A Tan But No Man

Well after a weekend spent at beaches, bars and other booze-ups (namely the Jazz Festival at the Domain which was actually a little more about the Jazz than the booze - but that doesn’t begin with a ‘b’), I have ended up with one hell of a tan but no new man to write about. Actually, my tan is really more of a burn at the moment, complete with evidence of sunglasses, but after studiously smearing myself with after-sun moisturisers I am now looking a little more pink and a little less red which is about the best I can hope for I think.

Despite the after effects of my weekend however, it was a good one. I can’t say as I noticed any real talent at Jackson’s On George (although the ‘sports section’ may as well be synonymous with ‘bogan bar’ so you get what you pay for I guess) but there was some decent people-watching (or ogling) to be had at the beaches. On the Saturday I was up at Curl Curl for a while which was nice cause its largely inaccessible without private transport. I mostly had my nose stuck in a book but there were still some very fit figures that were so brown, they were obviously local.

A similar bronzed body brigade was also out in force at Manly beach on the Sunday though, only here it was largely interspersed with tourists. These were often recognisable by the fact that they had god awful peeling sunburns because they obviously didn’t believe the Australian sun is different than the European one. What did grab my attention though, were the Capoeira classes being held in front of where I was sitting and the exhibition they put on at the end of the afternoon.

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art form combining acrobatics, dance, music and song. I watched fascinated as classes of guys did one-handed cartwheels across the beach, backflips and walkovers from crouching positions and as they generally threw themselves into the air in seemingly uncontrolled movement. Actually, I think a lot of it was uncontrolled as they hadn’t quite mastered that bit yet but it was still really interesting. As was the audience reaction.

What a lot of guys really underestimate I think, is how attractive it is to women when you know how to use your body. You don’t have to have perfectly chiselled features or a well defined six-pack. If you have rhythm and coordination (and especially if you can dance), it can win you a lot of points. It’s not the be all and end all of course but these guys down the beach were certainly attracting their fair share of attention. I have also seen the same thing in nightclubs. If a guy really knows how to move, he has a much better chance of picking up. Given that, I really don’t understand why so many men feel it would be ‘gay’ or beneath them to get a few lessons but I suppose it’ll just have to stay one of those mysteries…