Thomas James Halpin
Irish black belt graded under Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu. ADCC European and combat jiu-jitsu titles in his record; head coach at his own gym in Limerick.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Limerick Post, "Halpin hopeful for World Championship win after stateside victory", Staff Reporter, 4. desember 2022.(opens in a new tab)
The paper places him in the Thomondgate district of Limerick and writes that he is aiming to be the first man from Ireland to take the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championships, due to be held in Anaheim, California, between 7 and 11 December 2022.
Where in the source: Thomondgate native Tom Halpin hopes to become the first ever Irish man to win the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Championships next month. The event will take place in Anaheim, California, between December 7 and 11
Accessed:
Asked about his goal ahead of the championship, he answers that nothing has changed: he wants to be number one, to keep improving every part of his game, and to enjoy the process.
Where in the source: The goal is the same as always, to be number one, to continue to improve all aspects of my game and enjoy the process
Accessed:
The paper writes that he took the black belt while ranking regularly inside the top ten of his 70 kg weight class.
Where in the source: gaining his black belt while ranking frequently in the top 10 in his 70kg weight class
Accessed:
He says himself that he came through the grades quickly and got the black belt after roughly six years, and that this lay five years back when he spoke to the paper in December 2022.
Where in the source: I progressed through the ranks quite quickly, receiving my black belt in around six years. That was five years ago
Accessed:
The paper writes that he takes pride in having been the first from Ireland to qualify for and then compete at the ADCC World Championships.
Where in the source: also proud to have become the first Irish man to qualify and compete at the ADCC World Championships.
Accessed:
He says titles are hard to keep track of because the sport resembles tennis, where competitions are worth what their prestige makes them, and that he is grateful to have won some world-renowned competitions.
Where in the source: It can be difficult to keep track of titles because the sport is similar to tennis in that the competitions have their value based on prestige, so I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to win some world-renowned competitions.
Accessed:
Asked to pick out his greatest achievements, he named the European champion title and the win at the Combat Jiu Jitsu World Championships.
Where in the source: Halpin recalled being titled European Champion and winning the Combat Jiu Jitsu World Championships.
Accessed:
He credits his schooling at Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh with a part in his development, pointing to the school's attitude to learning and competition and its expectations of its pupils.
Where in the source: He also credits being a pupil at Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh for his success. Halpin has happy memories of his time at the school and says that the “positive attitude to learning and competition, as well as high expectations for all the students
Accessed:
He describes Brazilian jiu-jitsu himself as fighting without striking, or simply grappling.
Where in the source: I usually describe it as fighting without striking, or just grappling
Accessed:
He says he no longer has to explain the sport in as much detail since MMA became popular, and that he probably has Conor McGregor to thank for it.
Where in the source: The past few years with Mixed Martial Arts becoming much more popular, I don’t have to describe it in as much detail. I probably have Conor McGregor to thank for that.
Accessed:
The paper writes that he submitted Brett Johns, formerly of the UFC, in 2018.
Where in the source: He even submitted former UFC fighter Brett Johns in 2018.
Accessed:
In December 2022 much of his time went to training and coaching, split between Ireland and Spain.
Where in the source: These days Tom spends much of his time training and coaching between Ireland and Spain.
Accessed:
The paper's own photo caption states that he won gold at the 2019 ADCC European Championships.
Where in the source: Tom Halpin taking home the gold to Limerick at the ADCC European Championships in 2019.
Accessed:
He points to his upbringing, and to the influence of his parents in particular, as a pivotal part of what he has achieved.
Where in the source: Tom credits his upbringing as a pivotal part of his success to date, particularly his parents influence.
Accessed:
On the Limerick scene he says the people he knows there compete and train with real passion, and that the city ought to rival any other in Europe once the sport grows further.
Where in the source: The people I do know from Limerick that train and compete do so with a lot of passion, so once the sport continues to grow here, it should rival any other European city in the near future.
Accessed:
Grappling Insider, "Tom Halpin on ADCC and the Future of Irish Grappling", Gerard Adlum, 11. september 2019.(opens in a new tab)
In September 2019 he had a 2-1 record for Polaris.
