The Lineage
Those who carry the transmission
Longevity. Legacy. Love.
Embedded Files
Nothing here is self-taught.
Nothing here is self-taught.
A tradition is not a set of ideas. It is a chain of hands. What is practiced at Beyond The Maafa was given by teachers who received it from their own, and the honest way to present this house is to name them.
Three transmissions meet here. Two Capoeira houses, one Brazilian-founded and one founded in the United States. And an American fighting system carried out of Black urban communities without any Brazilian root at all. That is not eclecticism. That is the diaspora meeting itself on a training floor.
| The house honors these lines of transmission, preserves their ethics, and claims no authority over them.
| The house honors these lines of transmission, preserves their ethics, and claims no authority over them.
CAPOEIRA
Grupo Quilombolas de Luz
Under Contramestre Gugu Quilombola, in the line of Mestre Paulão. São Paulo and Nürtingen, Germany.
CAPOEIRA
Grupo Liberdade de Capoeira
Under Mestra Amazonas, in the line of Mestre Cigano. Founded 1987, the first Capoeira group formed in New Jersey.
52 Blocks
The American System
Under Lyte Burly, New York City. Carried through Black urban communities in the United States.
Founder . Chief Instructor . Spiritual Director
Founder . Chief Instructor . Spiritual Director
Pelé Ogunseye
Pelé Ogunseye
Beyond The Maafa Sustainability Center
Pelé Ogunseye began Capoeira in 2009 and has spent more than fifteen years training and teaching across the United States and Brazil. He trains in the Grupo Liberdade lineage under Mestra Amazonas, in Grupo Quilombolas de Luz under Contramestre Gugu Quilombola, and in 52 Blocks under Lyte Burly.
He is an electrician with over ten years in the trade, working now in renewable energy and off-grid systems. He is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach with SuperSlow strength certification, and he managed the farm program at Gangstas to Growers, an Atlanta food sovereignty organization.
He has instructed over 500 youth and 350 adults in metropolitan Atlanta. He wrote Beyond The Maafa: Book One, the curriculum this house is built on, and he serves as Founder, Chief Instructor, and Spiritual Director of the House.
Lineage
Grupo Liberdade de Capoeira · Grupo Quilombolas de Luz · 52 Blocks
Rank
Est.
Trade
Electrician, 10+ years · renewable energy and off-grid solutions
Certified
NASM Personal Trainer · NASM Nutrition Coach · SuperSlow Strength
Honors
Contemporary Leader, Blacks in Sustainability, 2025 · Babi Community Award, 2017
Published
Beyond The Maafa: Book One · adopted, Taos Public Library, June 2026
Mentor . Capoeira
Mentor . Capoeira
Mestra Amazonas
Mestra Amazonas
Grupo Liberdade de Capoeira
Mestra Amazonas is a disciple of Mestre Cigano, Robson Ribeiro, who founded Grupo Liberdade de Capoeira in 1987 and brought it to the United States the following year. It is the first Capoeira group formed in New Jersey.
She serves as Artistic Director of Grupo Liberdade and Curriculum Developer for the Afro Brazilian Arts and Education Academy in Vauxhall, New Jersey, and she teaches Capoeira philosophy, movement, and song across the country and internationally. Her work brings underserved and marginalized men, women, and children together as peaceful warriors who can defend themselves and others.
She grew up in Queens training Jujitsu and Judo. Track and field brought her to New Jersey, where she competed and coached at Seton Hall, New Jersey City University, and Saint Peter's.
Lineage
Grupo Liberdade de Capoeira, founded 1987 by Mestre Cigano
Roles
Artistic Director, Grupo Liberdade · Curriculum Developer, Afro Brazilian Arts and Education Academy
Formation
Jujitsu and Judo · study with Professor Esperança · Teaching Artist Training under Mestre Ombrinho
Affiliations
Women's Martial Arts Network · Society of Black Belts of America · United Martial Artists Fellowship Hall of Fame
Based
Vauxhall, New Jersey
Mentor . Capoeira
Mentor . Capoeira
Contramestre Gugu Quilombola
Contramestre Gugu Quilombola
Grupo Quilombolas de Luz
Contramestre Gugu Quilombola began Capoeira in childhood and has carried the art for more than thirty years. He leads Grupo Quilombolas de Luz, founded in São Paulo by Mestre Paulão, a group whose lineage runs through Fonte do Gravatá, Cativeiro de Capoeira, and the Angola teachings passed down by Mestres Miguel Machado, Gato Preto, and Plínio.
He directs two academies, the original in São Paulo and a second in Nürtingen, Germany, and teaches worldwide. Each year he organizes and teaches two large gatherings in Germany, open to practitioners from every school and style.
Quilombolas de Luz has spent three decades refusing to dilute Capoeira's African and Afro-Brazilian roots to satisfy governments, institutions, or trends, holding the art as a tool of memory, liberation, and spiritual resilience. The Capoeira taught at Beyond The Maafa descends through him.
Group
Grupo Quilombolas de Luz, founded in São Paulo by Mestre Paulão
Lineage
Fonte do Gravatá · Cativeiro de Capoeira · Angola teachings of Mestres Miguel Machado, Gato Preto, and Plínio
Academies
São Paulo, Brazil · Nürtingen, Germany
Experience
30+ years in Capoeira, begun in childhood
Mentor . 52 Blocks
Mentor . 52 Blocks
Lyte Burly
Lyte Burly
52 Blocks · New York City
Lyte Burly is among the most prominent figures in 52 Blocks and has taught the system in New York City for well over a decade, with more than three decades of martial arts practice centered on boxing. His students have won local competitions and the Golden Gloves, and he has trained fighters at the highest levels of the sport.
52 Blocks, also called Jailhouse Rock, is a fighting system developed and carried through Black urban communities in the United States. It is built on constant improvisation, deceptive footwork and body angles, and effectiveness in close quarters. Burly calls it the only American fighting system.
Pelé Ogunseye has trained under him since 2018. Its principles inform the combative depth of the training here alongside Capoeira, and its history is the reason it belongs in this house: a martial art that survived where it was not permitted to exist.
System
52 Blocks, also known as Jailhouse Rock or 52 Hand Blocks
Experience
30+ years martial arts practice, boxing-centered
Background
Tai Chi · Hsing Yi · Pa Kua Chang · Wing Chun · Kickboxing · Boxing · Wrestling
In a society that thrives on dependency, independence is the revolution.
In a society that thrives on dependency, independence is the revolution.
B E Y O N D T H E M A A F A · B O O K O N E
The Capoeira transmitted by this house descends through the lineages named in these pages. Beyond The Maafa Sustainability Center honors those lines of transmission, preserves their cord systems and their ethics, and claims no authority over them. It is an independent religious corporation under New Mexico law and is not a subsidiary, chapter, or agent of any Capoeira group.
Page updated
Report abuse