Halit “Cabelo” Yalçın: President of the Ankara Capoeira Association – Axé Capoeira Türkiye Representative – World Capoeira Federation Türkiye Representative

Born on 04/04/1982 in Amasya. He attended Amasya Yıldırım Beyazıt Primary School until the 4th grade and Mehmet Akif Ersoy Primary School for the 4th and 5th grades, then won a place at Sinop Anatolian High School. After high school he entered the Physical Education and Sports Teaching department of Hacettepe University’s Faculty of Sport Sciences through a special aptitude exam. Cabelo started sport at the age of 8 and did 8 years of professional wrestling and 6 years of amateur football.

Cabelo discovered capoeira on TV at the age of 15 and began his first serious capoeira training with the capoeira society at Hacettepe University. After training in 2000–2001, he continued under the leadership of the President of the Portuguese Capoeira Federation (ADO Capoeira). In 2002 he taught at the Hacettepe University capoeira society and in 2003 at the METU (ODTÜ) capoeira society, and the same year he went to Portugal to train with the Federation President. In 2003 he attended the training of the Angola master Mestre Baixinho, who came to Istanbul. That year he left ADO Capoeira and on 14 December 2003 founded the Ankara Capoeira Association, the first and only official capoeira organisation in Türkiye. In January 2004 he organised the Capoeira Arts Promotion Day and in February the 1st Axé Capoeira Workshop, bringing the first Mestres to Türkiye (Mestre Itabora and Contra Mestre Bola). In October of the same year he brought Mestre Itabora back to Türkiye and organised the 1st Türkiye Capoeira Festival. That year he also trained with Mestre Paulão Ceará, one of the founders of Capoeira Brasil, who came to Istanbul. Cabelo organised the 1st Axé Capoeira Batizado in January 2005, bringing the world-famous Mestre Barrão, leader and founder of Axé Capoeira, together with Mestre Itabora and Inst. Barrãozinho to Türkiye, which drew great interest from the public and the media. After successfully organising the 2nd Türkiye Capoeira Festival in July 2005, he organised the 2nd Axé Capoeira Batizado in January 2006 with Mestre Barrão, Mestre Itabora, Mestre Paulão Ceará and Inst. Barrãozinho, and received his brown (marrom) cord. In June 2006 he organised the 3rd Türkiye Capoeira Festival with Capoart, the Capoeira Brasil group and capoeiristas from various cities in Türkiye. For the Batizado he organised in January 2007 he brought Mestre Barrão, Mestre Boi and Mon. Vinicious. For the cord ceremony in March 2008 he brought the world-famous Mestre Amen Santo and Inst. Pé as well as Mestre Barrão. In May of the same year, at the Axé Capoeira Russia Festival, Mestre Barrão promoted him to Graduado and he received the marrom-verde (brown-green) cord. After training with Mestre Paulão and Mestre Cibriba at the Capoeira Brasil Workshop in May 2008 and with C. Mestre Xuxo at the Cordão de Ouro event in December, Cabelo received the green (verde) cord and the title of ‘monitor’ at the 6th Axé Capoeira Türkiye Festival in 2010. In 2012 he organised the 7th Axé Capoeira Festival. Between 2010 and 2012 he was invited as an instructor to countries such as Azerbaijan, Russia, Poland, England and Belarus, becoming the first and only Turkish capoeira instructor to teach abroad. He currently leads the Ankara Capoeira Association, which has representatives in 7 cities, Cyprus and Azerbaijan, and serves as the Axé Capoeira Türkiye representative. He is also the first lecturer in Türkiye of the ‘capoeira’ course, which has become an official course at Hacettepe University. With capoeira demonstrations at countless openings, celebrations and events and on many TV shows and news programmes, Halit “Cabelo” Yalçın has helped present this art accurately and to a high standard.

“Capoeira is completeness… It is the seeing eye of those who cannot see, the running feet of those who cannot run, the loving heart of those who cannot love. Capoeira is love…”

Halit “Cabelo” Yalçın