Tom Halpin is a black belt under Fight Sports, since 2017. The Irish grappler made a name for himself with standout performances on Polaris, as well as submitting his way to a spot in the ADCC finals by winning all his matches in the European trials.
We asked Tom about his start in the world of combat sports.
“I discovered MMA while on holidays with some friends in Ireland. 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. Even back then I realised it was something where skill was the most important component and there was a lot I could learn. When I returned home I started watching the UFC and started training BJJ and MMA the following year in 2011.”
Amazing. Such humble beginnings for a humble athlete.
Tom counts his biggest achievements as his near flawless ADCC European Championship performance, and his winning the EBI Combat Jiujitsu World Championships, which included a lightning fast submission against the legend himself Masakazu Imanari.
“At the moment I do 7-10 nogi sessions a week. Consisting of variations of sparring, specific training, drilling, and lab work. As well of lot’s of study and thinking at home. I also do yoga, weights, and other exercises to keep my body athletic and healthy. Rest is also the most important part of the training, so I never neglect proper sleep and some quality time on the PlayStation.”
As with many professional jiujitsu athletes, ADCC glory remains the goal. ADCC has been around so long, and crowned many great champions, it has cemented itself as the pinnacle of no gi grappling competition.
“ADCC Champion is the ultimate goal, as well as owning my own school and sharing any knowledge I’ve gained throughout the years.”
In terms of heroes or people he looks up to, Tom had the following to say.
“I’ve 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, as well as many others. I love listening to interviews with other elite athletes as there’s always something to learn from them, especially in some of the more higher paying and competitive sports. I’m always struck by how they balance their competitive nature with a humble and down to earth attitude.”
Many jiujitsu athletes are very vocal about their favourite moves, techniques and positions. We asked Tom what were his favourite techniques.
“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.”
Indeed! Tape study seems to be used by the best of them.
Tom’s first bit of Scramble kit was the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba t-shirt.
“A friend gave me one of the original Scramble Sakuraba t-shirts that he had and it was the first BJJ related t-shirt I ever got. I wore it religiously and I like to think it improved my game by at least 1%.”
Nowadays, although Tom is on the mats every day head to toe in Scramble lycra, he gets the most mileage from our Scramble bag range.
“The Scramble backpack has been with me around the world to every single training session and competition the past few years and never lets me down. It’s also just big enough to fit everything in, while still being small enough to bring on every plane for free. Great success!”
When Tom is not on the mat ripping people’s leg bones apart, you can find him on Instagram or putting together his actually brilliant podcast, Inside Position.
Inside Position Podcast or search ‘inside position’ on any podcast app. Thanks!
Tom also has a jiujitsu instructional hosted over at our friends Techniqly.
