Ten Taekwondo students from the New York Black Belt Center in Bayside took part in the Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU) 2024 USA National Championship at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which was held from June 30 to July 6.
The students, taught by Master Joseph Lupo Jr., were among the more than 800 athletes to compete in this year’s event. The event had a wide variety of age groups, from children as young as five to people in their 50s. Lupo’s students ranged from 13 to 50 years of age.
Competitors in the National Championship are split into divisions based on age, belt and, when it came to sparring, weight. The sparring divisions had between four and eight weight classes.
The New York Black Belt Center students combined to win one gold medal, four silver medals and one bronze medal in sparring. All 10 students competed in sparring, with each winning at least one match. In addition to the six students who medaled, one made it all the way to the quarterfinals, and two more finished in the top 32.
“It’s tough to put into words how proud I am of [my students],” Lupo said. “They put the work in here in training and outside of training. They were mentally and physically disciplined to compete.”
One student, Carlos Villanueva, won two gold medals and one silver medal in the breaking competitions, which involved breaking wooden boards and other materials. He also earned a bronze medal in Sport Poomsae, which involves demonstrating a pattern of martial arts techniques against an imaginary opponent. Additionally, he won two bronze medals for his demonstrations in open forms competitions, which involve a prearranged sequence of martial arts techniques, including some with a weapon.
In the sparring category, Alexa Solomon won the gold medal. This victory means she now qualifies for the upcoming USA Team Trials in North Carolina, set to take place on Aug. 2. She will be looking to earn a spot as a member of the AAU national women’s heavyweight team for a second consecutive year after first succeeding last year.
Lupo’s other students who participated in the sparring category performed well. John Rodriguez, Chet Bridgewater and James Orsino each won a silver medal. George Laskaris won a bronze medal. Mikaela Lezamiz advanced all the way to the quarterfinals and Filip Petrovic and Victor Wroblewski both finished in the top 32 in their respective age and weight classes.
“All my athletes performed at the best of their ability,” Lupo said. “They all gave 100%. For me as a coach, at the end of the day, that’s all I’m asking for. What’s paramount for my athletes is that they leave 100% on the mat and come out of the ring healthy and safe.”
Lupo felt that the way his students performed at the National Championship reflected how well they all trained leading up to it. He believes that training can be more difficult than competing.
“I tell all the guys all the time, ‘Train hard, fight easy,'” Lupo said. “The hard part is the training. The Nationals is the fun part, where we show everything we worked on.”
While Lupo put a large emphasis on hard work and training contributing to the success of his students, he also stressed the importance of the support that each of their families provided.
“Without the families, this would never be possible,” Lupo said. “Their support has meant so much. I would love to highlight my appreciation to the families of all the athletes for all their support over this past year. Without them, this would never be possible.”
