I'm out of town again, but this time its worth it. I am a big fan of the Gracie family, their lineage and pioneering in the marital arts.
I know the headquaters for the Gracie Jiu jitsu Academy is here, so last night I thought I would find it and check it out (they have a museum to visit) and buy myself a T-shirt.
So, I walk in, at the front desk is Rener Gracie (like no way!..that is the actual teenage phrase that went through my head )... I try and act all cool and ask if I could get a size in this shirt, blah, blah . I can hear classes going on in the back hall, so I boldly ask if it would be OK to watch?
He(Rener) asks me what my background is with the marital arts, so I let him know about Silent River Kung fu and my interest and novice experience with grappling(emphasis on novice).
He said, and I quote"..this is the best night of ever any nights of all time to walk in my friend, I will do you one better, you can gear up and participate with the next class and the following specialty class."
Next thing you know, I have been given a Gi to borrow and I am lining up with the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Combatives class...(most excellent!).
Ryron Gracie spends 10 minutes with me to assess my grappling then pairs me up with a blue belt.(Sweet!)
The next class is the Women Empowered class, basically a self defense class only everything is on the ground, that too was super awesome!
The thing that really blew me away is after the class, They brought me up front and introduced me as "an extended student family member from Canada" to all the regular students, I received hand shakes after class and some friendly chat.
All this was free of charge, and this is the Los Angeles area, not what I expected, still a little shocked.
They deal with hundreds of students a week, I was impressed how they took the time at no cost, and I am not sure if they knew how much it meant to me but it was something else to be treated so kindly.
Anyways, that is my bragging story , I am like a kid grinning Christmas morning. 24 hours later!
JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada
How cool is that!! Did you get your T-shirt?
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool Sifu!!! Totally jealous!!
ReplyDeleteI'm grinning just thinking about you there! What an amazing experience.
ReplyDeleteGREAT story! In my limited experience, the BEST martial arts masters are always the friendliest :) Thank You for sharing!
ReplyDeleteA great example of living the life of a true martial artist. It is in our thoughts everywhere, every day, no matter what we are doing, and look at what it gave you back... an awesome experience.
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