Mernda’s Joseph Ferro hopes to turn his karate into a career.
The 15-year-old, who took up the sport because his older sister and brother were doing it, will travel to Fiji in September to represent Australia in the Oceania Championships.
He was selected after winning the 14-15-year-old male division at the Australian Open championships in April.
“It’s the seventh year I’ve competed at the [Australian] championships,” he said.
“I was hoping to make the team for Fiji, I just wasn’t sure I’d be selected. They pick two people.”
At the weekend, Ferro won the Kata individual cadet event at the Australian Karate Federation championships in Perth.
Ferro, who trains at Shotokan Karate International Australia in Reservoir, puts his success this year down to harder training.
“I’ll train even more in the lead-up to Fiji,” he said. “I train four nights a week doing both cardio and karate.”
He said he was unsure about what he would face in Fiji.
“I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “I’ll just try my best and see what happens.
“All I know is it will be at a higher quality than in Australia.”
The Whittlesea Secondary College student, who already has earned his black belt, is hoping this is only the start of where karate can take him.
“I want to make a living from karate,” he said. “To do that I have to keep practising and practising.”
