Professor Minhoquinho
Professor Minhoquinho aka Piotr – the leader of Tucum Capoeira Edinburgh adults group.
He started his Capoeira journey in 2008 in a small town in eastern Poland in a group – UNICAR. When he moved to England in 2010 he briefly joined the group Cordao De Ouro in Manchester and not a year later, he moved to Scotland, Edinburgh where he became one of the first students of newly created Cordao De Ouro group lead by Mestre Medusa.
Since 2011 Minhoquinho has trained, traveled and later taught Capoeira under the guidance of his teachers Mestre Medusa and Meste Papa-Leguas. In 2022 he acquired the title of Professor of Capoeira.
Apart from teaching regular classes around Edinburgh, he has also combined his interests for Capoeira movement and self-development with film making and documenting which you can find out more about on his website and YouTube channel.
Instrutora Risada
Instrutora Risada aka Kasia – the leader of Tucum Capoeira Edinburgh kids group.
Kasia was first introduced to capoeira by Instrutor Pingado (now Kasia’s husband) in her home country Poland. She was training on and off with many groups in Poland and then in Scotland where she moved in 2007. Capoeira was a hobby for her until the day Mestre Papa-Leguas and Mestre Medusa came to Edinburgh in November 2010 and introduced a different perspective on the art.
Kasia follows guidelines of Contra-Mestre Kimberly from Israel who became her Madrinha (godmother) when she received her Instructor belt.
Together with Pingado she is running Capoeira children classes under the social enterprise Axé Boom Boom. She keeps playing Djembe when she can and supports Pingado in his drum teaching.
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Instrutor Pingado
Instructor Pingado was first exposed to Capoeira when he was thirteen after watching movie Only the Strong; and started to train with his brother in home city Łódź in Poland. Through Capoeira he’s fallen in love with music and playing African drums. He developed and become an instructor of African Djembe drums that he still continues to do today.
Thins radically changed with the arrival of Mestre Papa Leguas and Mestre Medusa to Edinburgh in November 2011. Since then, Instructor Pingado has trained day in and day out to learn and later teach techniques of his teachers. He received his Instructor level during Edinburgh Batizado in 2019 and now teaches children classes with Instructora Risada (his wife).
Apart from playing, teaching and now also producing African drums, together with Instrutora Risada he is running a social enterprise providing a unique blend of music and movement to provide capoeira and drumming as tools to develop young people.
Mestre Medusa
Rod Penn also known as Mestre Medusa – founder of Cordao de Ouro Edinburgh group (currently Tucum Capoeira Edinburgh).
He started Capoeira in Tokyo in 1999. He founded the Norwich Capoeira group and reached Instructor level in the Group Senzala. Rod has also taught Capoeira in Indonesia and organised the first International Batizado in Bali. In 2009 he made the decision to join Mestre Papa-Leguas following a three-year transition, finally receiving his Instructor level in 2012.
In 2011 he founded the group in Edinburgh, received his Professor level in 2014, Contra Mestre level in 2018 and in 2023 became master of Capoeira. He taught 4 students up to the level of Instructor who now lead the group in Edinburgh.
As of today, Medusa has over 20 years in Capoeira and has trained or taught Capoeira in over twenty countries including Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, East Timor, Singapore, Australia, France, Russia, Italy, Sweden, New Zealand, Greece, Spain, Holland, Nigeria, and Brazil.
Outside of Capoeira Rod is a phenomenal photographer and film-maker. You can find out more about his work here.
Mestre Papa-Leguas
Jaime Gontijo aka Mestre Papa-Leguas is a Brazilian capoeira Master with close to 30 years of experience. He was born in Patos de Minas, Brazil and started learning capoeira at the age of 13.
“It was a funny story. I started learning capoeira because of a T-shirt. I was in a street with friends, when a group of guys wearing similar T-shirts passed by. The T-shirt caught my attention, so I followed them. It turns out they were having a Batizado [welcoming and graduation ceremony for new capoeristas, or capoeira practitioners]. That’s when I fell in love with capoeira, joined the group. I haven’t stopped practicing since.”
He has taught capoeira at events in more than 40 countries and receives his master of belt in 2014 at the annual event called Capoeirando held in Brazil. After becoming a Master level Capoerista in the group Cordão de Ouro he decided to follow his methodology and opened TUCUM Capoeira group that is now present in 10 countries around the world. i.e Brazil, Japan, Russia, Greece, Italy, Ukraine, Indonesia, Holland as well as many cities around UK i.e. Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield etc.