MASTER FANTASMA

Simon Atkinson, born in 1964 in Southend –on- sea, Essex, started practising fighting arts in 1983 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne at a 20 week self-defence and fitness class. Since then Simon became involved in practising fighting arts. At a weekend training camp in Northumberland in 1989 Simon met Master Gato, from the group Senzala, Rio-de-Janeiro and his first Capoeira class. Simon soon became a capoeira student under the guidance of Master Gato. During the following years Gato visited the UK once a year for a month at a time and passed on training methods and generally motivated and assessed his students growth. The classes in his absence were informal and took place in a multi-storey car park in Southend, four times a week, summer and winter. The group then had one berimbau, one pandeiro and a huge amount of enthusiasm.