Where in the source: He currently has a 2-1 record for Polaris
Accessed:
The journalist writes that he won four of his five matches at the ADCC European trials by submission: rear-naked chokes twice and kneebars twice.
Where in the source: winning 4 out of his 5 fights at the ADCC European trials earlier this by submission (RNC x2 and kneebar x2)
Accessed:
The journalist describes him as largely self-directed, topping up his Irish training with spells in Miami, Florida, at Cyborg's Fight Sports Academy.
Where in the source: Instead he has largely been self-lead, supplementing his training in Ireland with stints here and there at Cyborg’s Fight Sports Academy in Miami, Florida.
Accessed:
Ahead of ADCC 2019 he was training in Miami and called the conditions there ideal, with several competitors in the room and dozens of high-level black belts training every day.
Where in the source: very happy with preparations for ADCC. It’s the ideal training situation here to be honest. There’s multiple competitors training here, with dozens of high level black belts on the mats each day.
Accessed:
On the ADCC qualifier in Poland early in 2019 he says he weighed in at 9am and had five tough matches, finishing the last of them around eight hours after the first.
Where in the source: I weighed in at 9am and had 5 tough matches, the last of which I finished around 8 hours after the first.
Accessed:
He says he has known Cyborg since his blue-belt days at nineteen, after a training partner back home — one of Cyborg's students — told him to go and train in Miami, and that he kept going back each summer.
Where in the source: known Cyborg since I was a 19 year old blue belt. A great friend and training partner of mine back home was one of Cyborg students, and recommended me to travel and train in Miami. I went and loved the training and lifestyle there, so I kept going back each summer.
Accessed:
When FloGrappling published its rankings in September 2019 he entered straight in at twelfth at 66 kg.
Where in the source: Flograppling just released their latest rankings. You came from nowhere to go in at 12 at 66kg.
Accessed:
He explains that he always did sport as a child and teenager, but that he ended up a good deal smaller than several of his friends, which made stepping up a level difficult.
Where in the source: I was always into sports as a child/teenager but as I was getting older I was a lot smaller than some of my friends and it was difficult to make a jump to a higher level.
Accessed:
He says he found he had some talent for the ground game when he started MMA, that it was also his favourite area, and that he therefore gave up MMA to become a good grappler.
Where in the source: When I started MMA I found that I had some talent for the ground game and it was also my favourite area, so I gave up MMA to try and become a good grappler
Accessed:
He describes his own style as strong fundamentals and defence combined with a markedly attacking game.
Where in the source: I have strong fundamentals and defence but use a very attacking style.
Accessed:
The journalist's own author biography names Halpin as his instructor at Jungle BJJ in Dublin.
Where in the source: He trains at Jungle BJJ, Dublin, under Tom Halpin.
Accessed:
He describes the qualifying day in Poland as long and emotional, and says he is a big film fan and that the whole day felt like an epic film, particularly with the finish in the final.
Where in the source: It was definitely a long, emotional day. I weighed in at 9am and had 5 tough matches, the last of which I finished around 8 hours after the first. I’m a huge film fan and the whole day had that epic film feel to it, especially with the exciting finish in the final. I think that contributed to burst of emotion, along with the relief of winning.
Accessed:
Scramble, "Get to Know – Tom Halpin – Scrambler", udatert side. Utgiveren er en utstyrsprodusent som sponser Halpin, altsaa en kilde med kommersiell interesse i ham.(opens in a new tab)
Scramble dates his Fight Sports black belt to 2017.
Where in the source: Tom Halpin is a black belt under Fight Sports, since 2017.
Accessed:
He says himself that he discovered MMA through the original UFC video game while on holiday with friends: he kept losing as long as he struck, stayed at home when the others went to the beach, learned the ground-fighting part of the game, and never lost again afterwards.
Where in the source: We were playing the original UFC video game and I kept losing while striking, which upset me quite a bit. When they all went to the beach, I stayed home and learned how to play the ground fighting parts of the game and never lost again after that.
Accessed:
He says he took up watching the UFC once he was back home, and picked up bjj and MMA a year later, in 2011.
Where in the source: When I returned home I started watching the UFC and started training BJJ and MMA the following year in 2011.
Accessed:
Among his achievements is counted the win at the EBI Combat Jiujitsu World Championships, where he submitted Masakazu Imanari very quickly.
Where in the source: his winning the EBI Combat Jiujitsu World Championships, which included a lightning fast submission against the legend himself Masakazu Imanari.
Accessed:
He gives a training load of 7-10 no-gi sessions a week, made up of drilling, sparring, specific training and lab work.
Where in the source: At the moment I do 7-10 nogi sessions a week. Consisting of variations of sparring, specific training, drilling, and lab work.
Accessed:
He gives two goals: to become ADCC champion and to own his own school.
Where in the source: ADCC Champion is the ultimate goal, as well as owning my own school
Accessed:
He has never had heroes in the sport, he says, because he saw those figures as friends, as training partners, or as opponents he would face later; his models come instead from other sports — Roger Federer and Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Where in the source: never had any heroes in the sport, as I always thought of them as friends, training partners, or future opponents. However some of my biggest sporting inspirations from other sports would be Roger Federer and Ronnie O’ Sullivan
Accessed:
Asked about favourite techniques, he answers that the best technique he has learned is the keyboard shortcuts that skip a YouTube video ten seconds forward and back, because he studies match footage every day to catch the detail.
Where in the source: The best technique I’ve ever learned is that pressing the ‘J’ key on YouTube rewinds the video 10 seconds, ‘K’ pauses the video (or hold for slow motion), and that ‘L’ fasts forward 10 seconds. I use this every day studying matches and footage, to catch every little detail. It’s helped me improve my game more than anything.
Accessed:
He makes the podcast Inside Position.
Where in the source: putting together his actually brilliant podcast, Inside Position
Accessed:
The Chewjitsu Podcast, "Episode 127 - BJJ Black Belt Tom Halpin", 2. november 2020 (datoen lest fra sidas egen markup, datetime="2020-11-02"). LEST: episodesidas programnotat. IKKE HOERT: lydsporet.(opens in a new tab)
The episode note describes him as a black belt under Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu.
Where in the source: Tom Halpin is an Irish born BJJ black belt under Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu.
Accessed:
The episode note states that he is Irish-born.
Where in the source: Tom Halpin is an Irish born
Accessed:
The episode note says the conversation covers the journey from Ireland to Miami, and how training there shaped his development and led to the black belt.
Where in the source: Tom discusses his travels from Ireland to Miami and how the training in Miami impacted his development and lead to earning his Black Belt.
Accessed:
The episode note lists two titles for him: champion at the 2019 ADCC Euro Trials, and Combat Jiu-Jitsu champion.
Where in the source: Tom is the 2019 ADCC Euro Trials champion and Combat Jiu-Jitsu Champion.
Accessed:
The episode note announces a Polaris title fight on 7 November, on UFC Fight Pass.
Where in the source: upcoming Polaris Title Fight on UFC Fight Pass on November 7th.
Accessed:
Treaty Grappling, trenerprofil "Tom Halpin", udatert side. Akademiets egen presentasjon av sin hovedtrener.(opens in a new tab)
The academy's own profile gives him as head coach, black belt second degree.
Where in the source: Black Belt - 2nd degree Head Coach
Accessed:
The Treaty Grappling academy sits at the Ashdown Centre, South Circular Road, Limerick.
Where in the source: Rear Building C, Ashdown Centre, South Circular Road Limerick , Ireland V94 X932
Accessed:
Mind Body and Roll, "Tom Halpin ‘ADCC European & Combat Jiu-Jitsu World Champion’", 28. oktober 2020. Lest i Internet Archives kopi (snapshot 5.12.2020); originaldomenet mindbodyandroll.com svarer ikke lenger i DNS (ENOTFOUND, kontrollert 20.9.2026), saa arkiv-URL-en er den stabile locatoren.(opens in a new tab)
He introduces himself as Tom Halpin from Limerick, Ireland, and says he has been training jiu-jitsu since 2011.
