Warrensburg brothers take podium at IBJJF Kids No-Gi Pan Championship

Published 10:27 pm Thursday, October 29, 2026

Two Warrensburg brothers earned national recognition in the world of jiu jitsu, taking the podium in the Kids No-Gi Pan Championship on Oct. 18, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Eliyahu Tripp, 13, and Hezekiyah Tripp, 12, medaled in the event, which is considered to be one of the most prestigious annual submission grappling tournaments organized by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.

Eliyahu clinched an IBJJF major title in the male/teen 2/grey/light-feather (94.60lb) division while Hezekiyah finished third in the male/junior 3/grey/light (94.60lb) division.

“They went down and competed in the biggest kids international tournament in the world for No-Gi,” said their mother, Natalia Tripp. “The Pan event is the highest athletic accomplishment that you can do in the sport of jiu-jitsu for kids – and even as an adult.”

Eliyahu and Hezekiyah train at Pirata Jiu Jitsu in Independence – taking part in morning and evening classes several days a week.

Devin “Pirate” Pirata, who has a first-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is their primary instructor.

“It’s pretty cool to see his reaction for them,” Natalia Tripp said. “They’re the first ones from their gym, kids-wise, to ever win at that level.”

The gym is the third Eliyahu has trained with – a location found by word of mouth and the desire for more competition, after training at locations in Warrensburg and Knob Noster. It is the first Hezekiyah has been with.

“My husband does Jeet Kune Do with a guy, and he was like ‘Hey, you might try this guy,’” Natalia Tripp said. “We’d actually heard that guy’s name in another conversation. We were like, ‘Hey, we’re going to go by here and see how it goes.’ [Eliyahu] went in the first practice, was sick in the practice because he had a cold that week, so he watched in practice. We’ve been there ever since. Hezekiyah, seeing how much Eliy enjoyed it, he decided to join. They’ve both decided to go full force since.”

Eliyahu, who is Pirata Jiu Jitsu’s first-ever youth IBJJF Major Title holder, said learning and executing is his favorite part of the sport.

“I like just learning a whole bunch of different stuff and getting to do it, then try it at different local tournaments, then try to do it at these bigger tournaments,” Eliyahu said. “Sometimes, they do good. Sometimes they don’t.”

Eliyahu won his title after defeating his opponent by Americana submission using Kesa-gatame.

Americana submission involves placing the opponent’s arm into a 90-degree L shape. Kesa-gatame is the position used – defined as a shoulder lock that uses your leg or hands to trap the opponent’s arm.

“It was really cool to get gold,” Eliyahu said.

Before the Americana submission by Kesa-gatame, Eliyahu led his opponent 13-0.

“You go from mount, then you go to side control, which is like mount, but on the side,” Eliyahu said of Kesa-gatame. “Then you wrap around their head, then put your arm under their head, then grab your thigh. Then with your other arm, you put your hand in between your legs and then you trap it with your foot. Then you slowly hip up.”

Hezekiyah earned his podium finish after transitioning into a Kimura submission.

The move is a double wristlock submission that targets the shoulder and elbow joints.

“You put your arm in an L shape, then you move it behind their back,” Hezekiyah said. “Then you shove it up just slowly enough where it wouldn’t break their shoulder – slowly enough toward the tap. If they don’t want to tap, you gotta go farther and farther – you just got to weave your arm in between there and pull up.”

Hezekiyah said getting to meet new people is his favorite thing about jiu jitsu.

“Some of the people that we meet, and then mostly, I just like going and I like fighting,” Hezekiyah said.

Natalia Tripp said she is proud of the dedication her sons have put into the sport.

“Last year, they did a lot of the smaller league tournaments in order to get over that stage fright,” Natalia Tripp said. “Then this year, we’ve focused on the big ones. But they were able to bring home that title. They set that goal, they worked hard and it paid off.”

Joe Andrews can be reached at 660-747-8123.