Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm an atheist, so no religous symbol, but I might start tracing a happy face.

for me, symbolism can come in three forms

sacred geometry
Self Expression
Emptiness

This therefore, speaks to the Athiests, for I have stripped the exactitudes of religious connotations away, and stand from a more universal understanding of the matter.

In Sacred Geometry, there are certain evocative patterns which can be invoked or pantomimed, which express the universe. There are patterns of motion which can alter the flow of blood or the extension of nerves and tendons, as is common in some martial art forms.

A Human being is a composition of certain mathematical relationships, such as 1:1, 2:3, and 5: 8. These values are identical to the measures used in an octave or musical piano selection, and form geometric shapes when properly arranged. It is my own belief that emotions themselves are also geometric wave patterns which can be replicated using music. My own field of research has its goal to seek out such evidence and not only prove the theory, but demonstrate it in practice. They call this science CYMATICS, from the Greek "Kymat".

Thus, I have an expression. People are waves, ...when we dance, we are music in motion.

Self expression is more of a statement, Such as when you wave someone over to you, or flip someone off. Body language can be universal, or only cultural. My favorite starting Stansa is the Shandian or lightning position, somewhat common (or maybe not) to Inner School Kung Fu.
I have not tasken enough Kung Fu to save my life using it, however, It has been said that when you begin to fight someone who has been in many fights, especially in the martial arts, they will judge your ability to fight and what style you are using, by your first position.

Thus a few wise men go for the plain "shoes untied" stansa, which portrays the person as if they know nothing. While this is also a good possibility, projecting humility, I've found that Shandian tends to be a bit more intimidating, and the people not only get sloppy, they get cocky, and attempt to fight the completely wrong style (im a sfot style artist).

This is what I mean by self expression. Every motion of your body, from the flipping wrist motion of the Matrix, to a symbolic "Grounding" of Paganism popular to Ceremonial Magicians, these motions are designed to portray something directly to the psyche.

Emptiness is the act of creating a set of rituals common to Chaotes which have absolutely no power whatsoever. These are the types of actions that skeptics, pessimists, and athiests are most likely to see displayed when encountering a person of belief making big claims. It is akin to Self Expression which is designed to effect only the believer, then being turend 180 degrees and attempting to use that tool on others.
Vice versa, it would be using an old ritual, object, incense, or KATA (ala Bruce Lee theory) which is so completely out dated or personal only to the developer, that it has no meaning or practicality to the person studying it to master.

Emptiness should be avoided at all costs. While this may get you into some trouble with your Teacher(s), it is still better to be ridiculed and separate the emptiness from the facts in any tradition... than to regret placing your faith in a dead theory when your life depends on it.

Remember, Macaco girl. Just as anything you learn in Capoeira can be applied in one way or another to real life... It is the same the other way... Anything you learn in life can be applied in one way or another to Capoeira. You just have to keep an open mind to it, and find out yourself how you can apply it, either to Capoeira or to life.

Hey, hey. I'm not a dumb sod, here. I just fail to see how this discussion of ones own beliefs has anything to do (specifically) with mandinga. When you play capoeira, you look at the person entering the roda with you as a capoeirista, not an atheist or a christian or whatever they hold faith in. I personnaly don't hold faith in any religion, not because I dislike any faiths, but because I don't see the purpose of them. Life is like a blank piece of paper. You can write or draw whatever you want on it. When someone looks at a blank piece of paper, or large amounts of chaos, they don't know where to focus. Maybe religion is that focal point for some people. Me, I want to lead my life the wsay I want, not bound by promises or prejudices.

I'm off topic. Anyways, thats why I don't have a mandinga...yet. When I find something to hold faith in, maybe I'll have one.

i am taoist and i draw this ideogram
it means tao/Dao

mandinga is not from capoeira is from candomblé culture
capoeira just absorved this caracteristic