Venla Luukkonen (born 2 March 1984) is a Finnish grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor and instructor. In 2014, she became the first Finnish female black belt and the first Finn to win the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championship at black belt level. Since 2014, in addition to winning several major tournaments, Luukkonen reached the world championship final three more times, winning gold again in 2018.

Early life

Venla Orvokki Luukkonen was born on 2 March 1984 in

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. When she was one year old her family moved to Kuopio in

Northern Savonia North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the r ...

. After secondary school she started training in

Capoiera Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...

followed by

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

in 2008 at Jyväskylän Fight Club (internationally known as Hilti BJJ Jyväskylä) while studying for a PhD in education. She received her blue belt from Kimmo Rautiainen in 2009 then won silver the following year at the 2010

IBJJF World Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Worlds or Mundials) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held once every year by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered to be the most important and ...

. After receiving her purple belt from Sauli Heilimö she won bronze at the 2011 World Championship and silver at the 2011 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship European Trials. The following year Luukkonen won gold at the 2012 European Championship. Luukkonen received her brown belt from Marko Leisten in 2012, becoming world champion for the first time in 2013 and winning silver again at the 2013 ADCC European Trials. In 2014 she received double gold by winning both heavyweight division and absolute (

openweight Openweight, also known as Absolute, is an unofficial weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. It refers to bouts where there is no weight limit and fighters with a dramatic difference in size can compete against each other. It is d ...

) at the European Championship.

Black belt career

Luukkonen received her black belt from former World champion Pedro Duarte on 22 February 2014, becoming the first Finnish female black belt. In 2014 she won the

World Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Worlds or Mundials) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held once every year by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered to be the most important and ...

after submitting Andrea McComb Pereira via armlock in the final. She became the first Finn to win a world championship at black belt level. In 2015 Luukkonen won gold at the European No-Gi Championship in two categories, superheavy and absolute, she also won silver at the European Championship then won bronze at the World Championship fighting under team ''Hilti BJJ Jyvaskyla''. In 2016 and 2017 Luukkonen reached the World Championship and the European Championship finals, winning silver both years. Returning to No-Gi, she won bronze at the 2nd 2017 ADCC European Trials in the + division and was invited to compete at the 2017 ADCC World Championship taking place in Finland that year. Luukkonen became world champion for the second time in 2018 after her opponent in the final, Tayane Porfírio, was disqualified by the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) for testing positive for

nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) which is used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate (brand name Durabolin). Nandrolon ...

, a prohibited substance. In July 2018, competing in

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling ...

at Polaris 7, Luukkonen won a No-Gi match against Samantha Cook via split judges decision. In addition to the Swedish Open that she won in 2018, Luukkonen won silver at the 2018 European Open. Luukkonen trains in both Finland and Sweden, she represents ''Hilti Akademi Nord'', where she is one of the head instructors. In 2019 she won silver at the World Championship after facing Claudia do Val in the final. In 2019 and 2020 she won bronze at the European Open. In January 2022 Luukkonen won the ADCC Sweden Tournament 8 that took place in

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

, Sweden, that same year, competing under ''Grapplingverkstan Örebro IF'', she became Swedish champion after winning in September the SBJJF BJJ 2022.

Personal life

Luukkonen is married to fellow black belt Hanna Hirvonen. Together, they run ''Grappling Verkstan'', a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Submission Wrestling academy that they founded in 2022, as part of Hilti BJJ, based in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

, Sweden.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitive summary

Main Achievements at black belt level:Competitive summary * * * * * * * * * * * * *2 x IBJJF World Champion (2018 / 2014) *2 x IBJJF European Champion No-Gi (2015) *2nd place IBJJF European Championship (2018 / 2017 / 2016 / 2015) *2nd place IBJJF World Championship (2019/2017/2016) *3rd place IBJJF World Championship (2015) *3rd place IBJJF European Championship (2020 / 2019) Main Achievements (Coloured Belts): *IBJJF World Champion (2013 brown) *3 x IBJJF European Champion (2014 brown, 2012 purple) *2nd place IBJJF World Championship (2012 purple, 2010 Blue) *3rd place IBJJF World Championship (2011 purple)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luukkonen, Venla Finnish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people 1984 births People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champions (women) Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners LGBT Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Sportspeople from Espoo