Stephen Hall celebrates gold at the 2014 Pan

GMA member Stephen Hall is turning 43 this Wednesday, March 19.

The leader of Pesadelo BJJ, in Dallas, Texas, has not had an easy life.

For sometime now he has been battling a brain tumor, meanwhile, his academy and the adjoining shooting range he owned burned down last year.

The cancer seems to be under control and he has reconstructed his school with the help of many friends.

On top of all that, last weekend, Hall competed and won the Master 3 black belt ultraheavy division with a nice triangle on Alessandro Almeida.

Today, he posted the following message on his Facebook page: “God gave me this life! 43 years of it today! He kept me through pain, suffering, obstacles, and even held me up over death until now! He gave me a mother who sacrificed herself to see me achieve and progress! He gave me family and friends who love and cherish me! Though I have been so unworthy and unfaithful to Him, He has always been faithful to me without fail! Thank you God for another breath to take. May You make me an example and a blessing to others. May You reward my mother for putting up with and sacrificing herself for me with exceeding bounty because she deserves it. May you bless my friends and family with their every need and desire. That would be my birthday wish as my birthday is already the best ever!”

On a interview published on GRACIEMAG #202, Hall spoke of how Jiu-Jitsu helps him endure life’s hardships: “It kept me sane. Gave me something to point towards and hold on to. The love of Jiu-Jitsu buoyed my spirit when it was low. Also, due to me taking care of my body in order to perform better in Jiu-Jitsu, it made it a lot easier to bear the brunt of the physical trauma from treatment and the disease itself.”

GMA Pesadalo BJJ is back in business! Photo: Personal archive

Stephen “Pesadelo” Hall has struggled with many obstacles over the years but with the help of Jiu-Jitsu, he has maintained his perseverance and positivity to get through it all. Nearly a year ago his academy, Pesadelo BJJ in Dallas, TX, suffered damage from a fire. The amount of loss was devastating for the academy, the students and Stephen since their haven on the mats was destroyed.

But as with any low point in his life, Stephen worked to rebuild. Together with the support of the Jiu-Jitsu community, the academy made its way to recovery. Today marks the first day of classes in the gym since being rehabilitated.

Stephen released this statement on Facebook:

“It’s been a LONG and hard road, but tonight, FINALLY, Pesadelo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is home! Without all of you, who are really too many to name, we would not be able to be here. My students thank you, and I thank you personally for believing in us and caring for us enough to help us get back by praying over us, donating money, donating time, allowing us into your gyms to train, and encouraging us along the way! The first class will be the Ladies-Only Self Defense class at 6:30p and then we will have GI Jiu-Jitsu at 7:30p. If you are reading this, and would like to roll, you are most certainly welcome to come. We will be having a Grand Opening/Open House soon, and you will all be invited! We still have some work to do to get things perfect, and still need work on the place but we are able to train at home…God is always Faithful! May God bless and keep you all. Thank you is not enough!”

Take a look at the initial damage:

The fire in February 2013 ripped through Pesadelo BJJ. Photo: Personal archive

Pesadelo BJJ is located at 1607 W. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, Texas 75235.

Follow the road to recovery by visiting www.pbjj.net

Após vencer o meio-pesado sênior, Ricardo Cachorrão homenageou seu irmão Flávio Almeida, que está com o joelho operado. Foto: Ivan Trindade

Encerrado neste domingo 3 de novembro, o Mundial de Jiu-Jitsu Sem Kimono de 2013 também foi dos professores e veteranos nas categorias master.

Em Long Beach, o faixa-preta Ricardo “Cachorrão” Almeida foi um dos grandes destaques. O ex-atleta do UFC e treinador de Frankie Edgar venceu com estilo a divisão sênior 1, meio-pesado.

No master, o campeão absoluto foi Tiago Pereira (Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu), com Sean Spangler (Zenith BJJ) em segundo lugar.

