In 1997, Umar was fortunate to be selected into the Indonesian National Karate Team and went on to win 2 Gold medals in the South East Asian Games. From there, he never looked back; he went on to represent his country in many International Karate Tournaments and won many International Titles. In 2003, he stopped his studies in the University to pursue his passion for Karate. Then, in 2004, he trained in various European countries with well known Kumite Masters and won the European Master Cup twice. From 2005 until today, Umar Syarief was honored and made Captain of the Indonesian Karate National Team. Obviously, Umar had his share of injuries in this sport art and had his first knee surgery the same year, followed by another 5 surgeries over the years, but he kept competing in high level competitions and in 2013,won a Gold medal at the South East Asia Games in Myanmar. Umar Syarief is a well-respected Karate Athlete and a National Hero to the Indonesia people. He will be the national coach for a karate team in Indonesia from 2019-2023. Umar is based in Switzerland where he has his own studio and teaches Karate, Martial Arts, and Functional training. He has been a STRONG by Zumba Master Trainer for Indonesia since 2017.