Riley, 17, won his full-contact bout in male colts heavyweight division at Kyokushin Australia’s Victorian championships in Geelong on Sunday.

The title was his maiden victory at state level. He also placed third in his non-contact division, a stellar set of results having never placed before.

Riley said he nursed a knee complaint during his full-contact final, a consequence of his effort in the non-contact bout.

He said his opponent was adept with his punches, prompting him and sempai Natalie Jorgensen to devise a counter-strategy.

“My opponent, who I hadn’t gone against before, he was a bit shorter than me but more built,” he said.

“I saw him practising and he was doing a lot of punching techniques. I spoke to my sempai and she said we’d work more on reserving strength.

“The fights were two minutes, so that would involve closing my guard so he can’t punch me and working his leg with my knees.

“At the time I’d been injured in the non-contact division, I couldn’t bend my knee out to do head kicks or use it for support.”

The Warrnambool College student said he put the injury behind him once he took to the mats. Four of the five judges awarded him the fight.

“You have to push it out of your head so it doesn’t become a problem. With the actual fighting, he was coming close and trying to punch me in the gut,” he said.

“He was swinging wide on a lot of punches. When I saw those I had to keep jumping back and wait for him to waste his energy and work him again.”

Riley took up karate in 2007 when living in Geelong and spent 18 months immersing himself in the sport before his family shifted to Warrnambool.

The creation of the Warrnambool Kyokushin Karate Club about two years ago reignited his passion.

“It pushes you. It’s pretty much a life skill being pushed and being able to respond. And it’s a great physical activity,” he said. “Monday at school, knowing you’re struggling to walk because your legs are that sore from kicking and getting kicked, you feel you’ve put in effort.”

Riley was one of four club members to compete at the championships, and one of two to clinch top honours.

Jorgensen won her non-contact division and was runner-up in her full-contact division, female open middleweight.

Clubmates Serina Bogers and Hayden Lakey placed third in their non-contact divisions.