Avery Tripp- 2018-19 Junior Female Competitor of the Year

Avery Tripp has been training in Tae Kwon Do for 7 years with Bakers Tae Kwon Do Team in Salisbury Connecticut and is a brown belt. She has won 2 junior female breaking grand championships and 2 junior form grand championships. When not competing she volunteers her time to assist at the Tiny Tigers class (students ages 5-12) at her dojo. Her instructors Dylan Baker, Mike Thomas, Katrina Bates, James Murnane, and Kirsten Haaland inspire her to be the best that she can, push her at every class, and help her achieve her goals. They are great role models that she looks up.

Avery started competing with the USBA/WBA in February of 2017. The USBA/WBA has given Avery more confidence in her abilities and provides her with family-like support through everyone’s great sportsmanship and encouragement. Avery looks forward to seeing everyone at each tournament. What Avery likes best about the USBA/WBA is that it is full of great role models and leaders and shows people what true martial arts is about.

Avery is a tenth grader at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, Connecticut. She is an honors student who is also a varsity cross country runner. She lives in Falls Village with her parents Jeff and Letitia, her younger brother Silas and many pets. When not in school or participating in Tae Kwon Do or cross country, Avery enjoys volunteering her time with the Special Olympics and assisting in science enrichment programs with elementary school children.

Arika Struzinsky- 2017-18 Junior Female Competitor of the Year

Arika Struzinsky is a second degree black belt at US Budokai Karate in Clifton Park, NY under Hanshi Russ Jarem.   She also has the good fortune to train specifically on breaking with Master Adam Grogin and Sifu Bill Luciano.

Arika started karate when she was 6 and quit when she was 8.  After several years of watching friends and family compete, she decided it looked like so much fun that she wanted to start training again.   Since US Budokai Karate traditionally does not break, Arika was introduced to breaking at the 518 Circuit Tournaments where several local schools would get together for a friendly series of tournaments.

Arika is currently a Senior at Lansingburgh High School where she is involved with Varsity Bowling, National Honor Society, Student Council, The Knightly News production team, and Girl Scouts.  Arika will attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall  majoring in Chemical Engineering.

Arika Struzinsky- 2016-17 Junior Female Competitor of the Year

Arika Struzinsky is a second degree black belt at US Budokai Karate in Clifton Park, NY under Hanshi Russ Jarem.   She also has the good fortune to train specifically on breaking with Master Adam Grogin and Sifu Bill Luciano.

Arika started karate when she was 6 and quit when she was 8.  After several years of watching friends and family compete, she decided it looked like so much fun that she wanted to start training again.   Since US Budokai Karate traditionally does not break, Arika was introduced to breaking at the 518 Circuit Tournaments where several local schools would get together for a friendly series of tournaments.

Arika is currently a Senior at Lansingburgh High School where she is involved with Varsity Bowling, National Honor Society, Student Council, The Knightly News production team, and Girl Scouts.  Arika will attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall  majoring in Chemical Engineering.

Skylar Pagliuca

In my words:

Skylar started martial arts at the age of 9 focusing on Tae Kwon Do. She excelled in the art right off the bat and when she was 10 she started competing in Traditional Tae Kwon Do tournaments, including the AAU sanctioned circuit. At the age of 11 Skylar started cross training in Extreme Martial Arts and Creative Martial arts, adding Open/Creative Forms and Weapons to her repertoire. She became proficient with Creative Style Kamas and Bo staff. With the new skill set Skylar started competing in more OPEN style tournaments, in a multitude of divisions including: Traditional forms, Creative forms, creative weapons, sparring and self-defense.

At the age of 12 Skylar started competing in Breaking events, her natural abilities in this discipline of martial arts was apparent and she began to focus on it as a specialty, while keeping a balance with her forms and weapons aspects as well. She began competing in the United States Breaking Association/World Breaking Association Circuit where she earned the Title of Junior Female Competitor of the Year in 2008, at the age of 12. She has held on the title every year since in addition to setting numerous competition records for breaking. In 2010, Skylar added Tai Chi and Kung Fu training to her arsenal to help balance out her hard side with a softer more internal side of martial arts. Skylar continues to compete across the northeast at multiple tournaments each month in a variety of events, and different circuits including NASKA, IPPONE, USBA/WBA & NBL.

