I'm from Brazil, the birthplace of capoeira, and I did it when I was a kid.

Nowadays, after having got into combat sports and training for years, I'm thinking about coming back to Capoeira as a 34 years old. I still have good enough flexibility, preserved back/spine, good knees and all.

I'd like to learn the acrobatics stuff they have, not necessarily for combat sports, but I also wonder if there's valuable stuff for actual combat sports application there.

Ive been running about twice a week trying to get my stamina up. Do yall get most of your cardio from sparring? Or is there certain workouts yall do to supplement your martial arts?

Im planning to hang up my slip bag, pretty small little one that maybe weighs a couple pounds at most. Do I need to find a ceiling joist or could I just screw an eye bolt into the drywall and call it a day

Left Eye injury sparring

I keep getting caught on my left eye when I spar. Got checked up today and doctor said I have an eye abrasion/scar it will take 1 week to heal with eye drops. I dont use headgear.(mma gym almost no one uses it also we go quiet light 50% or less). I spar guys that are way more experienced than me and they always time me and catch me with their jabs. I am working on my defense every day but wanted to hear from anyone else what they did if they ever experienced this. Will headgear reduce this problem tremendously?

i have done various forms of martial arts including boxing, kick boxing, bjj, and wrestling.

i have been in quite a few street fights, much less since i quit hanging out at bars and removed shady people from my life. i have won some, lost some, and dis-engaged some.

i am not saying all this to gloat, just trying to give a bit of background and context.

a few days ago i was approached by a drunk guy who was very angry for some reason. he might have been a combination of drunk and mentally ill. he was accusing me of things i did not do and was trying to provoke a fight.

my problem is the way my body and mind was reacting. though i've experienced this in the gym and street many times, internally i was still kind of shitting my pants though my external appearance was stone cold. adrenaline kicked in and my body felt kind of weak, my mind was racing, things were blurry, it was like i was outside of reality in a sense.

though i stood my ground, did not back down, and my mind was still telling me "ok if this guy throws you need to counter and do X", but i did not have a sense of urgency and anger necessary to fight effectively.

he even feinted a punch, i did not flinch but i did not move either. it was like i was kind of frozen just waiting for something to happen while we yelled back and forth.

my question is how do i get rid of this feeling. i have this feeling of weakness and uncertainty now. i want to have the confidence that i will be 100% ready to go when necessary, but am worried about how my mind and body will respond if this happens again in the future.

do i need to do more sparring, or just quit martial arts entirely? i do calisthenics on top of everything regularly so i feel i am fairly strong compared to most people.

any advice would be truly appreciated.