau and atabaque played live, drop-ins welcome for the price of a sandwich. Training here means learning the music, the history, and the movement as one thing, which is exactly what exported capoeira has to separate.
Best months
Academies run year-round indoors. December through March is hot and humid; February brings Salvador's own Carnival, the largest street party in the world, which is both a reason to come and a week when classes pause.
Getting there & around
Fly to Salvador (SSA). The historic academies sit in the Pelourinho, walkable from old-town lodging. Drop in for single classes; contact schools ahead for week-plus intensive training.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Associacao de Capoeira Mestre Bimba
SchoolThe lineage association founded in 1975 by Bimba's student Mestre Vermelho 27, teaching in the Pelourinho with branch schools in seven countries.
Fundacao Mestre Bimba
SchoolThe foundation preserving Mestre Bimba's legacy at Rua Maciel de Baixo 51 in the Pelourinho, running weekday capoeira regional classes and Saturday rodas open to visiting students.