Your stomach gets jittery, and you can’t wait to get down and get busy.” “The intensity of it is the difference and the nerves, of course. “When I’m fighting, you want to do it to the best of your ability,” he said. He started competing in 1990 and credited Chuck Muckinhaupt, with whom he began studying that year in Meadville, Pa., with taking him to the next level.įranklin, at 5 feet 8 inches tall and 195 pounds, said karate is different when training or teaching versus facing an opponent at a competition. “That desire? I had it since I was a kid. There are 208 fighters, and it’s an elimination tournament with no weight limits.įranklin, who was born in Youngstown, Ohio, lived up and down the East Coast from Pennsylvania to Florida.
But he has a talent that’s taking him all the way to Tokyo later this month to represent the United States in the 11th World Karate Championships, held every four years. Many patrons at Red Rock Resort likely only know Dennis Franklin, 44, as a table games dealer. He works as a tables games dealer at Red Rock Resort. He has won the right to represent the USA in the upcoming 11th World Karate Championships in Tokyo, Japan. Las Vegan Dennis Franklin strikes a pose Sept.
