It seems to be possible to show how the academic discourses about Capoeira, in the field of Physical Education, reaffirm essentialized and nationalistic myths and identities. Taking it for grant, the present study aims to demonstrate how the identity narratives on Capoeira are structured by "reflective processes". Using ethnographical methods, the identity discourses of a group of Capoeira were compared to academic discourses. We concluded that the identity narratives of Capoeira are structured by an incomplete reflexivity which reveals the process of modernization of the society and, therefore, the rebirth of the national.
Capoeira; identity; reflexivity; Physical Education