Michael Bernardinetti

I am a 16-year old Martial Artist and Tricker from Wickliffe, Ohio. My parents signed me up for Taekwondo when I was 4 years old because I was extremely shy and would not socialize with other kids. They would take me to pre-school classes and I would sit in the back of the room by myself.

My first Taekwondo class I would not even bow or shake the other kid’s hand. Months went by and I would continue to not socialize until sparring started. My first time sparring I got hit so hard in the stomach that I fell backward onto the ground. After getting back up, I smiled and fought back hard. I had found my calling.

From that point, I trained almost every day to be the best I could be and became fascinated with nunchucks. I lost every tournament for two straight years, but I never gave up. I trained even harder, and then slowly started to win local tournaments. Then, I started winning regional and national tournaments. All the hard work was paying off.

After receiving my third-degree black belt in Taekwondo, I moved to the style of Kajukenbo and began training under Grand Master Dennis Janes at the Karate Institute in Mentor, Ohio. Sensei Janes invited me to be on the competition team “Team Kixxx” that competed in the NASKA World Tour Circuit against some of the best martial artists in the world. We traveled all over the country, and within a year of joining the team, we won our first World Championship. We then followed that up with winning a second World Championship in 2017.

After losing every tournament at an early age, I have since racked up 10 Ohio State Championships, 2 National Championships, and 2 World Championships. I have also expanded my martial arts background into creative/extreme martial arts, tricking, and recently began Muay Thai and Jui-Jitsu training at MKG Cleveland. I always take everything to the extreme.

My story is definitely one of hard work, of never being complacent, and as the whistlekick motto states, “Never Settle.” I am extremely proud to be part of the whistlekick family.