Hello AGPMA Friends and Family,
“A man in a hurry will be miserable in Brazil!” These are the words of Peter Fleming, author of one of Brazil’s best travel books. I have to agree that is certainly true here in Rio, since it takes so much time to take in all of the surrounding beauty. Though, I would have to admit that the saying would not hold true to the taxi and bus drivers around here. Man alive, to them, time is money and they are out to get all they can (not to look down on them since I know they are doing what they can to provide for their families just like everyone else). They have got to be some of the best drivers in the world and they rely totally on their brakes (and, therefore, so do I)! It has taken two weeks, but I have learned to relax and smile (on the outside) as I think “brakes don’t fail me now” (on the inside). Peter Fleming also says that people in Rio don’t notice their problems because they are always looking at the beach! So let’s follow the Brazilian way and go to the beach…
My apartment is two blocks from the Copacabana Beach and, believe it or not, it took me 12 days to make that walk. Not only did I take a walk, but I went for a run in one of the best environments I’ve ever run – surrounded by mountains, skyscrapers, and sandy white beaches. I can definitely understand how you could forget the day to day worries when you are surrounded by such breathtaking beauty! Since my first run on Sunday, I have enjoyed a daily run on the beach and today (Tuesday) I accepted an invitation from Professor Hermanny (Bea’s Dad) “to go for a walk by the sea” as he so invitingly put it. By the time I made it back to my apartment (two and a half hours later), I had walked two beaches and a lagoon. What an unforgettable introduction to part of God’s creation!
Let me describe one more attraction I was introduced to in Rio and then I will get to the superb Martial Arts training I have experienced here…
The Christo Redentor (“Christ the Redeemer”) statue on Corcovado Mountain came highly recommended for me to see. The Christ statue (as it is referred to) seems to cradle Rio in its embrace from the top of Corcovado Mountain. The view from the statue is said to be the most spectacular view of the city, especially at sunset. You are surrounded by rainforest on all sides, and in front of you are the “Sugar Loaf” (Rio’s famous monolith) and a multitude of mountains rising from the Atlantic and bordered by endless beaches. I have felt a certain peace while here, as it seems that from any place in the city I can look up to the top of Corcovada Mountain and see “Christ the Redeemer” watching over me. During my Bible study, God gave me this scripture of encouragement and, in a sense, I feel that it is also an assignment:
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
- Isaiah 52:7
Doesn’t that remind you of Philippians 4:8 (“Whatever is good…”)?
As I mentioned in my first update, Bea arranged for me to meet up with her dad, Professor Rudolf Hermanny. He is now 75 years young. He represented Capoeira in the original Vale Tudo (anything goes) in the 50’s and 60’s, then went on to study and advance as one of the top Judo players in Brazil, and now finds the Jiu-Jitsu ground game something that he can enjoy without as much risk of injury. What a living legend…full of life and full of interesting stories!! I trained in a Jiu-Jitsu class with him that was taught by a Gracie Jui-Jitsu Black Belt, Mr. Carodoso. I was one of three students in the class and I got first-rate instruction and care.
The next highlight was my (much anticipated) workout with Jefferson Teixeira last Friday morning. It was a very exhilarating morning, beginning with a private lesson with Jefferson in wrestling. I was totally impressed with his way of teaching me…another great trainer here at Brazilian Top Team! The training and information passed on was very valuable and will make its way into everything that I teach in PMA, self protection, and MMA. I followed that lesson with another private with Claudio and Banana and they are just as exceptional. That combination of training (which I repeated today) is one of the toughest workouts I’ve had. It involved strength and conditioning drills, wrestling, and extra rolling (basically ground sparring) with Claudio and Banana. If I compared my trainers or my workouts, I wouldn’t be giving any of them the respect or value they deserve, so I’ll just say it’s all top notch!
Friday’s “icing on the cake” was watching the Pro BTT train for three hours, led by Mario Sperry. At the end of their workout, they huddle in a tight circle and say the Lord’s Prayer and a Hail Mary. I could see their great spirit and love for each other. Before Mario went into the circle, I complimented him for leading his team to do that and he was very humble and receptive to my praise. I asked him if he was familiar with 1st Corinthians 9:24-27 and I recited it to him. His eyes lit up and I could tell that he liked it. I told him that I would like to give him a copy and asked if I could email it to him. He gave me his email and I sent it to him that day. Here is his reply…words of wisdom from a Champion trainer!!
"Thank you very much for your e-mail...
