Batuque (meaning ''hammering'' from the Portuguese verb ''batucar'', ''to hammer'') was a Brazilian game played in

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

in the early part of the twentieth century by African slaves which were brought to Brazil but now extinct.Gerard Taylor, ''Capoeira: The Jogo de Angola from Luanda to Cyberspace, Volumen 2'' A similar game, ''pernada'', was popular in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

about the same time. Players stand in a circle; one player stands in the center in a defensive position, and another moves around him, suddenly attacking. The attacking player tries to throw the defending player to the ground with blows from his legs.

Mestre Bimba Manuel dos Reis Machado, commonly called Mestre Bimba (; November 23, 1899 – February 5, 1974), was a Brazilian capoeira ''mestre'' (a master practitioner). He founded the '' capoeira regional'' school, one of the art's two main branches. E ...

's father was a champion of batuque, and research seems to indicate that Mestre Bimba incorporated some techniques into his Capoeira regional courses.

Batuque in present

There are efforts to resurrect Batuque (and leg wrestling in general) as a modern sport.

Batuque in present

References

Further reading