Scorpion kick (capoeira)

Rabo de arraia
Drawing by Raul Pederneiras (1926)
NameRabo de arraia
Meaningstingray tail
AKAscorpion
Typekick
Parent stylecapoeira Angola
capoeira carioca
Parent techniquerabo de arraia, engolo scorpion kick
Child technique(s)
  • with both legs kicking
  • with one leg kicking
  • with one leg grabbed by the opponent
  • from a kidney fall
Escapesvarious esquivas

In capoeira, escorpião (scorpion), originally known as rabo de arraia (stingray tail), is a distinct inverted kick over the head, resembling the stingray's or scorpion strike.

Rabo-de-arraia with both legs is one of the most dangerous capoeira technique, both for the person who executes it and for the one who receives it.[1] If executed properly, it can have fatal consequences for the opponent.[1] Capoeiristas rarely use this move today, except as a last resort, as it goes against one of the basic principles of capoeira: to always avoid close combat.[2] The kick was successfully used in a famous match against jujutsu champion in 1909.[1]

Rabo de arraia is very old capoeira technique, which was very popular in capoeira carioca[3] and capoeira Angola.[4] The same technique is found in African martial art engolo, the ancestral art of capoeira.

The position is similar to the scorpion pose in yoga, but in capoeira it primarily serves as a kick.

  1. ^ a b c Burlamaqui 1928, pp. 25–26.
  2. ^ Da Costa 1961, pp. 43.
  3. ^ Burlamaqui 1928, pp. 24.
  4. ^ Capoeira 2007, pp. 131.