Two men in the gym kick one another and duck from each other. They aren't fighting. They're dancing, playing a game. It's called Capoeira.

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that slaves disguised as a dance more than 400 years ago, according to Pernilla Andersson, a Spanish major from Sweden. She said it is usually played in the hoda, or circle of Capoeira players.

"It's not just playing in a hoda or working out," she said. "It's a lot about music, a lot about singing, a lot about history. Capoeira is really about being a family and being together."

Marco Morales, a physiology major, said he used to be a break-dancer, but after watching a Capoeira player practice, he was enlightened.

"I grew to really like it because he was pretty inspiring," Morales said.

Antonio Martinez, a political science major and self-proclaimed Capoeira enthusiast said it was a form of resistance for the enslaved.

"Over time it has developed, keeping the essence of community and (it) fosters that within the teachings of the physical aspect of it," he said. "It's a very diverse sport, in that it has the martial art component, then you get into the ritual aspect which encompasses the music and the history. It's a way of reminding ourselves that people struggled before us and we have to stay cognizant of that so we don't repeat the same mistakes."

Morales and Martinez decided that they wanted to bring Capoeira to the rest of the students at SF State, and decided to form a club.

"The Capoeira Club is to gather the Capoeira players here at SF State during their breaks or after school," Morales said. "It's a good place to keep practicing those moves within the hoda or Caporeira community because it's hard to be played alone—it really shouldn't be played alone."

Martinez said that the club, just like Capoeira, is focused on community and life. He said that it is for anyone who is interested in Capoeira, from mere spectators to masters of the art.

"It's a way for us today to create the communities and the circles that our society we live in negates for consumer and material consumption."

Paco Gomes, a Capoeira master and instructor at SF State, says that the art is about life.

"Capoeira doesn't start when the berimbau plays," Gomes said. Capoeira is practiced to the rhythm of the berimbau, a string instrument made from bamboo. "Capoeira starts when you wake up. I play Capoeira with life, I don't play Capoeira with kicks and jumps."