Elvira Karppinen

Elvira Karppinen is a grappler from Finland and a black belt in the 10th Planet system, a rank awarded by the team’s founder Eddie Bravo. Elvira worked extensively with Lauri Karppinen (husband and 10P Finland pioneer), being a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (gi) black belt under Magnus Hansson. Karppinen first made waves in submission-grappling after a stellar performance as a brown belt, at the ADCC World Championship in 2017, a time when she defeated the fan-favorite Mackenzie Dern.

Elvira Karppinen Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Elvira Maria Karppinen

Nickname: N/A

Lineage 1: Carlos Gracie (Senior) > Hélio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Júnior > Jean Jaques Machado > Eddie Bravo > Elvira Karppinen

Lineage 2: Carlos Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Ricardo De La Riva >Eduardo Soares > Magnus Hansson

Main Achievements:

1st Place ADCC European Trials (2016)
1st Place Quintet Fight-Night 3 (2019)
1st Place NAGA Germany (2019)
3rd Place ADCC World Championship (2019)
4th Place ADCC World Championship (2017)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

1st Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2017* brown)
1st Place IBJJF European Open NoGi (2017 brown, 2016 blue)
1st place ADCC Finland National Pro (2017 brown)
1st place SBJJL Finland Nationals NoGi (2017brown, 2016 blue)
1st Place FBJJF Finland Open NoGi (2017 brown)
1st Place FBJJF Finland Nationals Gi (2017 brown, 2016 blue)
2nd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2017 brown)
2nd Place FBJJF Finland Open NoGi (2016** purple)
2nd place ADCC Finland National Pro (2015 blue)

Favorite Position/Technique: Inside Heel-Hook

Weight Division: Peso Leve (64,00 kg / 141.5 lbs)

Team/Association: 10th Planet

Elvira Karppinen Biography

Elvira Karppinen was born on November 5, 1988, in Tampere, Finland, a small town located, located 180 km (112 miles) from the country’s capital, Helsinki.

While growing up Karppinen was very engaged in physical activities, with a particular interest in basketball and dancing, two disciplines she practiced for many years prior to finding jiu-jitsu. In her 15-year long basketball career, Elvira ranked among the top 30 athletes in her country, at her age group (16YO) and challenged the Finnish National Championship.

Elvira’s path in dancing was equally fruitful, with Karppinen going on to study dancing at the Oulu University while teaching (street and show dance styles) and doing various public performances. Although with a fulfilling career, during her adulthood Karppinnen became disheartened by the dance world and its community, a feeling that led Elvira to dwell on the possibility of leaving dancing altogether. During this period of doubt, Karppinen’s husband, Lauri – the pioneer for the 10th Planet system in Finland, challenged Elvira to join one of his jiu-jitsu classes. The dare was accepted by Elvira, with the then 25-year-old taking her first nogi class under the instruction of her husband.

Elvira’s superior body awareness, thanks to the years of dancing, helped her rise through the ranks of Finnish grappling, adding gi training to her routine at a later stage, with coach Magnus Hansson – although still focussing on her nogi career.

While progressing through the belt system under her husband, Lauri Karppinen, Elvira kept a parallel progression in the gi with Hanson, a special and unusual approach to training that helped Elvira climb the ladder of success in this sport at a very fast rate. This exponential growth in the jiu-jitsu led her to become a professional athlete by the Summer of 2018.

As a purple belt, Elvira’s promotions under the 10th Planet system were taken over by the team’s head coach, Eddie Bravo, who promoted Karppinen to brown and black belts, the latter in a ceremony that took place on April 26, 2019.