In capoeira, the goal is not to defeat your partner, but to grow through the game. The same principle can apply to how we handle conflict in everyday life.

This chapter explores a simple but uncomfortable question: When you argue, what are you really trying to achieve?

Through the lens of capoeira, we look at ego, communication, and the difference between winning a point and making progress.

Sometimes, the most powerful move is not to push harder — but to step back and see the game differently.

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

Contact: mail-podcast@alexmaltsev.me

At some point, anything you care about deeply will break your heart. Not as an accident. Not as a failure. As part of the path.

In capoeira, you fall. You misjudge. You get caught. And you learn to return — not with anger, but with awareness.

This chapter explores heartbreak not as something to avoid, but as something to understand. What happens when passion turns into pressure? When connection becomes complicated? When doubt quietly enters?

Through capoeira and lived experience, we reflect on a difficult question: What if heartbreak is not what closes you… but what opens you?

The roda doesn’t stop when you fall. And neither does the path.

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

Contact: mail-podcast@alexmaltsev.me

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

In capoeira, the difference between a beginner and an experienced player is not just skill — it’s awareness. At first, everything is reaction: fast, instinctive, and often uncontrolled. But over time, something changes. Space appears. And in that space, a different kind of movement becomes possible.

This chapter explores the subtle shift from reacting to responding — and why that shift is at the heart of responsibility.

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

Contact: mail-podcast@alexmaltsev.me

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

We often think of ourselves like devices — the more we do, the more drained we become. But what if that model is completely wrong? In capoeira, energy doesn’t always work the way we expect. Sometimes, the more you give, the more you receive. The more you move, the more alive you feel.

In this chapter, we explore a different way of thinking about energy, effort, and fatigue — through training, teaching, and everyday life.

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

Contact: mail-podcast@alexmaltsev.me

In capoeira, it’s common to define yourself through your group, your teacher, or your lineage. Over time, these identities give you direction, structure, and a sense of belonging. But what happens when identity stops helping and starts holding you back?

In this chapter, we explore the tension between belonging and freedom. The difference between external identity and the quieter, deeper identity shaped by your daily actions.

Capoeira teaches us something subtle but powerful: identity can be a tool, but it can also become a cage.

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

Contact: mail-podcast@alexmaltsev.me

In capoeira, improvement isn’t only about learning new movements or becoming more athletic. Every game, every class, every roda becomes something deeper — a laboratory for refining character.

But what does “character” really mean?

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

Contact: mail-podcast@alexmaltsev.me

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 integrity. When thoughts, words, and actions move together, things flow naturally. When they drift apart, progress becomes heavy and fragile.

Using examples from practice, teaching, and everyday life, this episode reflects on how integrity shapes our comfort zones, our relationships, and the systems we build with others.

Integrity is not about perfection.

Like the game of capoeira itself, it’s about falling, standing up again, and returning to the rhythm.

This chapter opens the section Life & Integrity, where we explore the principles that help us navigate life with honesty, responsibility, and resilience.

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

Contact: mail-podcast@alexmaltsev.me

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 your struggle isn’t what you think it is?

Through the lens of capoeira and daily life, we reflect on habits, environments, and small long-standing choices that quietly shape our health, mood, and performance. Many routines once served us well. But do they still?

If every step feels heavier than it should, maybe it’s time to pause — and check your shoes.

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

Contact: mail-podcast@alexmaltsev.me