Tales From The UnderGround: Renzo

From the folks at Almeida BJJ:

It was late this Friday afternoon when Ricardo Almeida picked up the phone and heard the familiar, unique, and upbeat of Renzo Gracie shout:

"Cachorrao, can you be at the Manhattan Academy by 6:00 PM?"

While 2 hours to get from Hamilton to Manhattan would normally be difficult, the thought about battling rush-hour traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike at 4:00 PM on a Friday afternoon wouldn't keep him from being there for his mentor and best friend.

"Mestre, I'll be there as fast as I can, but may I ask why I need to be there by 6?"

Firing back with his usual wit, Renzo Gracie shouted, "No, you may not! Just make your way there, I'll meet you in a little bit, my brother! You'll like the surprise!"

Looking at his always present and loyal student Tom DeBlass (who happened to have spent Friday afternoon at his house planning his training schedule with his teacher), Ricardo grinned: "Mestre Renzo is the only man alive that can get me out of my house on a Friday night, and on such short notice . . . are you coming?" Always eager to see what surprises Renzo might have up his sleeve, Tom laughed and replied, "I'm not missing out on that, I can't wait! This should be good!"

As Ricardo, his wife and Tom drove closer to Manhattan, a familiar sight greeted them: a long line of cars stretching from the Holland Tunnel, extending for miles. Worried that he would leave Renzo waiting for him at the Academy, Ricardo called to let him know he was running late. Instead, Renzo responded with, "don't worry my brother, traffic will be lighter after that bridge – I'm right behind you!" It turns out that Mestre Renzo was actually running late as well. Even with 15 years of life in the United States, Renzo still sets his watch to "brazilian time" – but somehow, he always makes it in the end!

Just as he predicted, traffic lightened up, and as he approached the Holland Tunnel's entrance, Prof. Almeida drove behind a very nice car, and after discussing some of the car's features with Coach Tom, he realized that it must be a real nice car – the driver was Renzo! But as he crossed into the Big Apple, only one thought remained in his mind: "What was Renzo's surprise?"

After finally arriving at the Academy, and greeting long time friends and Renzo Gracie's students, he made his way to his favorite corner on the mats, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to get some great training in under Renzo's watchful eye. As the class ends, Renzo in that same great mood he's always in, steps on the mats and starts to speak. The packed house knows that something special is about to happen, and begin to gather on the mats.

Renzo gets everyone's attention: "Guys, I'd like to call over one of the greatest Black Belts I have ever had the pleasure of teaching and promoting. Cachorrao, get over here!" Renzo continues: " We have been through so much together; I have cornered every one of his fights and he amazed me each time, over and over. It was amazing to watch how his skills were constantly improving, and what a strong mind he has. His fights where always a huge test, and he made me so proud each time."

After telling some heart-warming stories of when Prof. Almeida first lived with Mestre Renzo and his family upon first arriving in the U.S. in 1997, Renzo continues: "A long time ago we were in Japan for a huge event (Pride FC) and one of the fighters got hurt. They needed a last minute replacement and Ricardo said he would like to give it a try. I asked him 'are you sure you want to do this?' Ricardo told me, 'if you tell me I'm ready, I'm all over it.'"

His voice swelling with pride, Renzo continued: "I knew he could do it, so he had my blessing. Guys, it was Ricardo's 1st professional fight and the opponent was a very tough Japanese fighter, who I had fought around that time and it went to a draw. His name is Akira Shoji." The students listen on intently -- after all, who wouldn't want to gather around Renzo Gracie and hear one of his tales? And as Renzo announced, "Ricardo went out there on a couple of days notice and beat the hell out of that guy!" applause and cheers washed over the Academy.

"Another great memory I have also happened in Japan in the Pancrase event. Ricardo fought a real tough guy for the championship, a guy named Nathan Marquardt. Ricardo submitted him with our signature submission, the guillotine with the arm in. I clearly remember looking at him from his corner and screaming 'Cachorrao, go for it! Just go!'. He looked at me with that look 'do you really think I should' and I screamed even louder 'just do it, go!' He went for it and the rest is history."

Lost in the good memories, Renzo finally gets to his surprise: "Well guys, I'm sure most of you have seen the Pancrase Belt, but the fighters don't get to keep the belt! It's worth a LOT of money because it's made of pure platinum and there's a huge diamond right in the center. In fact, so many security guards were around us while Ricardo had the championship belt, I was almost suffocating! After the fight, we were walking around taking pictures with fans and having a blast, but in my mind, I was already looking for an exit sign or something so we could take off with that belt!"

Needless to say, laughs took over the large room.

As he paced the hallowed blue mats, Renzo wondered aloud, "Guys, how can they give you something you've worked so hard to get and take it away from you that same night? I knew Ricardo wasn't thrilled about that, even though he didn't mention anything. So after much dedication to this project, I was able to get my student a surprise."

With that, Renzo walked into the office at the rear of the mats, and returned with a large white box, announcing, "I am now proudly giving my student Ricardo Almeida in the name of all of us a perfect replica of his King of Pancrase Belt. Although the huge diamond is not real, this is the closest it gets to the real thing."

In fact, the belt was better than the real thing – to receive the belt directly from Mestre Renzo was a perfect way to receive the belt, and the look on Ricardo's face was priceless as his teacher put that belt around his waist. The attendees happily started applauding, cheering, hitting the mats with their hands, and an overwhelming noise washed over all in the room.

Always with some words of wisdom and encouragement, Renzo glanced at Ricardo as he was leaving the Academy, grabs his head and proudly tells him: "That's my boy... don't you think I didn't notice half of your mouthpiece hanging out of your pocket when you walked in. You always come prepared for any situation."
In fact, this was a lesson Ricardo Almeida had learned from Renzo – who knew how to fulfill an unspoken wish of one of his many students, even five years later! Thank you, Mestre Renzo. There's no way to repay all of your contributions to the sport and to people's lives. You are a true legend, a flawless mentor and a true gentleman.