Trumbull Town Planner Named International Power Breaking Champion
TRUMBULL, CT — Town Planner Rob Librandi was recently named an international power breaking champion after competing at the World Martial Arts Championships earlier this month.
Librandi competed in the championships, held July 5-6 in Florida, where he earned the title of International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) World Heavyweight Black Belt Power Breaking Champion by breaking 13 concrete blocks.
“It really is a dream come true to be recognized [as] one of the best power breakers in the world,” Librandi said to Patch.
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Librandi is no stranger to karate, having opened the Trumbull Academy of Karate at 6515 Main Street earlier this year.
According to Librandi, this new honor marks the achievement of a goal he has been working toward for four years.
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“I really didn’t stop training, as tournaments are all year round,” Librandi said, “but I picked up my training, four months of intense training six days a week, before the tournament. Weights training to build power, cardio for speed and doing as many reps of the breaks as possible. Body conditioning to make sure I wouldn’t get hurt was very important.”
See also: Town Planner Opens New Karate Academy In Trumbull
A post on the town website Wednesday noted Librandi spent over 30 year studying martial arts, receiving his fifth-degree black belt in 2020.
Although he has competed each year since then at the international championship level, he had not brought home a win until now.
Librandi said he was seeded third to compete out of 25 black belt heavyweights weighing over 200 pounds, which is “a bad spot,” he noted.
“You want to be last to know how many blocks you need to hit,” Librandi said,” so I had to put a number high enough where, if they broke, they would all have to catch my number. I never broke 13 before in practice or during competition, so I was very excited when I broke, as I know that’s a very hard number to beat.”
Librandi also noted he was told after the competition he was one block away from tying the world record.
“I was so blessed to have so many family and friends supporting me and my dream,” Librandi said. “My focus is now training the next generation of world champions here in Trumbull.”
Ever the instructor, Librandi said the key to success is to never give up, as every loss is a lesson.
“If you can adapt and move on, you can get to where you want to be,” Librandi said. “Have faith in the process and have discipline, and do not get discouraged. Discipline is doing something you don’t want to do, but you know you have to do it to reach your goal.”
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