It is funny, how sometimes, I come a long with some things that I always try to pass to my students, without expect those things to happen...What I am trying to say (forgive me about my English... Some times is hard to express myself), I got in a point in my personal and professional life, that when I teach, I learn more than anything... In a way, your words are exactly what I am looking for: to have goal, is the most important thing... With a goal, we can train the desire, with the desire, we have the power to achieve it... And than, we have the act to achieve it: the attitude to do it...
Everyday, I pray to God to give to my fellow students and partners, to give them the wisdom to learn and teach me something...To get near the perfection is nothing more than become teacher and student at the same time... That's what motivates me more those days...
Thank you very much for spending your time with us... I am learning a lot from you...Most people do not understand that, sometimes we get in a point that, to train the body is something that is not enough... We need to train our minds and than, the last stage : our own spirits...Than we can became, as near we can get from our God... We can get near the perfection...
Some times it happens once, twice or even several times ( it really depends how much you train, why you train and how you train)... When you win a important fight without notice. When you do a move without thinking about it, and it works 100%... In my point of view, those blessed moments, are the result of years of training... When your body, spirit and soul are one... I already felt, sometimes, those moments... And I am willing to fell them again... Not just because of the money and the glamour of being a great fighter ( I am not reach, but I have enough to have a good life and I have many important titles, in different martial arts), but just to feel again, even for less than a second, the presence of God..... That's what really motivates me...
I guess, God gave us the Martial Arts skills, to inspire people, to people notice you and follow our example... No matter what we do, if you have a talent, you are going to be notice by the others and by our attitude, we can inspire the others to be better human beings...You can be a great lower, doctor, engineering... Your talent is nothing more than God's hand to make a better world...
God bless us all... And let's pray to HIM, to give us the desire and the will to
keep on in our path of spiritual winnings, because we do not need nothing
more than that...
Regards from you student;
Mario Sperry
Ps: I am send some pictures where I felt some of those moments, I was telling o about.... "
As you can see, God is making the way daily…to share His word with a hungry world of those who have never heard the loving Word of God, with those who have been turned off by religion and walked away from a loving God, and with those Christians who know the Word but (it breaks my heart to see) are not living a fulfilled life.
Take care and live a GREAT life in God’s eyes!!
God’s Love and Peace,
Al Garza
“A man in a hurry will be miserable in Brazil!” These are the words of Peter Fleming, author of one of Brazil’s best travel books. I have to agree that is certainly true here in Rio, since it takes so much time to take in all of the surrounding beauty. Though, I would have to admit that the saying would not hold true to the taxi and bus drivers around here. Man alive, to them, time is money and they are out to get all they can (not to look down on them since I know they are doing what they can to provide for their families just like everyone else). They have got to be some of the best drivers in the world and they rely totally on their brakes (and, therefore, so do I)! It has taken two weeks, but I have learned to relax and smile (on the outside) as I think “brakes don’t fail me now” (on the inside). Peter Fleming also says that people in Rio don’t notice their problems because they are always looking at the beach! So let’s follow the Brazilian way and go to the beach…
My apartment is two blocks from the Copacabana Beach and, believe it or not, it took me 12 days to make that walk. Not only did I take a walk, but I went for a run in one of the best environments I’ve ever run – surrounded by mountains, skyscrapers, and sandy white beaches. I can definitely understand how you could forget the day to day worries when you are surrounded by such breathtaking beauty! Since my first run on Sunday, I have enjoyed a daily run on the beach and today (Tuesday) I accepted an invitation from Professor Hermanny (Bea’s Dad) “to go for a walk by the sea” as he so invitingly put it. By the time I made it back to my apartment (two and a half hours later), I had walked two beaches and a lagoon. What an unforgettable introduction to part of God’s creation!
Let me describe one more attraction I was introduced to in Rio and then I will get to the superb Martial Arts training I have experienced here…
The Christo Redentor (“Christ the Redeemer”) statue on Corcovado Mountain came highly recommended for me to see. The Christ statue (as it is referred to) seems to cradle Rio in its embrace from the top of Corcovado Mountain. The view from the statue is said to be the most spectacular view of the city, especially at sunset. You are surrounded by rainforest on all sides, and in front of you are the “Sugar Loaf” (Rio’s famous monolith) and a multitude of mountains rising from the Atlantic and bordered by endless beaches. I have felt a certain peace while here, as it seems that from any place in the city I can look up to the top of Corcovada Mountain and see “Christ the Redeemer” watching over me. During my Bible study, God gave me this scripture of encouragement and, in a sense, I feel that it is also an assignment:
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
- Isaiah 52:7
Doesn’t that remind you of Philippians 4:8 (“Whatever is good…”)?
