an aerial cartwheel that launches with a dip from a common horse stance. keeping your eyes on your opponent throuought the movement, as is key in all of capoeira. [Aranha]
this movement, or the standing aerial as some call it is really simple. there are two ways of learning this: first technique is to get the running aerial down and eventually you'll get this. Or you can learn how to do a butterfly kick and it will help you to do a standing aerial. Anyway, with an au sem mao, stand in an horse stance position. Then, as you begin to launch, dip your head and your body as close to your knee as possible and hold it there as you kick your legs as far up in the air as you can. And if it helps you, look directly at an object as you do this, it feels weird, but you'll get it. Don't be too horizontal or it'll be a fugly thing going on.
When I first tried this I thought it was impossible as I hadn't been taught it before, but now my Capoeira Instructor taught me the proper way it is not at all that hard. First try jumping into a one-handed cartwheel with your outside hand (if you are going to the left then it will be with your right hand), keep the jump high, not across, and bring the first leg in the air as compact and quick as possible, but don't sacrifice smooth or straightness for speed. Then learn the butterfly kick, keeping your legs bent(in horse stance) and then straighten them out when you do the kick. Now you can attempt the au sem mao, these instructions are for doing it to the left. Stand in horse stance, hold your outstretched hands to your right as if you were going to catch a ball. Swing them down low so that the tips of your fingers scrape the floor. When they have swung just past your left leg take off and do a butterfly kick as high as you can go, keeping your torso down. Land your first leg as soon as you can. The takeoff power should launch you UP and should be from your inside leg. Takeoff when your second leg is as high as it can go without slowing down the movement. With practise you will be able to do it higher and higher.
the important thing to remember with au sem mao is that capoeiristas do this movement differently than gymnasts. A proper au sem mao is executed like a butterfly kick with your head close to the ground and your feet in the air. Gymnasts twist their bodys landing facing the opposite direction they were facing going into the movement.
I think Rayden in Mortal Kombat Annihilation does a standing aerial when fighting the 3 Lin Kuei ninjas. He does it really fast and uses the move to narrowly avoid a foot sweep. Nice to see that this move has actual defensive applications; I always thought of an aerial as an offensive move.
In the au sem mao, how do you do the horse stance into it and still have momentum throughout the move?
tip 1:before you start launching your self in the air take a fast spin (on your legs) and then launch your self it will help you go higher with your whole body and it will make the move cooler than it is!
tip 2: take the fastest cartwheel you can befor you do this move and then it will give you alot of speed!
tip 3: after you know it not so well but better than you used to then do like 4 or 5 whithout stoping and it will improove the hight of your legs and and the hight of the move its self!
after you know this trick and its a peace of cake work on this with your legs closed while your holding them (in capoeira language [portugez] its called "americano" )
capoeristas out there...in indonesia we dont have any mestre,so its difficult 4 me to do au sem mao..i've tried to do an au sem mao from ordinary au/cartwheel..i can do an au with only one hand,but when i try to do the sem mao,i'm always scared to fall on my side!! help me please....
Oi putszky, i think you should try both one hande d cartwheels, 1st and 2nd hand, then sump into the 2nd hand one and then start to stop your shoulders from reaching from the ground. I hope this helps a lthoug h late.. :)
