By Marcus Uhe
Leonardo Rizkallah is fine-tuning his preparation for the upcoming WKF World Karate Championships to be held in Turkey in October.
The St Francis Xavier College student from Clyde North has been selected to compete for Australia in the Kumite Under-76 Kilogram Junior Males division.
Rizkallah has experienced an incredible year on the mats, finishing third in his division at the Victorian State Championships in February before winning his division at the Australian Open Karate Championships in April.
In June, he flew to New Caledonia for the Oceania Karate Championships, where he again placed third, before another bronze at the Australian Karate Federation National Championships in August led to a fight-off to ensure his qualification for Turkey.
Because of the timing of the tournament and his birthday, he was forced to compete against 16-year-olds to ensure he qualified in the appropriate age bracket come October, despite being just 15 at the time.
“(The fight off) was a bit of a stressful experience,” Mr Rizkallah said.
“They gave us 10 minutes’ notice that we had to do a fight-off. It was best of three rounds. They put in the centre of the mat with everyone watching, all the coaches, then we had to fight.
“I just stayed by myself to stay ready and kept composed.
“They were very tough fights.”
Mr Rizkallah’s journey in the sport began at the Shukokai Karate Dojo in Cranbourne as a nine-year-old.
He now trains primarily at Peter Hollywood Martial Arts in Mornington under the tutelage of Peter and Dean Hollywood.
He keeps his fighting style “simple”, focusing on getting the victory and applying what he’s learnt in his training sessions while making use of a wicked reverse punch and arsenal of kicks.
But he also considers himself a student of the sport, studying the likes Jordanian Abdel Rahman Almasatfa, bronze medallist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and other competitors, to look to add to his repertoire.
With limited access to gyms in the last two years, he established a make-shift gym in his backyard complete with punching bags and weights, and was supported by his Dad, Andrew.
Dean Hollywood, one of his coaches at his Mornington gym, was full of praise for his work ethic.
“He’s one of our hardest working athletes,” Mr Hollywood said.
“He’s definitely listened to everything we have to say. He’s really good and respectful around the club.
(His strengths are) His punch, his kicks and he’s got really good timing. He’s got good intensity when he’s out there.
“He’s pretty dedicated and worked really hard this year. We’re all pretty stoked for him and hope he does well.”
To help fund his trip to Turkey, the family have set up a GoFundMe page.
You can support his trip by following this link – gofundme.com/f/leonardo-road-to-wkf-world-karate-championship