Rodrigo Comprido, bicampeão mundial absoluto em 1999/2000, deixou também o paletó em casa e venceu com propriedade o peso pesadíssimo, com Rodrigo Artilheiro em segundo lugar.

Outra fera do MMA a vencer na Pirâmide de Long Beach foi Roan Jucão, da ATT. O ex-lutador do UFC foi o dono do ouro no peso pesado master.

Professor e ex-IFL, o paulista Fabio Leopoldo também voltou a subir no topo do pódio, ao vencer o peso pesado sênior 1.

Fera da Alliance que vem se tratando de um câncer na cabeça, Stephen Hall venceu mais uma vez, e voltou para Austin, Texas, com um ouro no peso pesadíssimo e uma prata no absoluto, no sênior 2. Ele parou apenas em Jackson McVicker, campeão no peso leve e no aberto.

Outro destaque no sênior 2 foi o colecionador de braços Givanildo Santana, que faturou o peso pesado.

Professor de Jeff Glover e Bill Cooper na Paragon JJ, Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller brilhou e venceu o peso superpesado sênior 2.

No sênior 3, Admilson Brites dominou mais uma vez, com o ouro no peso leve e outro no absoluto. No aberto, o professor da Gracie Humaitá venceu o peso pesadíssimo John Kennedy (Samuel Puccio BJJ).

Para ver os resultados oficiais do campeonato, visite Ibjjf.org.

Stephen ‘Pesadelo’ Hall withi his gold medal and tribute patch to Aubri. Photo: Erin Herle

The stories you’d hear if you sat down for even an hour with Stephen “Pesadelo” Hall are endless. They aren’t war stories or long jokes, or gossip but very personal triumphs that the Jiu-Jitsu black belt has had to endure. The 42-year-old is able to pass on lessons from personal experiences that only make him a perfect role model for those he encounters along the way of his Jiu-Jitsu journey.

On Saturday, Sept. 7 at the American Nationals, the GMA member from Dallas, TX won his division and immediately kissed the patch of a little girl’s face directly under his right shoulder after his hand was raised. The picture was that of a four-year-old girl named Aubri Guinyard-Coverson who became a role model for him in a very unlikely way. The four-year-old passed away from cancer in June but it was her courage that remains with Stephen as he faces his own cancer treatments.

Stephen wins his match. Photo: Erin Herle

In February, Pesadelo BJJ was torn apart by a fire and he has since worked on recovering his academy. Prior and even as of late, he enders surgeries to keep his body well and able to continue training and competing all over the world. From his hand to his head, back to his neck and knees, the multiple incision marks each tell of triumphs that he overcame with his faith and the importance of courage as little Aubri showed him.

Here is the story as told by Stephen of a brave little girl to which he dedicated his most recent win:

“Her name was Aubri Guinyard-Coverson. She was the daughter of one of my students named Catherine. Catherine came in to try a class and said she would be back, but I didn’t hear from her for a long while. When she came in next she brought Aubri with her. Aubri was really interested in training but her illness prevented her from being able to fully. That said, when she would come in, she would play as if she had no end to her energy and really showed everyone in the gym what real strength was. If not for her cute little bald head and her tube in her nose you would never know she was suffering from the battle as she was.

Stephen kissing Aubri’s patch. Photo: Erin Herle

When I had a relapse and needed to take treatments, she told me everything would be ok, and told me, “All you have to do, is think about the next time we will play, and it will be over quick, and then we can play again because everything will be ok!” (Wisdom of how to face struggle from a three year old!) She may not have gotten to go through the belt of the gentle art, but she was a black belt at life when she died June 29, 2013. I was lucky enough to see her the day she went home to God. It hurt to see how it took her beautiful smile away. I left to go to get her a kimono and have everyone sign it to give to her, but only a couple hours after leaving, I got the call that she passed.

