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24 Jul 2025

Lani Stijbosch, Granddaughter of Nayana Ashok Parikh, Earns Rare Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Winning her Black belt in BJJ

Graduating Cum-Laude

Winner at World Championships, 2021

Lani Strijbosch, aged just 21, has earned her black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a rare and remarkable achievement that less than 1% of practitioners of the martial art, only a few of them women, achieve. Having begun training at the age of 12, she managed reached this level in less than a decade, as a result of what her coaches and others describe as “her dedication, discipline, and resilience”.

Lani is the daughter of Shailu Parikh and the granddaughter of Nayana and Ashok Parikh.

Lani recently graduated Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a degree in Environmental Engineering. She now works at Brown & Caldwell, an environmental consulting firm in Los Angeles, where she designs sustainable water treatment systems that positively impact communities.

Alongside her engineering work, Lani continues to train and coach Jiu-Jitsu, mentoring young girls in the sport. She is also active as a social media influencer, working with Creator Coalition LLC to help others grow, scale, and monetize their personal brands. Within this partnership, she has amassed a following of over 40 thousand followers, and generated millions of views.

Earlier, in 2021, Lani won the IBJJF World Championship — the most prestigious tournament in the sport. At that time she was a purple belt holder, and it was the same year that she had just moved across the world to pursue higher education!

Her family believes that Lani’s journey to join this rare group of women achievers is a testament to hard work, balance, and the power of pursuing one’s passions both inside and outside the arena.