Mestre RicardoMestre Ricardo, a.k.a. Cachorro is a graduate of Mestre Adilson's Grupo Bantus de Capoeira at Morro do Pavão e Pavãozinho -- poverty-stricken slums in the midst of the rich suburbs of Rio de Janeiro -- was the first Mestre of the YMCA Capoeira Group n Governor's Island, achieving this honour in 1975. The following year, he became a certified Mestre from the first federation of capoeira of Rio de Janeiro, the FCP, and in the same year he introduced capoeira in a live TV show filmed in North Carolina, sponsored by the local YMCA. In the 1970's Mestre Ricardo was a member of the Olympic gymnastics team of Rio de Janeiro's Fluminense Football Club, where he specialised in floor exercises. During his professional career as a capoeira practitioner, Ricardo learned and practiced boxing, Shotokan karate and judo as a means to better understand the body mechanics of motion involved in different martial arts. The author holds a diploma in Computer Programming from the Burroughs Corporation and has written eight books on computer-related subjects. He also holds a degree in Law and is a post-graduate in English Language at PUC-RJ (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro), specialising in Logical & Contextual Prepositions as a branch of cognitive linguistics. Read More Read Less