A local father and son have represented Australia with immense pride, winning a set of medals at the 2025 Oceania Karate Cup in New Caledonia last week.
Davy and Leonardo Wijaya channelled their inner Mr Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso from the hit ‘Karate Kid’ universe to win gold, silver and bronze at the prestigious two-day tournament in beautiful Noumea.
11-year-old Leonardo won gold in the Kumite Male under 12 division and bronze in the Kata Male under 12 division, while his father and coach, Davy, nabbed a silver medal in the Kata Male 35-54 veterans division.
The pair were the only competitors from the Western region to represent Karate Australia and were nothing short of sensational on their maiden adventure together on the international stage.
Davy, who is the Chief Instructor and Founder of Yukan Kai Karate Do in Jamisontown and Werrington, said it was a dream come true getting to represent Australia alongside his son.
“This is the biggest competition we’ve both been a part of – we’ve never been to the Oceania Karate Cup before,” Davy said.
“It was such a great feeling wearing the green and gold uniform and screaming ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie’ with everyone else. We weren’t just representing our region or state; we were representing our country.”
Davy has been teaching Leonardo karate since the age of four. He said coaching his son can have its challenges, but the reward at the end makes it all worth it.
“It can be a challenge because he’s your child, but I’m lucky that he listens and most importantly that he loves it as well,” he said.
“Leonardo did very well throughout the tournament. In the Kumite final, he was up against two other Australians – mate vs mate, state vs state. They fought it out and Leonardo got the gold. It was really good to be there as a parent, coach and sensei.”
Davy is hoping he and Leonardo’s success overseas will inspire more local kids and adults to take up karate in the future, so they too can one day take on the world and win.
“We are building champions at this dojo and we want to try and encourage other people in the community and provide them with opportunities to compete in higher levels,” Davy said.
“We want to be the example – if we can do it, they can do it!”
Become the next Karate Kid – or the next Davy and Leonardo Wijaya – by getting in touch with Yukan Kai Karate Do today!
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.