Thailand Update #1

Hello AGPMA Friends and Family,

“Why be good when you can be GREAT?” Well…if you ask yourself this question enough times, God will eventually lead you do to things that will move you from good to great in His eyes. The “Great Grandmaster Adventure” was born from this search and desire to become great in God’s eyes.

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins states that each one of us is a potential “pocket of greatness,” wherever we are and whatever we are doing. I believe that “pockets of greatness” can be found all over the world where people pursue the things that they are passionate about. In my travels, I desire to discover “pockets of greatness” and to be a “pocket of greatness” wherever I am. I want to experience first hand training from Masters of the native Martial Arts in each country that I visit. While I train, I will be seeking opportunities to share my Martial Arts experience and, more importantly, to spread the abundant love and peace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I officially kicked off my much anticipated adventure on January 18 by traveling to Madison, Wisconsin to train in several inches of snow and -1° temperatures (not exactly what this Texas boy is used to)! That’s right…my first country to travel in was the great USA!! We must not overlook how many great Martial Artists train and teach right here in our own country. I was fortunate to spend some time training with my good friends, Master Randy Reid and Grandmaster Ron Van Browning, who have teamed up to open a Premier Martial Arts “Advanced Training Facility” which will service the other Premier facilities in Master Reid’s organization. The team plans to eventually cover the state with Premier Martial Arts schools.
Bringing together the experience of these two men definitely has the potential to create a “pocket of greatness.” Everything these men do is world class! I spent one week learning from Randy and Ron, and teaching Premier Martial Arts to their staff and students. I will be keeping tabs on the team and their progress and returning for more training and sharing in the near future.

Back home for 5 days and I was off again…this time headed to Thailand (a little more out of my comfort zone). On January 30, I jumped on a plane in Houston and 28 hours later (midnight on January 31) I landed in Bangkok. God blessed me with safe travels, great timing on connecting flights, and reliable ground transportation. Twenty minutes outside of Bangkok, I arrived at the world renowned Fairtex Muay Thai Training Camp which would be my home for the next three weeks. I spent the next day recovering from the jet lag and resting up so that I would be ready for training at 6:00am on Friday.

The training is going good. Well…the communication is a challenge, but luckily Muay Thai is very non-verbal. I train twice a day and read my Bible, write, and sleep (very little) between workouts. The training is all private and my trainer’s name is “Big Guy.” He’s smaller than me, so I guess that makes me “Giant Guy.” He only speaks Thai and I only speak English (and Tex-Mex). It’s challenging sometimes, but we’re getting along good and getting better at understanding each other. I am teaching him the Fruits of the Spirit and we have made it to “Goodness.” I think that he is Buddhist, but he will know something about Jesus’ love when I leave.

The Muay Thai kicks are quite different – no folds, kick with the shin instead of the instep, and stand on the ball of the foot when kicking. After 35 years of folding my kicks and keeping my heel down, it’s a little challenging, but I am doing better each day. I got a chance to spar with “Big Guy” yesterday. It was very controlled and I got lots of coaching throughout the fight. Praise the Lord…no one got hurt (namely me)! It has been a very positive experience even with the aces and pains, swollen feet, and sore muscles.

The food here is tasty. We eat in a small room with three tables. They put some plates and bowls of food on each table and there are about 15–20 hungry guys going after it (its kind of like eating at home with my kids). I’m learning to eat faster though…If you’ve ever eaten with me you know that will add some time to my day because I usually eat VERY slowly!!

We went to some Muay Thai fights last night and WOW…these are some of the toughest guys on the planet! The knees and elbows are killer!! Two of the guys who have been training here for a while are fighting on Thursday night and we will be going to cheer them on. I’m meeting people from all over the world and most are friendly. Most of the guys staying here are scheduled to be here for two months, six months, or even a year (and I thought three weeks was a long time).

I am buying a few sets of training equipment (shin pads, waist guard, and Thai pads) and shipping them back home. I am learning lots of details in the techniques and some good drills to use in training. I look forward to getting back and training the staff and students in what I have learned.

I will be lifting you up in my prayers. Thank you for your prayers and support.

God’s Love & Peace,

Al Garza
http://www.algarza.com/