Rodrigues joins championship tradition

Posted 9/18/14

The Don Rodrigues Karate Academy occupies half of a non-descript one-story building, tucked away off Airport Road, where the planes fly so low you feel like you could touch them.

The Rodrigues …

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Rodrigues joins championship tradition

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The Don Rodrigues Karate Academy occupies half of a non-descript one-story building, tucked away off Airport Road, where the planes fly so low you feel like you could touch them.

The Rodrigues kids practically grow up there, learning from their father, Don, and their mother, Christine. They’re surrounded by championship hardware, a constant reminder that a small place, in a small building, in a small state can be a gateway to the world.

Dante Rodrigues got his chance to take on the world earlier this month and came home with a new medal to add to the collection. Like his mother and his brother, Chris, before him, Dante has joined the Rodrigues world championship tradition.

“I really wanted to win it,” said Dante, 16. “We have two world champions in my family so it was really cool to do it.”

Dante’s opportunity came at the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations World Championships in Rimini, Italy. His younger brother Niko also competed, while Don and Christine watched. It was a family trip unlike any other.

“Obviously, it was something really special for us,” Don Rodrigues said.

Dante competed in forms and weapons. He had been to one world championship before, a few years ago. He finished outside the medals and was determined to change that.

“Ever since then, it got me mad,” Dante said. “It just drove it into my head to train, train, train. I made my promise that I was going to win the next time. It was a really big goal for me.”

The competition was tough again, but Dante found a way. He edged his nearest competitor by fractions of a point.

“I thought his performance was outstanding,” Don Rodrigues said. “He stepped up to the occasion. He knew what he had to do and he did it. It was a clutch performance.”

When it was over, Dante was on the medal stand, where he’d always dreamed of being. In the Rodrigues family, you start karate early and you compete with high expectations. He has watched dozens of his friends at the school compete at high levels. The Rodrigues Academy may as well be the center of the U.S. WAKO team’s universe. Don coaches the team on nearly every trip, and local competitors are always taking the stage.

It was finally Dante’s time.

“It felt really great,” he said. “Everybody’s watching, every country is there. It’s just such a big honor.”

Dante wasn’t the only competitor with ties to the school that shined. Katherine Tian, who now lives in California but previously trained at the Rodrigues Academy, won gold and silver medals. Warwick’s Gracie Rotondo fought well and finished just outside the medals.

Niko Rodrigues, making his world championship debut as the youngest competitor in his division, held his own but lost in the second round.

He’s next.

From Warwick to the world, the championship quest continues.

“Now we’ve got to bring Niko back,” Don Rodrigues said. “He’ll have a good shot the next time.”

William Geoghegan is the sports editor at the Warwick Beacon. He can be reached at 732-3100 and williamg@rhodybeat.com. Find him on Twitter @RhodyWill.

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