Looking Out To Sea

In this article on fundamentals and basics the author defines the two exactly for his own purposes and I think that has value so I’ll use those definitions here.

• Fundamental: Distance, Timing, Position
• Basics: Simple moves that everything else is built on

Moves we covered in Mestre Marrom’s recent workshop:

• Negativa
• Role
• Queda de quattro
• Raba de arraia
• Escalomente (?)
• Cabecada
• Rasteira
• Mole (?)
• Chapa

Of these the basic steps would be the queda de quatro, the role and the negativa, all escapes in some way. There’s probably some others that we did not cover at the weekend but that make sense as basics. There’s nothing inverted on that list, for example.

Marrom was repeatedly emphasising the dynamic of attack and defend, enter and exit, which does link closely with the fundamental of Distance. Moving in and moving out again whenever there is a threat of an attack instead of getting into a ungraceful game of strike-counterstrike where nothing is effective and the game disintegrates.

Timing is primary controlled by the rhythm of the bateria. The pace matches that rhythm in some way, though not necessarily one to one. Off-beat attacks are defined by the existence of the rhythm of the bateria.