'He likes to compete'

By JASON JUNO

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Ironwood --- Rukus Betlewski has been involved in a lot of sports.

This year, he coached middle school baseball and then took to the diamond himself for the Ironwood Athletics, a summer American Legion team.

His sharpshooting ability from 3 helped the Ironwood basketball team to a district title in 2023.

But neither of those are his favorite, nor are they his most accomplished.

"I love being here," he said recently at the Karate Institute in Ironwood. "It's my favorite sport out of any sport I've ever played. It means a lot. Karate's a way of life. Basketball and baseball are only for a certain amount of time, but karate's forever."

The 2023 graduate has been involved in karate for 15 years; his dad Dave has been doing it for going on 44 years here.

And Rukus has done well with it, to say the least.

He's placed first 25 times in sparring, weapons and open-hand kata. He's also gotten a lot of second and thirds.

He became a black belt once he became eligible a few years ago.

He teaches classes with his dad in Ironwood and Minocqua in what Dave terms an apprenticeship. Rukus works with the young kids - something he takes a lot of pride in - and Dave takes the more advanced classes.

"I have the best mentor you could ever imagine right here," Rukus said. "Ninth degree black belt, that's the highest in Wisconsin."

Nothing in karate comes easily. A black belt test lasts four to five hours in front of a testing committee and you have to be 95% correct, Dave said.

That goes for the tournaments, too, where every motion has to be precise for a panel of judges to consider, like in gymnastics. He's got another handful of them coming up, mostly in central Wisconsin. With its prime location in the middle of the state, they draw some of the top competitors in Wisconsin, Rukus said.

"He likes to compete without a doubt," Dave said. "He likes tournament action."

All of the things he has learned in karate helped him when he got to the school sports.

"Karate definitely helped with basketball and baseball," Rukus said. "Dedication, attitude, attitude especially. Karate's attitude separates from anyone. Ask anyone who's done karate ... attitude is the No. 1 thing, you never quit."

He doesn't plan to.

He said his dad doesn't show any signs of slowing down either. While they limited enrollments in their classes in recent years, they aren't going to do that this year. Dave also plans to start up his tournaments again; those are typically held in Minocqua.