A Japanese Olympic medallist is making his first-ever trip Down Under next week, and Penrith is on his travel itinerary.
34-year-old karate megastar Ryutaro Araga, who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will be conducting a special seminar at Yukan Kai Karate Do in Jamisontown next Friday, February 21.
Open to the club’s dedicated members, Araga will conduct the kumite karate seminar alongside Australian karate star Kristina Mah.
Speaking with the Weekender, Chief Instructor Davy Wijaya Sensei said he can’t wait to host the Olympic bronze medallist at his newly opened dojo, located at the ABCOE Centre.
“Our club is registered with Karate Australia and when the President called me recently to ask if I’d like to have an Olympian come to my dojo, I didn’t hesitate in saying yes,” he said.
“This opportunity gives our students the chance to meet an Olympian, so I was very excited for our members, for the community and for the region of Penrith to have the real karate kid come to town.”
Araga has well and truly done it all during his decorated career in the discipline of kumite karate. Not only did he compete and win a medal at his home Olympic Games, but he’s also a World Karate Federation World Champion, Asian Games Champion and World Games Champion.
“There’s two types of karate – kumite and traditional – and kumite is the fighting art of karate. We’ve never had a sparring champion come to Australia before until now,” Wijaya said.
“At 84kg, he’s a heavyweight champion, and everyone wants to see the heavyweight!”
Joining Araga next Friday is the woman accompanying him on his upcoming tour of Sydney, Kristina Mah. The Aussie is a former World Karate Federation World Champion, eight-time Oceania Champion and 5th Dan Black Belt in Go-Ju Ryu Karate-do.
Wijaya said the purpose of next week’s seminar is for the students to learn the art of kumite by two of the best to do it.
“Ryutaro is going to give them the knowledge,” he said.
“He’s going to get everyone to partner up and then run through the fundamentals of kumite with them.”
Wijaya is expecting upwards of 40 members to participate in the 75-minute seminar at Yukan Kai Karate Do.
“This is a great opportunity for Penrith and for the sport of karate locally,” he said.
For more information, contact the club on 0416 341 762 or visit http://www.yukankai.com.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.