Where in the source: Tom Halpin from Limerick, Ireland. I’ve been training Jiu Jitsu since 2011.
Accessed:
He says his home city had just one small club, which left him always keen to travel and train in other gyms, and that he went out to Miami the summer after his first college year.
Where in the source: There was only one small club in my city in Ireland, so I was always eager to travel and train in other gyms. I went to Miami for the summer after my first year of college
Accessed:
He says the time in Miami changed the way he looked at jiu-jitsu, because he trained alongside some of the greatest competitors the sport has seen and realised that he was no different to them.
Where in the source: it completely changed how I looked at jiu jitsu at that time. I trained with some of the best competitors of all time over there and realised I was no different to them.
Accessed:
The caption under a photograph states that he received his black belt from Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu.
Where in the source: Tom receiving his blackbelt from Roberto Cyborg
Accessed:
In October 2020 he called himself a freelance athlete: training at a couple of different gyms, with a small and consistent group of high-level people around him, and saying he found it a real benefit to run most of his own training.
Where in the source: I train at a couple different gyms at the moment and also have a small consistent training group of high level people. I find it very beneficial to be mostly in charge of my own training
Accessed:
He gives Cyborg, Darragh O Conaill and John Eustace as the coaches who have inspired him most.
Where in the source: my biggest inspirations have been Cyborg, Darragh O Conaill and John Eustace.
Accessed:
He says he spent about two months in Brazil and competed at the Rio Open in the Tijuca Tenis Clube as a brown belt.
Where in the source: have only spent about 2 months in Brazil, it’s definitely somewhere I’d like to visit again soon. It’s the birthplace of jiu jitsu as we know it, so I’d recommend anyone who can to take a long trip out there. I competed at the Rio Open in the famous Tijuca Tenis Clube as a brown belt while I was there.
Accessed:
He says he got onto the podium that day.
Where in the source: I managed to get a podium as well that day
Accessed:
He says that only about two hours before his match in Rio did he learn that 2 kg of dry food had to be donated at check-in, forcing a frantic supermarket run for rice and beans before he could compete.
Where in the source: I also realised about 2 hours before my match that I had to donate 2kg of dry food before checking in, so I had to frantically run to a supermarket to buy some rice and beans before competing.
Accessed:
He says he started competing only a couple of months after he began training, because he saw it as a way to improve and to give his training direction.
Where in the source: I started competing just a couple months after starting training. I saw it as a good way to improve and get some direction for your training.
Accessed:
Asked to pick out his greatest achievements in 2020, he named the ADCC European title and the Combat Jiu Jitsu world title.
Where in the source: ADCC European Champion and Combat Jiu Jitsu World Champion definitely stand out
Accessed:
He gives the rear-naked choke as his favourite submission.
Where in the source: Rear naked choke. When all else fails
Accessed:
In the introduction the publisher writes that he had recently produced what was probably the only submission of the evening on Polaris Squads, and that readers might know him from ADCC Worlds, following his win at the European Trials.
Where in the source: You may have seen him recently on Polaris Squads with perhaps the only sub of the evening, and you may also remember him from the ADCC World Championships after winning the European Trials.
Accessed:
He says it was good to get a positive result after six months without competing.
Where in the source: it was great to have a positive result after 6 months away from competition.
Accessed:
The article announces that he was to meet Ash Williams at Polaris on 7 November, Ireland against Wales, for the featherweight title.
Where in the source: 7th November on UFC TV for the next Polaris event where we see Ireland battle Wales in Tom vs Ash Williams for the Featherweight title
Accessed:
He lists yoga, bodyweight exercises and weightlifting alongside the jiu-jitsu sessions, to keep injuries away.
Where in the source: I do a lot of yoga, bodyweight exercises, and also lift weights along with my jiu jitsu sessions.
Accessed:
The films that mean most to him are Minority Report, It's A Wonderful Life, On The Waterfront and Groundhog Day; he says he has seen them dozens of times and gets something new from them each time.
Where in the source: Minority Report, It’s A Wonderful Life, On The Waterfront, Groundhog Day. Those are the most special films for me. I’ve seen them all dozens of times and I get something new from them each time.
Accessed: