Cindy Hales is one of the premier female jiu-jitsu black belts in America having competed all over the world, including at ADCC in New Jersey last year, as well as Smack Girls in Japan this past February, which is the leading female fighting organization in the world. Cindy “hails” from Seattle, Washington and continues to test herself against the best competition in both professional grappling and professional MMA. After successfully winning a MMA fight in New Zealand on May 31st, she was quick to set her sights on her next challenge, a grappling Superfight, which will take place at the PAC SUB in Hawaii from June 27-29. We were able to sit down with Cindy to discuss everything from jiu-jitsu and MMA to her current training, professional goals, and outlook on combat sports in America.


Bevois: Hey Cindy, can you start by telling everyone how long you have been training jiu-jitsu and who promoted you to black belt?

Cindy Hales: I started training in the spring 2001 with Marcelo Alonso in Tacoma, Washington. He ended up going back to Brazil for an extended stay, so I switched up and started training with Rodrigo Lopes and Mamazinho. I got my black belt from Mamazinho and Rodrigo in 2006.


Bevois: In 2001, Marcio “Mamazinho” Laudier came to Seattle from Rio de Janeiro to help build a jiu-jitsu community in the Seattle area. What’s he up to nowadays?

Cindy Hales: About a year ago Mamazinho went back to Brazil and then I think he went to England to teach. Last I heard he was back in Brazil, but I haven’t talked to him for a while so I can’t confirm it. If anyone sees him, have him get a hold of me, I miss learning to curse in Portuguese.


Bevois: Now you train with black belts Rodrigo Lopes, Stefan Dahlstet, and Michelle “Wags” Wagner. Tell us a little bit about them.

Cindy Hales: Rodrigo has been one of my good friends and best training partners for years now. I still have trouble with his game and I’m always having to go home and try to come up with ways to beat his moves. He runs the Gracie Barra School in Seattle now. It is the biggest gi program in the area. He’s a great teacher and just creates a really cool environment.

Stefan is cool, too. I remember the first time I ever came to train with the guys in Seattle, Stefan ran a clinic on me. It didn’t help that I was out too late the night before and ended up puking in the bathroom. He has a tight game and is another one of the guys I like rolling with. He just got his Masters degree so he may be moving out of Seattle. If he does, everyone up here is going to miss him tons.

And Michelle a.k.a. Wags. She is one of the few girls in the area that has been training consistently for a really long time. I don’t get to roll with her as much now because we are at different schools, but we used to train together all of the time. She always had me cracking up in class and Mamazinho would get mad.


Bevois: So you currently teach and train at Gracie Barra Seattle. Tell us a little bit about your school, your team, and the jiu-jitsu scene in the Pacific Northwest.

Cindy Hales: Gracie Barra Seattle is where I do most of my training. I teach no-gi grappling there and I’m also starting up a basic boxing class and help with the kid’s program that Stefan runs. I totally love training there, because we have a really great crew of people that train hard, have fun, and are just really supportive of me and what I am doing. There is a core group of people that have been around a long time and have really solid technique. Then there are also tons of new guys, lots of white and blue belts. The school just has a great energy and team feeling to it.

I also train out of a couple other gyms - Ring Demon MMA in Tukwila and Majine Boxing in Snoqualmie. Ring Demon is run by Eric Dahlberg, another Mamazinho black belt, and focuses more on no-gi, wrestling, kickboxing, and MMA. Eric has a talent for dissecting technique and a person’s game and developing solid strategies on how to beat them. Mike Gavronksi of Majine Boxing, does my boxing and conditioning. He has worked wonders on my hands in the last few months. He has a real attention to detail and is willing to spend as much time as it takes to get something right.

The northwest is really coming into its own as far as BJJ and grappling. There is a solid community of people up here who have created some good tournaments, like the Revolution tournaments and the Sub league events. There are more schools now and so the level keeps improving and the events are getting bigger. There have been big names coming out of the area for a long time and there are going to be even more in the future.


Bevois: Do you have any other teammates, male or female, that we should keep our eye on?

Cindy Hales: Eric Dahlberg is definitely a name to watch for. He has been on and off the injury list for quite a while and is pretty infamous in the northwest. When he is healthy, he will give anyone at 175 lbs trouble. Also, Sean Wilson is another name to watch for. He is a truly gifted athlete and has crazy explosiveness for a 155 lbs. He comes from a wrestling background and has a purple belt under Rodrigo. As he further hones his submissions and stand up, he will be a real terror on the mat and in the ring. There are also more kids programs popping up so there will definitely be some other great players coming out of the area in the next 10 years.


Bevois: How did you get your nickname “Sleeper”? Do you like putting people to sleep when they are “Sleepless in Seattle”?

Cindy Hales: I don’t remember where it actually started, but it was sort of a double entendre. The obvious of putting people to sleep with jiu-jitsu and then because I didn’t look like much and people would underestimate me and then I would beat them with superior technique and athleticism. Like a car that doesn’t look like much, but leaves everyone else in the race behind. Guys always come in thinking they are going to run right through me and then they find out that isn’t the case.


Bevois: On May 31st you won a MMA fight at Princesses of Pain – Australasia vs. America in Auckland, New Zealand. Your opponent was standout Australian fighter Fiona Muxlow who is the Primetime MMA champ. Fiona won her division at the ADCC Oceania Trials in 2006 and represented Australia in the ADCC finals last year in New Jersey. She was also the local New Zealand favorite too, after winning the Australasian Knockouts crown in Auckland last June. Can you tell us about her and the fight?

Cindy Hales: