50 Lessons: On Capoeira, Teaching, and Life

This episode begins the third section of the book: Life & Integrity.

Integrity is often treated as a moral principle, something abstract or philosophical. But in reality, it’s deeply practical. It shows up in how we think, what we say, and what we actually do.

In this chapter, we explore integrity through the lens of capoeira. Just as every movement in capoeira begins and returns to ginga, everything in life ultimately returns to...

Sometimes the biggest problems in our lives don’t come from dramatic events — they come from small, unnoticed details.

In this episode, I share a personal story from my years of intense capoeira training — a period marked by discipline, travel, and pushing physical limits. What seemed like a serious, lingering injury turned out to have an unexpectedly simple cause.

This chapter explores a powerful question: What if the thing causing ...

What if belief alone could change your performance — in the roda and in life?

In this episode, we explore the power of belief through the lens of the placebo and nocebo effects. Science shows that expectations can heal or harm. But what does this have to do with capoeira?

In the roda, hesitation can make you slower. Confidence can make you sharper. The difference is often invisible — yet powerful. The same applies outside the roda.

Th...

We live in a world designed to capture our attention. Notifications. Feeds. Breaking news. Endless scrolling.

All competing for your time, your energy, your focus.

In this episode, we explore the idea of a “digital immune system” — a conscious approach to protecting your mind before distraction takes hold.

If journaling helps you tune your inner radio, then digital boundaries help you protect the signal. This chapter is not about reje...

In capoeira, everything depends on presence. Miss a cue, drift into autopilot, react without awareness — and the game slips away from you. The same is true in life.

This episode explores meditation not as a mystical ritual, but as a practical skill: the ability to pause, observe, and choose your response instead of reacting automatically. Presence creates space. And in that space, creativity becomes possible.

We look at how meditatio...

In this episode, we explore self-reflection as the foundation of growth, and journaling as one of the most powerful tools for clarity and self-improvement.

Drawing on lessons from capoeira, mentorship, and personal experience, this chapter invites you to see writing not as record-keeping, but as tuning. Like adjusting a radio frequency, journaling helps you choose which signals you let shape your mind — and which ones you block out.

...

This episode brings together several ideas from earlier chapters — identity, goals, habits, and planning — and distills them into one simple practice: ritual.

In capoeira, rituals create focus, presence, and meaning before the game even begins. The same is true for life. How you enter the day often determines how the rest of it unfolds.

The book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠50 Lessons on Capoeira, Teaching, and Life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Alex Maltsev

Contact: mail-po...

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

This episode is about planning — not as rigidity, but as responsibility.

Drawing parallels between capoeira, teaching, aviation, and daily life, we explore why having a plan is not a limitation, but a foundation for good improvisation. Why professionals rely on manuals. Why teachers prepare lessons. And why mastering your life doesn’t start with a five-year vision, but with a...

This episode opens the second section of the book — a section about habits and self-improvement.

At first glance, habits may seem far from capoeira. But capoeira is a lifelong practice of discipline, repetition, and perseverance. The same qualities that shape a good game in the roda also shape a good life.

In this chapter, we explore the idea that goals alone are not enough. What matters more is identity — the person you are becoming...

Are you just along for the ride — or are you actually learning?

In this episode, we talk about what it means to move from passive consumption to real mastery. About the difference between sitting in the cabin, being part of the crew, and stepping into the cockpit.

Using a simple but powerful metaphor, this chapter explores responsibility, engagement, and what changes when you stop waiting for knowledge to “land” and start taking cont...

To become a master, you first have to become a good student.

In this episode, we explore the idea of good study through the “Three Pillars” described by Mestre Ombrinho: the academy, homework, and travel. Together, these pillars form a balanced foundation for long-term growth — not only in capoeira, but in life.

We talk about why regular classes alone are never enough, why solitary practice without connection leads to stagnation, and...

Mastery in capoeira is not about titles, cords, diplomas, or recognition.

It’s about shaping the body, the mind, and the spirit — and allowing a practice to transform the way you live.

In this episode, we explore the three essential stages of mastery: learning, practicing, and training. Learning is understanding. Practicing is repetition without pressure. Training is practice under pressure — as close to real life as possible.

Using e...

In this episode, we explore capoeira as a philosophy for life through a simple but powerful metaphor: apples and potatoes.

Potatoes give quick results. Apples take years to grow, but last a lifetime. Jobs often look like potatoes. A calling, a craft, or a way of life looks more like an apple tree.

I share a personal story from my years teaching capoeira in China — from balancing a corporate job and evening classes, to trying to make ...

In this episode, we step back and look at capoeira not as a set of movements, but as a philosophy and a way of life.

Capoeira is a young, evolving art — shaped by communities rather than institutions, by creativity rather than rigid rules. There is no single definition, no fixed system, and no universal philosophy. And that may be its greatest strength.

At the center of this chapter is the roda — a space that mirrors life itself. In ...

What this podcast is about, where it comes from, and who it’s for.

50 Lessons is a podcast built around capoeira — not only as a physical practice, but as a philosophy, a culture, and a way of life.

In this short introduction episode, I share the idea behind the podcast, a bit of my own background, and how this project connects to my book 50 Lessons on Capoeira, Teaching, and Life.

You don’t need to practice capoeira to listen.

But if ...