Matt Salisbury, 4th Dan

The owner and head instructor of Scotts Valley Tae Kwon Do Academy has been training for over 16 years. He earned his 1st degree black belt in 1996 and has been teaching children's and adult classes ever since. Mr. Salisbury graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Business Management.

He has done numerous local and large scale tournaments and has run small tournaments within the community. He has put together and performed demonstration for special events, such as the ice cream social. Mr. Salisbury has also started a leadership program, where advanced students get the opportunity to assist in daily classes.

Mr. Salisbury recenlty took over the business from his instructor, Master Smith in the summer of 2007. Tae Kwon Do has had a tremondous impact on his life, and he wants share all the benifits that martial arts has to offer inside the studio and in daily life.

Dave Weeks, 3rd Dan

Mr. Weeks has trained in Tae Kwon Do since 1976, and achieved his black belt in 1981. Dave is a five-time state champion, and was selected as an alternate to be on the US olympic team. Dave is widely regarded as one of the best taekwondoists to come out of Santa Cruz County. Mr. Weeks specializes in advanced level taekwondo training. He has worked with many state and national champions.

Brianna Jacobson, 2nd Dan

Miss Jacobson is a second Dan black belt instructor at Scotts Valley Tae Kwon Do.  She started her training in the summer of 1999 and started teaching in 2001.  She is the main instructor for the Little Dragons Program.  She is also a recent graduate of the University of California.

In her free time, Miss Jacobson is an avid reader, loves to cook interesting food and she is also really goofy.  She asked a Little Dragon to help describe her in five words.  His response was "Oh, I love those crackers." 

Kai Dao, 2nd Dan

Mr. Dao is a second Dan black belt instructor at Scotts Valley Tae Kwon Do.  He started his training 2000 and started teaching in 2004.  Kai recently graduated from Scotts Valley High Scholl and is currently attending Cabrillo College with the intent of studying Computer Science.

In his free time, Kai likes to listen to and play music, rock climb, snowboard, skateboard, and train Tae Kwon Do and Judo with his dad.  Some descriptive words from his students include "nice, intelligent, happy, awesome, and crazy."

Noël Lepori,1st Dan

Noël Lepori is a first Dan black belt and has been training at Scotts Valley Tae Kwon Do Academy since 2003.  Her favorite part of teaching Tae Kwon Do is seeing her students progress and become more confident over time and knowing she played an important role in the process.

Maria Abruzzini

Hello my name is Maria Abruzzini.  I have lived in Scotts Valley for over 20 years and I am the Volunteer Coordinator for the TASMA program.  My son, Anthony, is six years old and has been participating at Scotts Valley Tae Kwon Do for over two years.  I also do Tae Kwon Do and Kickboxing.

When my son first started TKD, I was instantly amazed and impressed with the energy and commitment to the community that all of the Black Belt Instructors displayed.  The best part was how he loved his first class.

I am thrilled and honored to be a part of this program.

Lisa Nitake 

Lisa has been training and instructing in the Ultimate Bodyshaping Course (UBC) and kickboxing as well as Karate and Krav Maga for the past 7 years. She started training in kickboxing at Scotts Valley Tae Kwon Do in the year 2000. She continued training while living in Massachussetts where she earned her Brown belt in Karate. She also trained in Krav Maga, an Israeli form of self-defense for a year to broaden her skills in the martial arts.

She retuned to Scotts Valley Tae Kwon Do in 2005, bringing 3 years of UBC instruction experience with her. She brings the focus and energy of the martial arts into the routines of UBC/Kickboxing classes, providing a fun and interesting workout for the students.