Luciano Jun Kwon travelled to Czechoslovakia to participate in the Heart of Europe, an international debate tournament, at the beginning of August.

Over the six-day debate period, he beat out some of the best 17-and 18-year-old debaters in the world, coming in fifth place out of 140 contestants.

He even managed to debate his way to the top, beating out six of his fellow Canadian teammates - and he's only 12 years old.

For some, being able to form a strong impromptu argument and articulate it in front of a crowd can seem daunting, but for Coquitlamnative Luciano, it's his talent, an art form, a way of life.

"I really like the critical thinking part of it. You can think of things and take value to it. In debate, you think of an argument and you just debate back and forth, you really learn a lot," said the soon-to-be Grade 7 student at the Pacific Academy in Surrey.

His debate career began in Grade 4 as a bit of "educational fun," but it wasn't until a year later that he would discover his true passion for debate.

"Usually there's this ongoing stereotype that debate is for nerds - and that's what I thought it was in Grade 4," he admitted. "It's really competitive - it's a lot of clash and a lot of competitive logic going back and forth."

Luciano has become a human database of information, absorbing much of his knowledge from a variety of news sources such as the Vancouver Sun, BBC World and The Economist that he reads twice a day.

To say the Grade 6 student is ambitious is an understatement. He has won numerous debate team and individual awards both provincially and nationally, is an avid lacrosse player, and is also the assistant captain of his local hockey team, the Coquitlam Chiefs - a title he recently earned through debate.

"He convinced three coaches to let him be the assistant captain," said his mother, Sunhee. "He has a winning spirit, physically and mentally."

"I told them [the coaches] a captain is a very important part of hockey because it can potentially mean the difference between a win and a loss," he said, adding that the person who can best convince the coaches for or against a penalty should be named the captain.

While his debate skills have taught him to carry himself with the confidence of an adult, Luciano said he still takes time to be a kid.

"I still like playing with my friends and reading other books like Percy Jackson," he said.

His father Antonio, who encouraged Luciano to take up debate, hopes parents will realize the educational value of it.

"Children are like icebergs - you need to see the potential under the water," he said. "Debate helps this and makes learning fun."

As for the future, Luciano has drafted a five-point plan, which includes going to university and law school and becoming a lawyer.

"I want to be the first Asian prime minister," he said.

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