Hugo Leonardo with black belt Renato Cardoso at a tournament in Recife, Brazil / Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com

GRACIEMAG.com has already introduced its readers to the hard-nosed purple belt Hugo Leonardo, a competitor on CheckMat team who never gave up on training, even after losing the use of his legs because of a spinal injury resulting from an accident while doing pull-ups.

At the Pernambuco Open, a tournament held last weekend in the Brazilian city of Recife, the brave Hugo donned his gi once again. He waited for his name to be called, steered his wheelchair over to the contest area and dove right in, with a smile on his face and the passion for Jiu-Jitsu that unites us all within.

“I lost, got tapped out today. But I’ll never give up. My friend taped the match and I’m going to go to the academy to correct where I messed up. I’ll be out there again at the next championship. And if I come up short? I’ll try again at the next one. One day I’ll make it,” he said.

Hugo Leonardo, one of the standouts last weekend in Recife, Pernambuco State, at Copa Black Bull / Photo by Junior Samurai/GRACIEMAG.com

How has Jiu-Jitsu changed your life? At Copa Black Bull, a tournament held last weekend in the Northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, one purple belt showed how the gentle art has changed his.

Hugo Leonard, an athlete on team CheckMat, proved that you don’t need a black belt to get the crowd going. His legs rendered paralyzed by an accident while he was doing exercises on a pull-up bar—the bar broke and his spine took the brunt of the fall—, Hugo parked his wheelchair matside and dove into competition.

“I’ve been doing Jiu-Jitsu since I was ten years old, but after the accident I got lost, didn’t know what to do. Jiu-Jitsu brought me back to life again,” he said.

Watch the video, quit whining about your problems, and enjoy your training.