Functional assessment of people practicing Brazilian martial art – Capoeira

Introduction: Due to the growing interest in the subject of health and fitness in the general public, people began to reach for various forms of self-improvement. One of these methods is Capoeira, which is becoming increasingly popular among all age groups and genders. It combines elements of both a fight and a dance. It’s mainly based on kicks, dodges and acrobatics.Aim: The main goal of the study was to conduct a functional assessment of people practicing the Brazilian martial art – Capoeira, and an assessment of the risk of injury.Materials and methods: A total of 25 people were tested in two groups of 13 and 12 people each. The first group consisted of people between the ages of 19 and 43 (mean age 30.92±7.99) who have trained Capoeira for at least one year. The second group was a control group and consisted of people from 21 to 49 years of age (mean age 36.08±10.09) exercising regularly.Results: In the Capoeira group consisting of 13 people, the average final score of the FMS test was 16 points out of 21 achievable. The average score of a control group is 14.5 points. According to the FMS test, 41.67% of people in the non-Capoeira group are at increased risk of injury in sports, while in the Capoeira group of people there is no increased risk of injury (p=0,035).Conclusions: Capoeira group achieved significantly higher results in FMS. According to FMS, Control group showed an increased risk of injury. In the group of active people who did not train martial arts, almost half were characterized by an increased risk of injury