Karate kid taking on Europe’s best - Ross Levine travels to St. Petersburg with NYC Professional Karate Team
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Pro karate today is a fast-paced, high-\octane sport of punching and kicking. The goal of each two-minute match is to outpoint your opponent.
“Basically, the point is not taking a beating,” Flores said.
Levine’s father and older brother introduced him to the sport.
He trains out of teammate Jadi Tention’s gym in the Bronx.
“I treat him like family and he treats me the same,” Levine said.
If it seems odd to some that a Jewish kid from Brooklyn and a Muslim man from the Bronx share a bond of brotherhood. It doesn’t to Levine.
“To me, religion isn’t a gigantic part of my life,” he said. “Jadi is a little more religious. But when it comes to friendship, it just doesn’t come into play.”
When he was younger, Levine’s dad would often match up his son against better opponents in the gym in order to challenge the boy’s abilities.
“He wanted Ross to fight guys who were better,” Flores says. “He’s a blue-collar guy and said, ‘I came up tough, my boys are going to come up tough, too.’”
Flores expects his boys to do very well in St. Petersburg.
“We’re going to kick the crap out of those S.O.B.’s,” he laughs. “We’re not traveling 3,000 miles to lose.”
But in addition to dispatching opponents, Levine and his New York City Professional Karate Team also hope to comfort a few souls if they can.
The athletes plan on visiting a children’s hospital while they compete in Russia.
“I think it’s great,” Levine said in anticipation of the trip. “For a lot of kids, it’s very gloomy. Even for older people, hospitals are no place to be.”
He’ll do “anything to cheer up the kids.”
Flores said his team realizes that when they travel overseas, they will be acting as more than just athletes.
“We’re ambassadors,” he said. “I think we’re above politics and we have to show a side of ourselves outside of the ring.”
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