Ranks in capoeira

Because of its origin, capoeira never had unity or a general agreement. Ranking or graduating system follows the same path, as there never existed a ranking system accepted by most of the masters. That means graduation style varies depending on the group's traditions. The most common modern system uses colored ropes, called corda or cordão, tied around the waist. Some masters use different systems, or even no system at all.

In a substantial number of groups (mainly of the Capoeira Angola school) there is no visible ranking system. There can still be several ranks: student, treinel, professor, contra-mestre and mestre, but often no cordas (belts).

There are many entities (leagues, federations and association) with their own graduation system. The most usual is the system of the Confederação Brasileira de Capoeira (Brazilian Capoeira Confederation), which adopts ropes using the colors of the Brazilian flag, green, yellow, blue and white. However, the Confederação Brasileira de Capoeira is not widely accepted as the capoeira's main representative.

Brazilian Capoeira Confederation system

Children's system (3 to 14 years)

• 1st stage: Iniciante (Beginner) - No color
• 2nd stage: Batizado (Baptized) - Green/Light Grey
• 3rd stage: Graduado (Graduated) - Yellow/Light Grey
• 4th stage: Adaptado (Adept) - Blue/Light Grey
• 5th stage: Intermediário (Intermediary) - Green/YellowLight Grey
• 6th stage: Avançado (Advanced) - Green/Blue/Light Grey
• 7th stage: Estagiário (Trainee) - Yellow/Green/Blue/Light Grey

Adult system (above 15)

• 8th stage: Iniciante (Beginner) - No color
• 9th stage: Batizado (Baptized) - Light Green
• 10th stage: Graduado (Graduated) - Yellow
• 11th stage: Adaptado (Adept) - Blue
• 12th stage: Intermediário (Intermediary) - Dark Green
• 13th stage: Avançado (Advanced) - Green/Blue
• 14th stage: Estagiário (Trainee) - Yellow/Blue

Instructors' system

• 15th stage: Formado (Graduated) - Yellow/Green/Blue
• 16th stage: Monitor (Monitor) - White/Green
• 17th stage: Instrutor (Instructor) - White/Yellow
• 18th stage: Contramestre (Foreman) - White/Blue
• 19th stage: Mestre (Master) - White

ABADÁ - Capoeira system

Many Capoeira schools use a system taken from Grupo Senzala and later Abadá-Capoeira.

ABADÁ has a graduated cord system using colors that refer symbolically to nature and reflect the level of practice. The cord system does not so much reflect the practitioner’s level of skill as much as their progress on their individual path as a member of the ABADÁ community. The cord system as outlined by Arte Capoeira Center – ABADÁ Capoeira is as follows.

Adult Graduation System

Title/Level		Cord Color	Basic Responsibilities
Beginner		Corda Crua (Natural Cord)	natural cord student
Student Aluno/a		Corda Crua-Amarela (Natural-Yellow Cord)	transformation
		Corda Amarela (Yellow Cord)	The Gold The yellow cord signifies the value of apprenticeship.
		Corda Amarela-Laranja (Yellow-Orange Cord)	transformation
		Corda Laranja	The Sun The orange cord reflects the awakening of the apprentice’s consciousness.
		Corda Laranja-Azul (Orange-Blue Cord)	transformation
Graduado/a		Corda Azul (Blue Cord)	The Sea The blue cord indicates the apprentice’s awareness of the immense path ahead.
		Corda Azul-Verde (Blue-Green Cord)	transformation
		Corda Verde (Green Cord)	The Forest—the world’s lungs The green cord signifies the consolidation of apprenticeship. It provides the base on which ABADÁ-Capoeira is built.
		Corda Verde-Roxa (Green-Purple Cord)	transformation
Instrutor/a		Corda Roxa (Purple Cord)	The Amethyst The purple cord signals that the capoeirista has begun to overcome the physical, psychological, and spiritual pain of learning capoeira and defending its ideals.
		Corda Roxa-Marrom (Purple-Brown Cord)	transformation
Professor/a		Corda Marrom (Brown Cord)	The Chameleon The brown cord represents the constant transformation that characterizes the group’s style.
		Corda Marrom-Vermelha (Brown-Red Cord)	transformation
Mestrando/a		Corda Vermelha (Red Cord)	The Ruby The red cord symbolizes justice. At this level, the capoeirista acquires an understanding of responsibility; he or she is expected to strive for justice in conducting his work and making her decisions.
Mestre		Corda Vermelha-Branca (Red-White Cord)	transformation In this graduation the Capoeirista tries to develop their potential in order to concentrate and maintain ABADÁ's ideals. It is a phase of transformation, because the Mestre is preparing to obtain the highest graduation in ABADÁ's system. In order to achieve Grão-Mestre, it is necessary to make decisions with precision, honesty and above all with wisdom and impartiality.
Mestre		Corda Branca (White Cord)	The Diamond The "Diamond" is the hardest and most resilient mineral. It reflects all colors and all colors are united in white.