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.