As I mentioned in my first update, Bea arranged for me to meet up with her dad, Professor Rudolf Hermanny. He is now 75 years young. He represented Capoeira in the original Vale Tudo (anything goes) in the 50’s and 60’s, then went on to study and advance as one of the top Judo players in Brazil, and now finds the Jiu-Jitsu ground game something that he can enjoy without as much risk of injury. What a living legend…full of life and full of interesting stories!! I trained in a Jiu-Jitsu class with him that was taught by a Gracie Jui-Jitsu Black Belt, Mr. Carodoso. I was one of three students in the class and I got first-rate instruction and care.
The next highlight was my (much anticipated) workout with Jefferson Teixeira last Friday morning. It was a very exhilarating morning, beginning with a private lesson with Jefferson in wrestling. I was totally impressed with his way of teaching me…another great trainer here at Brazilian Top Team! The training and information passed on was very valuable and will make its way into everything that I teach in PMA, self protection, and MMA. I followed that lesson with another private with Claudio and Banana and they are just as exceptional. That combination of training (which I repeated today) is one of the toughest workouts I’ve had. It involved strength and conditioning drills, wrestling, and extra rolling (basically ground sparring) with Claudio and Banana. If I compared my trainers or my workouts, I wouldn’t be giving any of them the respect or value they deserve, so I’ll just say it’s all top notch!
Friday’s “icing on the cake” was watching the Pro BTT train for three hours, led by Mario Sperry. At the end of their workout, they huddle in a tight circle and say the Lord’s Prayer and a Hail Mary. I could see their great spirit and love for each other. Before Mario went into the circle, I complimented him for leading his team to do that and he was very humble and receptive to my praise. I asked him if he was familiar with 1st Corinthians 9:24-27 and I recited it to him. His eyes lit up and I could tell that he liked it. I told him that I would like to give him a copy and asked if I could email it to him. He gave me his email and I sent it to him that day. Here is his reply…words of wisdom from a Champion trainer!!
"Thank you very much for your e-mail...
It is funny, how sometimes, I come a long with some things that I always try to pass to my students, without expect those things to happen...What I am trying to say (forgive me about my English... Some times is hard to express myself), I got in a point in my personal and professional life, that when I teach, I learn more than anything... In a way, your words are exactly what I am looking for: to have goal, is the most important thing... With a goal, we can train the desire, with the desire, we have the power to achieve it... And than, we have the act to achieve it: the attitude to do it...
Everyday, I pray to God to give to my fellow students and partners, to give them the wisdom to learn and teach me something...To get near the perfection is nothing more than become teacher and student at the same time... That's what motivates me more those days...
Thank you very much for spending your time with us... I am learning a lot from you...Most people do not understand that, sometimes we get in a point that, to train the body is something that is not enough... We need to train our minds and than, the last stage : our own spirits...Than we can became, as near we can get from our God... We can get near the perfection...
Some times it happens once, twice or even several times ( it really depends how much you train, why you train and how you train)... When you win a important fight without notice. When you do a move without thinking about it, and it works 100%... In my point of view, those blessed moments, are the result of years of training... When your body, spirit and soul are one... I already felt, sometimes, those moments... And I am willing to fell them again... Not just because of the money and the glamour of being a great fighter ( I am not reach, but I have enough to have a good life and I have many important titles, in different martial arts), but just to feel again, even for less than a second, the presence of God..... That's what really motivates me...
I guess, God gave us the Martial Arts skills, to inspire people, to people notice you and follow our example... No matter what we do, if you have a talent, you are going to be notice by the others and by our attitude, we can inspire the others to be better human beings...You can be a great lower, doctor, engineering... Your talent is nothing more than God's hand to make a better world...
God bless us all... And let's pray to HIM, to give us the desire and the will to
keep on in our path of spiritual winnings, because we do not need nothing
more than that...
Regards from you student;
Mario Sperry
Ps: I am send some pictures where I felt some of those moments, I was telling o about.... "
As you can see, God is making the way daily…to share His word with a hungry world of those who have never heard the loving Word of God, with those who have been turned off by religion and walked away from a loving God, and with those Christians who know the Word but (it breaks my heart to see) are not living a fulfilled life.
Take care and live a GREAT life in God’s eyes!!
God’s Love and Peace,
Al Garza
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