Amy Trujillo began her marital arts experience as an extra-curricular activity to do as a family. She and her husband Mario, were looking for something that would help their daughter Hayden, with focus, discipline, and physical fitness. Through discussions about options, and with him having martial arts experience, it was decided to enroll her in a martial arts program to see if she would like it and benefit from it, as he and their son had in the past as well. She noticed the excitement her husband showed in encouraging and assisting with Hayden’s training. She suggested he join with Hayden since it had been years since he’d trained and had always wanted to start back up. He suggested for her to join with them and they would all do it as a family. The thought of training had never really crossed her mind before, but she thought it might be a fun way to stay in shape and be able to do something as a family. A couple of schools were tried by the Trujillo family, however, it never seemed to be the right fit. She suggested that her husband and daughter continue, but thought maybe that martial arts wasn’t for her.

Mario suggested that he would seek out a good American Kenpo Karate school, with good instructors and curriculum, as he had previously trained in that style, confident that it would be something she would enjoy and feel comfortable with. He visited The American Institute of Kenpo and spoke with Andrew Pilch (Founder/Owner and Head Instructor) at length about his experience, Mr. Pilch’s experience, lineage, philosophies, and approach to the martial arts. He was so impressed he booked the introductory class for Amy and himself to see what she would think. When the time came for that class, Amy arrived ready to give it another try, with the same open mind she approaches everything with, and by the time the introductory class was completed, she knew she had found her Kenpo home and family. She fell in love with the martial arts and from that moment on trained hard and progressed quickly.

Upon promoting to Brown Belt, she was invited to participate in the Instructors Training Program, and began assisting with the Youth, and Junior/Senior Beginner and Intermediate rank classes. It wasn’t long before she was leading those same classes. Her personal touch to teaching enables her to develop a special bond with her students, and is easily noticeable in the youth classes where our younger ranks flourish and develop under her tutelage. She has been awarded and nominated in various categories such as Black Belt of the Year, and Instructor of the Year, multiple times over the course of her martial arts journey at our yearly Awards Banquet, and for good reason. You can find her attending and teaching classes every day the American Institute of Kenpo is open (and at times when it’s not), and is an integral part of the day to day running of the school.

Mrs. Trujillo earned her 1st Degree Black Belt in 2018, and was promoted to her current rank of 2nd Degree Black Belt in 2020. She has been active in the advanced sparring classes where she continues to learn and excel at boxing, kickboxing, and even learn about Jiu-jitsu and MMA. Her aggressive nature coupled with the correct level of control makes her a valuable training partner for anyone looking for a beneficial sparring partner.

The American Institute of Kenpo is proud to have Mrs. Trujillo as one of its alumni and looks forward to her future contributions as a student, instructor, and school director.

~ Last Updated 7/12/2023