RICHMOND, Va. – In July, athletes from Westborough’s MassDojo found success at the 2023 USA National Karate Championships and Team Trials in Richmond, Va.
MassDojo was one of the larger groups in attendance for the championships, sending 45 athletes and five coaches to Virginia for the four-day event. Each athlete practiced for over seven months to prepare for the event.
At the championship, 14 MassDojo athletes were crowned national champions, 12 of whom became champions in “kumite,” the dojo’s specialty. The dojo won 106 total medals.
“It was a big year,” said Eric Rossini, the sensei and dojo owner. “We had a 5-year-old champion, all the way up to an 18-year-old champion… I put all my effort into every kid; it doesn’t matter what age they are.”
The five-year-old national champion, Northborough’s Taron Wong, described excitedly standing atop of the podium, remembering that “it made [him] feel happy,” he said. Wong’s brother Liam, who is eight, also medaled at the event, and he said he felt “very happy” after succeeding.
“We’re incredibly proud,” said Kaitlyn Wong, the mother of Taron and Liam. “We never really thought they’d have such interest in it, and when they did, they ran with it and did so well. We were very, very proud and excited for them.”
Taron said the competition was “the best day of his life,” according to video footage shared with the Community Advocate by his mother.
Some athletes travel over an hour to the dojo to train with Rossini.
“I’m pretty well known nationally – I’m the only guy in Massachusetts that really does this level of competition… I work real hard at it, and my hard work carries over to the kids,” Rossini said.
Despite all his hard work, Rossini didn’t expect this much success at the championship. After dealing with physical challenges throughout the year, Rossini reported being “extremely stressed.” However, everything came together in the last three weeks, and MassDojo ended the “very challenging year” with more success than it has ever had.
Three athletes – Eva Chandel, Surya Balaji and Khanak Patel – will be headed to the Junior Pan-American Karate Championships in Santiago, Chile. The three athletes will represent the United States at the competition.
Rossini, a national trainer for the USA Karate organization, will head to Chile alongside the three athletes. Rossini has decades of experience with the sport.
“You’re allowed to protest if there’s a mistake. I filed five protests [at the national competition] this year and I won four of them. That was a pretty big deal, and it got around to everyone in the national organization. It’s just experience,” he said.
When one of Rossini’s athletes wins, they don’t just get a gold medal – they get lifted.
“When a kid wins, I don’t care if they’re five or 18 – I pick them up,” he said.
The tradition is just one reason why Rossini is respected by his athletes. Rossini works hard to use his years of experience to guide the athletes, but he admitted he does have one secret trick to help boost the athletes’ performance.
“I do mix a good amount of humor into it… I do try to make everybody laugh. If you make them laugh while they’re working hard, you can get them to do anything you want. That’s one of my tricks to get them to perform,” he said.