Watching her, made my own battle insignificant. She was infinitely more strong than I, and no matter what happens on the mat, I know she is watching. So until I get to see her one day again, any time I have trouble to face on the mats or off, I will be thinking of the next time we will play and soon it will be ok! This American Nationals medal is for Aubri. I am certain that I would not have made it without her. Thoughts of her and her strength have pulled me through injury, pain, bouts of sickness, the loss of my gym, and I know that her example is one I still have yet to live up to. Today I just won a medal. She is the champion!”

For more info, go to pesadelotriangulo.blogspot.com

O campeão Leandro Lo (de branco) contra Lucas Lepri na final dos leves do Mundial 2012. Foto: John Lamonica/GRACIEMAG

Dia 8 de dezembro, sábado, a IBJJF apresenta aos fãs um campeonato que promete ser um marco, uma reivindicação antiga dos competidores. Com a primeira edição do IBJJ Pro League, o Jiu-Jitsu enfim tem um ranking com os melhores faixas-pretas do mundo, e um torneio com prêmios em dinheiro para os principais batalhadores da arte suave.

E agora? Quem será o melhor entre os melhores, no fim da temporada? Qual será a melhor luta do evento?

Paralelamente, o Long Beach Fall Open ocorrre na mesma Pirâmide, a partir das 9h da manhã. A IBJJ Pro League começa a partir das 15h. O curioso é que os últimos atletas serão classificados para a Liga logo depois do Long Beach Fall Open.

Confira quem já está dentro da IBJJ Pro League:

Até 64kg – Caio Terra, Koji Shibamoto, Laercio Fernandes, Daniel Beleza, Rafael Freitas;

Três vagas restantes: um atleta a ser confirmado pela IBJJF; o faixa-preta campeão dos galos no Long Beach Open; o faixa-preta campeão dos plumas no Long Beach Open.

Até 76kg – Leandro Lo, Lucas Lepri, Samir Chantre, Augusto Tanquinho, Osvaldo Moizinho, Oliver Geddes;

Duas vagas restantes: o faixa-preta campeão dos penas no Long Beach Open; o faixa-preta campeão dos leves no Long Beach Open.

Até 88,3kg – Otavio Sousa, Romulo Barral, Rafael Monteiro, Bruno Augusto, Vitor Oliveira, André Galvão;

Duas vagas restantes: o faixa-preta campeão dos médios no Long Beach Open, o faixa-preta campeão meio-pesado no Long Beach Open.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooX812QlWqM

Mais 88,3kg – Gustavo Pires, Bruno Bastos, Ricardo Evangelista, Roberto Tussa, Stephen Hall;

Três vagas restantes: o faixa-preta campeão dos pesados no Long Beach Open, o faixa-preta campeão superpesado do Long Beach Open; e o faixa-preta campeão pesadíssimo no Long Beach Open.

Qual será a melhor luta do IBJJ Pro League? Quem serão os campeões? Comente com a gente, leitor.

The champion Leandro Lo (in white) against Lucas Lepri in the 2012 lightweight World Championship final  Photo by John Lamonica/GRACIEMAG

This coming Saturday, December 8, the IBJJF will be treating fans to a tournament they’ve been promising since back in March–one competitors have been dreaming of since way back. With the maiden IBJJ Pro League event, Jiu-Jitsu finally has a system ranking the best black belts in the world, and a tournament paying out cash prizes to the gentle-art’s top warriors.

So, who will turn out to be the best of the best come season’s end? Which will be the best match of the event?

Running alongside the Pro League at the same pyramid-shaped gymnasium, the Long Beach Fall Open will kick off at 9 AM. The IBJJ Pro League will begin at 3 PM. The interesting part is that the final berths in the League will only be filled once the Long Beach Fall Open is done.

Check out who will be competing in the inaugural IBJJ Pro League:

Under-64 kg – Caio Terra, Koji Shibamoto, Laercio Fernandes, Daniel Beleza, Rafael Freitas;

Three remaining openings: one athlete to be confirmed by the IBJJF; winner of the Long Beach Open black belt roosterweight division; black belt winner of the Long Beach Open light featherweight division.

