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But Mestre Bayano also saw other kids resist those temptations, and he saw some kids who had been swept away by drugs and destructive behavior turn their lives around. The key was Capoeira, the Brazilian art of fight and dance that is growing in popularity in the United States and around the world. Capoeira builds discipline, confidence and physical strength. Mestre Bayano applied his extensive fitness-building skills to learning Capoeira, and became one of the most respected capoeiristas in Brazil, where he also played professional soccer.
He has been doing capoeira for twenty five years, and teaching it for eighteen years. He has taught and performed capoeira all over the United States. Mestre Bayano has also performed Capoeira overseas, including Portugal, Spain, Italy and France.
But a driving mission of Mestre Bayano’s work has been to introduce Capoeira to children and teenagers so that they can adopt the discipline and self-respect that the martial art offers to stay focused and healthy.
 Mestre Bayano, who earned the coveted rank of Professor of Capoeira under the venerable Mestre Cesar Di Alabama, runs capoeira academies at five different locations in northern New Jersey. His academies boast numerous success stories of young people with social or health problems who overcame their struggles, even dramatically improving their condition. Other young people who didn’t necessarily face great adversity have nonetheless gained more confidence and attained greater levels of fitness through their training with Mestre Bayano.
He has taken his training beyond his academies, and has held workshops in schools around the United States and Brazil.
Mestre Bayano is the founder and president of The Cultural Association of Brazilian Arts (CAOBA). The association uses Brazilian culture and arts to expand the horizons of non-Brazilian youth and adults, as well as teach them the tools for personal social and fitness growth through capoeira.
His vast and skillful work through capoeira and the cultural association have garnered Mestre Bayano wide acclaim. He has been featured on ABC, Fox, and the major Spanish-language TV stations Univision and Telemundo.
Apart from his cultural association and academy work, Mestre Bayano is a head trainer for Bally Total Fitness in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. He has conducted Capoeira workshops at nearly every Bally Total Fitness center in the tri-state area.
He is also a professional fighter with the team Edson Carvalho, which takes part in numerous martial arts events.
Mestre Bayano played professional soccer for seven years in Brazil, and later for Boston University and Columbia University. He received his college degree of physical education in Brazil.
www.ncapoeira.com
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In his native Brazil, Mestre Bayano witnessed how vulnerable young people can be to the negative influences of the streets. He saw children fall prey to drugs, alcohol, violence and a life of crime.