Karate students from the American Black Belt Academy's competition team will go to Baltimore, MD Oct. 16-18 to defend their championship title which they have held for the last three years.

The event, which is hosted by the Worldwide Kenpo Karate Association (WKKA), will feature top competitors representing schools from different states and parts of Canada.

American Black Belt Academy is sending several teams to represent each division. Two of the teams, the American Black Belt Academy Superstar Demo Team and Lethal Weapon, have been seen performing at various community fairs. The Supertstar Demo Team is rated the #1 team in the country by the WKKA.

Tom LoVarco, who coaches the teams, said he expects tougher competition this year, particularly from a team out of Massachusetts who has been studying tapes of his team and building on the techniques they have used.

American Black Belt Academy Superstar Demo Team:

Michael Boccia, Arianna Efstathiou, Thomas Greco, JJ Imbriani and Peter Pichichero.

Lethal Weapon: Sean Cassin, Johnny Ianniello and Michael Santoro.

Thundering Hammers: Stephanie Efstathiou, Vincent Gerstel, Joe Giorgio, Angelina Greco, Amanda Guschel and Rob Seckler.