Tom Halpin
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Limerick, Ireland
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About Us
Thomas Halpin was born on November 9, 1993 in Limerick, a city located in the Munster province – Republic of Ireland.
Growing up Halpin was an avid sports player, going through a range of activities which included hurling and Gaelic football (Irish national sports), as well as soccer (football), rugby, and basketball – his passion as a teenager, and a sport in which he was the school team captain for a few years.
During his mid-teens Thomas started losing his interest in basketball, mainly because he wasn’t progressing in the sport as much as he aspired to, seeing no future in his career as a player. This coincided with a newly found interest in mixed martial arts (MMA) at the time, which led Halpin to look for an MMA club. Unfortunately, Tom’s mother was not in agreement with any such activities and ended up convincing Halpin to pick jiu jitsu instead, a sport where head injuries would be less of a threat.
Starting his tuition in 2011 under the watchful eye of Fergal Quinlan – a Rodrigo Medeiros black belt, Thomas quickly got hooked on to jiu-jitsu and by the time he was a blue belt, he decided to travel to Rio de Janeiro with the intent of expanding his ground skills. Halpin was then convinced by one of his best friends and training partner – John Eustace to visit Miami instead, and train at Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu‘s Fight Sports Academy. One of the top teams in the sport.
The Miami experience opened Tom’s eyes to a different reality. Cyborg’s fascinating approach to jiu-jitsu convinced Halpin to pursue a career in this sport. Shortly after earning his purple belt from coach Fergal, Thomas decided to dedicate his full attention to the sport. To circumvent the fact that the gym was run on a part-time basis, Quinlan handed the keys of the academy to Tom, so the youngster could come in and drill/spar any time he wanted.
Together with his main training partners John Eustace and Gearoid Moore, outside of regular class times, these three grapplers experimented with various training methods and positions. Halpin was studying sports and exercise science at the University and, despite not finishing the course, the scientific approach to diverse subjects taught during his stay was of great benefit in analyzing the various training methods readily sourced online and through books.
From 2014 onwards Thomas Halpin started spending his Summers in Miami, learning, and training as much as he could from Roberto Abreu, a stance totally supported by his Irish coaches. Tom would earn his brown (2013) and black belt (July 2017) from the hands of Cyborg.