Under-76 kg – Leandro Lo, Lucas Lepri, Samir Chantre, Augusto Tanquinho, Osvaldo Moizinho, Oliver Geddes;

Two remaining openings: Long Beach Open black belt-featherweight winner; Long Beach Open black belt-lightweight winner.

Under-88.3 kg – Otavio Sousa, Romulo Barral, Rafael Monteiro, Bruno Augusto, Vitor Oliveira, André Galvão;

Two remaining openings: Long Beach Open black belt-middleweight winner; Long Beach Open black belt-medium heavyweight winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooX812QlWqM

Over-88.3kg – Gustavo Pires, Bruno Bastos, Ricardo Evangelista, Roberto Tussa, Stephen Hall;

Three remaining openings: one athlete to be confirmed by the IBJJF; winner of the Long Beach Open black belt heavyweight division; black belt winner of the Long Beach Open light superheavyweight division; black belt winner of the Long Beach Open light ultraheavyweight division

So who’ve you got putting on the best match of the IBJJ Pro League? Who’ve you got winning the whole shebang? Comment below.

JT uses his guard to overcome heavyweight Salazar at Houston Open. Photo by Mike Calimbas.

This past weekend was replete with Jiu-Jitsu of the highest quality in Texas, at the IBJJF Houston Open that took place at the Jerabeck Activity and Athletic Center, with the likes of the Mendes brothers, André Galvão, Marcello Salazar, Stephen Hall, Diego Gamonal, James Harbison, Pablo Santos, Ryan Hall, and a lightweight who ended up with two gold medals and the status of big standout of the event.

(Watch the medium heavyweight final, between Galvão and Gamonal, below.)

That lightweight is none other than Lloyd Irvin academy’s Jonathan Torres, Houston Open champion of the lightweight and absolute divisions. To win at weight. he overcame Bruno Amorim in the division final, while to take top spot in the absolute, he had to face his training partner James Harbison in the absolute final.

EARLY-SEASON TOURNEY, IN-FORM JIU-JITSU

At featherweight, Gui Mendes placed first, with his brother, Rafael, in second. At medium heavyweight, André Galvão defeated Diego Gamonal in winning the gold. And Marcello Salazar won in the heavyweight division.

Another little guy to outdo the big guys was Gracie Elite’s Gianni Grippo, who won the brown belt absolute. As well as the featherweight division. In the team contest, Gracie Barra was rampant in the overall team competition, winning both the trophies: the kids, as well as the adult/masters categories.

Check out the full results at the IBJJF website.

Watch JT in action against Harbison and comment below: who was the big standout of the Houston Open to you, if you happened to be there?

JT usa sua guarda para vencer o peso pesado Salazar no Houston Open de Jiu Jitsu. Foto por Mike Calimbas.

O fim de semana foi de Jiu-Jitsu de altíssimo gabarito no Texas, no Houston Open da IBJJF. Realizado nas dependências do Jerabeck Activity and Athletic Center, o campeonato teve a participação de estrelas do quilate dos irmãos Mendes, André Galvão, Marcello Salazar, Stephen Hall, Diego Gamonal, James Harbison, Pablo Santos, Ryan Hall, e um peso leve terminou com duas medalhas douradas e com o status de destaque do evento.

(Veja a final dos meio-pesados abaixo, entre Galvão e Gamonal.)

Trata-se de Jonathan Torres (Lloyd Irvin), campeão no peso leve e no absoluto. JT venceu Bruno Amorim na final do peso, e encarou o parceiro de treinos James Harbison na final do absoluto.

Começo de temporada, Jiu-Jitsu em forma

No peso-pena, Gui Mendes sagrou-se campeão, com o irmão Rafa em segundo. No meio-pesado, André Galvão venceu Diego Gamonal para levar o ouro. E Marcello Salazar levou o ouro no peso pesado.

