Hal Goodman started training in 1998 at Rodrigo Vaghi’s original school on Manchester Road in St. Louis. In May of 1999 he became one of Rodrigo’s first blue belts along with Bryan Guidry and Ed Shobe from Omaha, Nebraska. In 2000 he won the blue belt division at Rafeal Lovatos Tournament in Oklahoma. Shortly after, Hal took a hiatus from Jiu Jitsu to travel to Europe and South America. When St. Charles Brazilian Jiu Jitsu opened in March of 2007 he resumed his training and now helps teach. Hal is known for his extreme toughness and exceptional guillotine chokes. In 2009 he was promoted to purple belt. He is also a local MMA judge for Kick International.