The ginga is the fundamental movement of capoeira. It is capoeira’s most recognized characteristic. Very few martial arts employ a constant rhythmic movement that matches the ginga. One of the few exceptions would be South Korea’s own taekkyeon.
Capoeira Angola and capoeira regional both have distinctive versions of this movement. In Capoeira Angola, the ginga is free and individualistic, while in regional the ginga has a more structured and defensive look.
Most Capoeira regional academies teach the ginga the same way until the aluno advances to a certain level and begins to develop their own style of using it. Both are accomplished by maintaining both feet approximately shoulder-width apart and then moving one foot back in a reverse step, returning it to its original place, and repeating with the other foot in a continuous triangular step.
The list of capoeira techniques includes kicks, headbutts, evasions, acrobatics and more. In capoeira, the main emphasis is normally placed on the interaction between kicks and evasions.
Due to historical reasons, different capoeira groups use different names for the same techniques, or the same name for different techniques.