Outro magrinho a se consagrar foi Gianni Grippo (Gracie Elite), campeão no absoluto na faixa-marrom, depois de vencer também o peso-pena. Entre equipes, a Gracie Barra sobrou e levou os dois troféus em disputa, os títulos do infantil e do adulto/masters.

Veja os resultados completos aqui, no site da IBJJF.

Veja JT em ação contra Harbison abaixo, e comente quem foi o destaque do Houston Open para você, se passou por lá.

GMA member Stephen Hall, aka Pesadelo (nightmare, in Portuguese), has had some great results lately.

He and his students from Pesadelo BJJ, an Alliance affiliate in Dallas, Texas, collected victories in different events, as he tells us. The IBJJF’s Miami International Open was one of them: “I am very proud of my team. In addition to my gold medal in the black belt senior 1 absolute division and the 2nd place in the ultra-heavyweight, three students I took to Florida also brought back gold medals!. Michael Foster tapped out all his oponents at the purple Belt, master middleweight. So did Ronald Green, at the purple belt senior 1 lightweight. Brian Lewis repeated the performance at the purple belt senior 3 super-heavyweight. He also took the bronze at teh absolute. This is a repeat of what they did at the Las Vegas Open.”

And that is not all, as Hall continues: “In the recent regional tournament, Battle of H-Town, They all won their division with Michale taking the purple belt adult middleweight division, Ronald taking the purple belt masters middleweight division, and Brian taking the purple belt masters super-heavyweight division. I had two white belts also take gold in their division at Battle of H-Town. I would just like to salute them all for their hard work, and belief in the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu they have been handed and are working to show!”

Congrats to Stephen and his team.

For more info, go to pbjj.net.

"Pega Leve" and Stephen Hall (left)

Pega Leve fought two matches in his ultraheavyweight division on Saturday in the gi. He fought Stephen Hall of Alliance in the final and won on points to take gold. “My takedowns worked very well,” he says.

Pega Leve, who lives in Portland, Oregon, enjoys competing at the American Nationals. “I won the Brazilian National Champion six times,” he says, and he considers the American Nationals to be on par with that. This year, Pega Leve also decided to sign up for the Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials in San Diego. He took gold in his No-Gi matches in both his division and the open and came in third in the gi. “I lost to Buchecha,” he says.

"Pega Leve" not taking it easy / Photos: Deb Blyth

The 39-year-old still competes in the adult division and does very well for himself, although he intimates those days may be coming to a close. “It may be my last year in the No-Gi Worlds as an adult,” he laughs, “Those ten-minute rounds are pretty long.”

Pega Leve did not register for the Gi open class at the American Nationals but showed up on Sunday ready to go in the No-Gi tournament. He had one match, against Stephen Hall of Alliance, and won it on points to take gold in his division and then competed in the open, where he took third. He took on Matthew Jubera from Ribeiro JJ in his first match and won, but says, “I came into the tournament with an injury to my bicep. I put so much pressure on my opponent (Jubera), I hurt myself.”

Absolute podium

Pega Leve is originally a Brazilian Top Team black belt. He says he received his black belt  in 2002 after only four years of training. “The longest belt I was in was my brown belt,” he says, “I was in it for one year. All my other belts I was in for under a year each because I kept winning everything.”

Eventually, Pega Leve followed the path that many Jiu-Jitsu athletes follow and he got into MMA. Although his record is even at 8-8, he did fight twice in the UFC, against Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga, and once in the IFL, against Roy Nelson.

These days, Pega Leve is back to business as a Jiu-Jitsu competitor and an instructor at Team Quest in Portland. We will see him next at the No-Gi Worlds.

