Capoeira Kick

Last updated: May 13, 2026

What is a capoeira kick?

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art shaped as much by dance and music as by combat, and most of its attacks are kicks. Its kicks are distinct from those in styles like Muay Thai, karate, and taekwondo in one important way: most are un-chambered. Instead of cocking the knee and snapping the foot forward, the kicking leg stays straight and sweeps through a wide arc, with power drawn from torque generated by the hips, the rocking ginga step, and in some cases a planted hand on the ground.

That mechanical signature is what people are pointing at when they say a fighter just threw a “capoeira kick.” It can be upright, like a wide crescent, or inverted, with one or both hands on the canvas while the heel swings overhead. The strike is uncommon in MMA, but the few times it has landed clean, it has produced standout knockouts, which is why the term comes up in fight commentary and post-fight breakdowns.

Common capoeira kicks used in MMA

Capoeira has dozens of named techniques. Only a handful translate into MMA, and even those are rare. The kicks below are the ones MMA fans are most likely to see referenced in fight breakdowns.

Kick	Translation	What it looks like
Meia lua de compasso	Compass crescent	A spinning heel kick where the practitioner places one or both hands on the ground and swings the kicking leg overhead in a wide arc. The signature capoeira kick in MMA.
Armada	Fleet	A spinning outside crescent kick thrown from an upright stance, striking with the blade of the foot. Body stays vertical, no hands on the ground.
Queixada	Jaw	An inside-to-outside crescent kick. Mechanically very close to the armada but thrown without the preparatory step.
Martelo	Hammer	A roundhouse kick. Capoeira’s version is mechanically similar to roundhouse kicks in karate and Muay Thai.
Benção	Blessing	A straight front push kick, usually to the chest or stomach. Pushes the opponent back rather than aiming to damage.
Aú batido	Hit cartwheel	An inverted kick launched mid-cartwheel. Anthony Pettis used a variation of this in his MMA career, per the technique’s Wikipedia entry.

Two of these, the meia lua de compasso and the armada, account for almost every capoeira knockout seen in MMA. The hands-free armada is what the UFC’s official stats tend to log as a “wheel kick” or “spinning hook kick.”

How capoeira kicks work in MMA

A capoeira kick generates force the same way a golf swing does: a long, straight lever rotated at speed around a fixed pivot. The physical principle is centripetal force, with the body acting as the club and the foot as the head. The kicking leg stays straight, the body rotates around the supporting leg, and the heel travels through a long arc before connecting. That long arc is where the danger comes from, and also where the risk lives.

In the classic meia lua de compasso, the capoeirista lowers both hands to the floor for balance and whips the heel overhead in a wide circle toward the opponent’s head. After contact, the kicking leg continues its arc and finishes back at its starting point on the ground. Hands-free variants exist, and those are the ones most often used in MMA, because putting hands on the canvas in front of a trained striker or wrestler is asking for a knee to the face or a takedown.

The meia lua de compasso was introduced to mixed martial arts in 2009 by Brazilian fighter Marcus “Lelo” Aurélio, who knocked out Keegan Marshall with it. In 2011, Cairo Rocha knocked out Francesco Neves with the same kick, and at UFC 224 in 2018, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos used a hands-free meia lua to knock out Sean Strickland. Zaleski, whose nickname is “Capoeira,” described the finishing kick as an armada, also known as meia lua sem mao, and called it an homage to capoeira and the practitioners of the art.

These kicks stay rare in MMA for the same reasons spinning back kicks and tornado kicks are rare: they take years to develop, they expose the back to counters, and a missed attempt can lead straight to a takedown or a follow-up combination. When they connect, however, the angle is unfamiliar enough that most opponents do not see them coming.

Capoeira kicks vs. taekwondo and karate spinning kicks

On the surface, capoeira’s spinning kicks look like cousins of taekwondo’s spinning hook kick or karate’s spinning back kick. The mechanics underneath are different.

	Capoeira	Taekwondo	Karate
Setup	Rocking ginga step, often with a feint or weight shift	Pivot on the supporting foot, chamber the knee	Hip rotation with a chambered leg
Leg path	Straight kicking leg through a wide arc	Bent knee then snapping extension	Chambered then snapping extension
Body position	Often inverted, hands can touch the ground	Upright	Upright
Trademark spinning kick	Meia lua de compasso	Spinning hook kick	Ushiro mawashi geri

The defining difference is the un-chambered, straight-leg motion of the capoeira version and the willingness to lower the head and use the hands as a third point of contact. The three signature capoeira spinning kicks (queixada, armada, and meia lua de compasso) all share that un-chambered mechanic. The knee does not cock and snap forward. The leg remains straight from start to finish, with the toes flexed throughout the swing. That mechanical choice changes both the timing and the trajectory of the strike, leaving fewer pre-kick cues for the opponent to read.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is capoeira effective in MMA?

On its own, no. As a supplement to a base of striking and grappling, it can add unconventional kicks, unusual angles, and footwork. Most fighters known for capoeira-influenced striking, including Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Anderson Silva, have built their MMA games around other disciplines as well.

Has anyone won a UFC fight with a capoeira kick?

Yes. At UFC 224 in May 2018, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos knocked out Sean Strickland in the first round with a hands-free meia lua de compasso, which UFC stats logged as a wheel kick. Zaleski explicitly called the finish a tribute to capoeira.

What is the most famous capoeira kick?

The meia lua de compasso, also called the compass crescent. It is the kick most associated with capoeira in popular media and the one used in the best-known capoeira knockouts in MMA.

Are capoeira kicks legal in MMA?

Yes. Capoeira-style kicks are standard strikes under the Unified Rules of MMA. Any strike that follows the rules on legal target areas and execution is permitted, regardless of the martial art it originated from.

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Sources

1. Wikipedia. “Meia lua de compasso.” Accessed May 2026.
2. Wikipedia. “List of capoeira techniques.” Accessed May 2026.
3. Wikipedia. “Capoeira.” Accessed May 2026.
4. Wikipedia. “Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos.” Accessed May 2026.
5. Bloody Elbow. “Elizeu Zaleski: Wheel kick KO was ‘an homage to Capoeira practitioners and to the art itself.’” 15 May 2018.
6. MPP Capoeira. “Capoeira Basic Vocabulary: Regional and Contemporânea.” 26 February 2022.
7. UFC.com. “Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos — Athlete Profile.” Accessed May 2026.

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