Skylar Pagliuca

In my words:

Skylar started martial arts at the age of 9 focusing on Tae Kwon Do. She excelled in the art right off the bat and when she was 10 she started competing in Traditional Tae Kwon Do tournaments, including the AAU sanctioned circuit. At the age of 11 Skylar started cross training in Extreme Martial Arts and Creative Martial arts, adding Open/Creative Forms and Weapons to her repertoire. She became proficient with Creative Style Kamas and Bo staff. With the new skill set Skylar started competing in more OPEN style tournaments, in a multitude of divisions including: Traditional forms, Creative forms, creative weapons, sparring and self-defense.

At the age of 12 Skylar started competing in Breaking events, her natural abilities in this discipline of martial arts was apparent and she began to focus on it as a specialty, while keeping a balance with her forms and weapons aspects as well. She began competing in the United States Breaking Association/World Breaking Association Circuit where she earned the Title of Junior Female Competitor of the Year in 2008, at the age of 12. She has held on the title every year since in addition to setting numerous competition records for breaking. In 2010, Skylar added Tai Chi and Kung Fu training to her arsenal to help balance out her hard side with a softer more internal side of martial arts. Skylar continues to compete across the northeast at multiple tournaments each month in a variety of events, and different circuits including NASKA, IPPONE, USBA/WBA & NBL.

Skylar Pagliuca

In my words:

Skylar started martial arts at the age of 9 focusing on Tae Kwon Do. She excelled in the art right off the bat and when she was 10 she started competing in Traditional Tae Kwon Do tournaments, including the AAU sanctioned circuit. At the age of 11 Skylar started cross training in Extreme Martial Arts and Creative Martial arts, adding Open/Creative Forms and Weapons to her repertoire. She became proficient with Creative Style Kamas and Bo staff. With the new skill set Skylar started competing in more OPEN style tournaments, in a multitude of divisions including: Traditional forms, Creative forms, creative weapons, sparring and self-defense.

At the age of 12 Skylar started competing in Breaking events, her natural abilities in this discipline of martial arts was apparent and she began to focus on it as a specialty, while keeping a balance with her forms and weapons aspects as well. She began competing in the United States Breaking Association/World Breaking Association Circuit where she earned the Title of Junior Female Competitor of the Year in 2008, at the age of 12. She has held on the title every year since in addition to setting numerous competition records for breaking. In 2010, Skylar added Tai Chi and Kung Fu training to her arsenal to help balance out her hard side with a softer more internal side of martial arts. Skylar continues to compete across the northeast at multiple tournaments each month in a variety of events, and different circuits including NASKA, IPPONE, USBA/WBA & NBL.

Skylar Pagliuca

In my words:

Skylar started martial arts at the age of 9 focusing on Tae Kwon Do. She excelled in the art right off the bat and when she was 10 she started competing in Traditional Tae Kwon Do tournaments, including the AAU sanctioned circuit. At the age of 11 Skylar started cross training in Extreme Martial Arts and Creative Martial arts, adding Open/Creative Forms and Weapons to her repertoire. She became proficient with Creative Style Kamas and Bo staff. With the new skill set Skylar started competing in more OPEN style tournaments, in a multitude of divisions including: Traditional forms, Creative forms, creative weapons, sparring and self-defense.

At the age of 12 Skylar started competing in Breaking events, her natural abilities in this discipline of martial arts was apparent and she began to focus on it as a specialty, while keeping a balance with her forms and weapons aspects as well. She began competing in the United States Breaking Association/World Breaking Association Circuit where she earned the Title of Junior Female Competitor of the Year in 2008, at the age of 12. She has held on the title every year since in addition to setting numerous competition records for breaking. In 2010, Skylar added Tai Chi and Kung Fu training to her arsenal to help balance out her hard side with a softer more internal side of martial arts. Skylar continues to compete across the northeast at multiple tournaments each month in a variety of events, and different circuits including NASKA, IPPONE, USBA/WBA & NBL.