Michael receiving purple belt from Stephen Hall on podium / Photo: Jerry Roberts

After training with Stephen for a little over a year, Michael headed to the Las Vegas International Open to compete in the blue belt middleweight masters division. He had a first round bye, and then his opponent for the second round was disqualified. His first actual match was a semifinal. Michael’s favorite submission is the triangle and he’s always looking for it when competing. At the start of his match Michael jumped guard and then attempted a couple of sweeps, looking for that elusive triangle submission. He eventually opted for the straight armbar and got it.

Michael says his second and final match is kind of a blur. “I know he somehow got a sweep that caused him to land right in my triangle,” Michael says, “He tried to escape by sitting down and throwing his legs over my torso, but I managed to come up through his legs and finish him with a mounted triangle. When he tapped, I was in a position that I didn’t think the ref could see, so I raised up to show the ref that he was tapping. I’ve been told many times, ‘Don’t stop until the referee stops you!’” So, Michael got his triangle submission and clinched the middleweight division gold at the same time.

Michael then competed in the masters blue belt open and had three matches. His first match he finished with a double lapel choke from the back. In his second, he closed out with an armbar from the guard. In the final, Michael got a tripod sweep on his opponent, ending up in side-control. “He kept trying to escape,” Michael says, “I went to north-south and attempted a choke that Steve showed us a long time ago called the OCG. It involves a knee in the neck and an arm on the other side of the neck.” Michael wasn’t quite in the right position, so he tried a few other chokes and submissions but wasn’t able to seal the deal. He ended up winning on points, making him a double gold blue belt winner for the day.

Michael and his master, Stephen Hall / Photo: Jerry Roberts

While Michael was standing on the medal podium, Stephen gave him his purple belt. I’ve been watching him and testing him on all of the things that are a prerequisite for a purple belt,” Stephen says, “I wanted him to feel confident in his belt before he progressed. In his last two tournaments, Michael went about doing everything the way I wanted him to do it. He walked out onto the mats like he’d already won. He dominated everyone at the Las Vegas Open and I was happy to see that confidence in him. With him submitting everybody, except the one match where he completely dominated his opponent, I felt he was ready for his purple belt.”

Stephen says getting your belt on the podium is a great sign of accomplishment. It shows that your instructor has seen how hard his student has been training and how well he or she has done thus far, but it also adds a little pressure to the mix. “Everyone on the podium sees you getting your new belt,” Stephen says, “So they look for you next time. You can’t be lax in your training, because people know who you are. Me giving him his belt on the podium says, ‘I’m proud of you, but I expect you to be able to compete and win at the next level.’ Now that people have seen Michael, they will look for him and see how he’s doing at purple belt, so he’s going to have to step up to the plate. It takes a lot of pressure to make a diamond.”

Stephen says that Michael always puts forth the extra effort in everything he does on the mats. He trains hard, he drills hard, but most importantly, he’s a good person. “That’s one of the most important things to me,” Stephen says, “On top of being good at Jiu-Jitsu and training, he’s a really good person. He works extremely hard to try to meet the legacy that Alliance Jiu-Jitsu has and he’s doing it. He makes my job as an instructor really, really easy. I’m just very proud of him.”

Michael was surprised to receive his new belt on the podium. “It was an honor and a privilege,” he says, “I know it means I’ve finally earned it. I’ve got to work even harder, study even more, focus more on what my game really consists of, and really work hard to patch the holes that are there, but I know with the help of my training partners and my instructor Stephen “Pesadelo” Hall, I’m expected to continue to dominate my divisions.”

Stephen also promoted senior 2 blue belt Brian Lewis to purple belt on the podium at the Las Vegas Open. “He won his super heavy weight division and came in 3rd in the absolute,” Stephen says, “Brian travels from very far away to train at my school. It’s a compliment to me. He’s 46 years old and for a guy his age, there’s no drop off. He’s competed at adult…he does his thing. He does more work than a lot of the adult students in my class. He’s a really good guy. He trains his butt off. He’s very good technically. He’s a solid purple belt.”