So on Tuesday I had to lead the capoeira class. Our contra mestre called me about half an hour before to check I was going, and to let me know she's missed the ferry. The original plan was that she would catch the next ferry and I would just egt everyone to warm up and do some basic exercises. In the end, she didn't make it at all, but things didn't go too badly.
I ran out of ideas after about an hour - it turns out it's not so easy to think up sequences of more complexity that "you do this kick and you esquiva". But we did all right, and I think some of the beginners did need more practice on negativa and meia lua de compasso, which it was nice to do without too much pressure. Consensus afterwards was that without The Teacher there, one could get away with experimenting a bit.
At any rate, after I'd run out of ideas, we just made a roda and played for about 20 minutes. I put on some of the slower songs so we'd not get worn out, there being only half a dozen of us. I think this was good practice, since we don't usually get to play for so long at the end of the class. Unfortunately a combination of me not controlling my kicks well enough and two of the girls not doing a low enough esquiva meant I manage to kick two (count them) people in the head. One quite hard with a meia lua de compasso she didn't see coming and the other with a queixada I just didn't lift well enough.
Strangely neither seemed to mind that much.
So in the end, we got through it and everyone was very nice to me afterwards, suggesting I should get the evening's pay from our contramestre. And I won't complain about being at the front of the class for a while, since it's still easier than being the teacher.
