Bio by Maslinc

From sparring to weapons - the Ross saga

03/23/2005

You would never guess that Becca Ross'

competition career only included

sparring as an event when she first

started in 1995. The Becca Ross you see

on the competition circuit today is

known more for her flashy bo and forms

routine even though she is still a top

rated fighter for her age group. At age 4,

Becca was living in New York and,

influenced by the Power Rangers, she

started martial arts at Chai Karate in the

art of Wing Chung Kung Fu. She began

her competition career during the same

year and earned a first place trophy in

her white belt sparring division at age 4 ­

she was hooked. Becca then spent the

next 3 years competing in the New York

area and earned the title of New York

state champion in sparring for her age and

belt level. In fact, during these early

years, Becca never competed in weapons or forms at tournaments - she was focused only  on sparring.

It was a sad day in 1998 when Becca's family decided to move fromNew York to Boca Raton, Florida. Becca had to leave her martial arts school and her first instructor - Chai. Becca was so well loved by her instructor that he has kept in touch with her through the

years and followed her career. When she moved, Becca was a red belt, and in Boca Raton, she joined All Star Karate where she earned her black belt in 2000.

Becca continued to compete, even after moving to Florida and in early 2000, she tried competing at a few national events - sparring only of course and she met another Boca Raton resident - Lauren Kearney - and began training with her. Meeting Kearney transformed Becca as she began to train in weapons and forms beginning in 200 I. In 200 I, Becca also began to compete on the NASKA world tour as a black belt. She attended most of the national events - but still was only competing in sparring. It wasn't until 2002 that Becca decided to throw weapons and forms into her arsenal as she competed on the entire world circuit in sparring, weapons and forms.

Becca has trained with Kearney since 2001 and has trained with Daniel Sterling and Anthony Atkins. In the past her talents have earned her spots on Team Faldetta and Team DS. She is currently on Team J. Phillips (she was asked to be on the team in 2003 after winning the grands at the Diamond Nationals that year) and travels to Miami, Florida to train with fellow teammate Mike Cifre for extreme forms and weapons. One of her closest friends in the competition world is Nick Schilling - another Boca Raton resident who only lives 30 minutes from Becca. You may remember Becca and Nick competing in team forms together in years past. The two met while they were both on Team Faldetta in 2001 and have been close mends ever since.

Physical education is Becca's favorite school subject because "I don't have to do anything" and her least favorite subject is science or math. But don't let that fool you, she is currently a straight A, honor roll student at Loggers Run Community Middle School where she is in the eighth grade. When Becca looks to the future, she hopes to be a teacher someday or maybe in the movies but she is not really sure yet. An only child and a Dance Dance Revolution fan, Becca continues to develop herself as a martial artist. Her success in weapons and forms after only a few short years of training in those areas is testament to her perseverance and talent. Keep an eye on her in 2005, she has already begun strong with a grand championship win at the first NASKA world event of the year - Compete Nationals!