Local kapa haka group Ngā Purapura o Te Taihauāuru (Puras) haven’t just been rehearsing their moves in the run up to Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga – they’ve been working hard on their fitness too!
Tui Ora’s Kaiwhakahaere Ngā Tini Whetū, Leanne Matuku, has been helping them get ready for their big moment on the main stage at Aotearoa’s largest kapa haka festival with twice-a-week training sessions over the past year.
Leanne was approached by Mizsiah Tuauahiroa Martin-Kemp (Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Maru, Ngā Puhi) to help him and his kapa haka roopu become stage fit in time for the event.
She’d previously worked with them back in 2014 while hosting Fit4Life sessions at Nga Pekanga Te Kohanga Reo in Whaitara. Her work ethic made a lasting impression on Mizsiah, so when the Puras were ready to increase their fitness for this upcoming Te Matatini, he knew Leanne was the right person to help.
“I approached Aunty Lee at the Taranaki Tu Mai event hosted by Ngāti Tama and said that there had been a shift in the energy and mental game of the Puras, and that we wanted to do better for our hauora. We knew if we wanted to win on the stage, then we needed to bring a winning outlook to all aspects of our whare tapa wha,” he said.
Since then, Leanne has been working with the roopu to get them ready. She’s introduced the group to a variety of different workouts like HIIT and spin classes, created a customised health plan, and arranged access to a kitchen at WITT so they can all do their meal preparation together.
The experience so far has taught Mizsiah that teamwork makes the dream work. “It isn’t easy, but doing it together has helped. A lot of us find it hard working out by ourselves due to no motivation, but when a collective is in on it, the level changes and makes it so much more fun!”
It’s also taught him that a little encouragement was all they needed when it came to overcoming unfamiliar situations. “We’ve had members who would never step through the door of a gym, because they don’t feel it’s a safe space since they don’t look like everyone else. Leanne’s taught us to bust down those doors and excel in the challenges we’ve had.”
Mizsiah says Leanne is “Persistent, hardworking and always looking out for us so we can be the best versions of ourselves. We’re a bunch of strong-minded, strong-willed Māori from Whaitara and if that doesn’t already tell you a story then I don’t know what will! But Leanne can handle us being set in our ways, and she stays on and gives us all the love she can.”
With Te Matatini nearing closer, the vision of performing that Mizsiah has been drawing from for motivation will soon become a reality. When imagining the moment he’s on stage with millions of people watching, he says he’ll feel “Gratitude that we were able to show the world the kaupapa, proud that we got to host Te Matatini at home and talk about our history, proud that we’ve done it for our whānau, a little sad that it’s gone so fast and that it’s nearly over, but mostly thankful, thankful that we’ve done it and have a finished performance that we’re so proud of.”