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Hori Thai Strength & Fitness is a mixed martial arts club in Rotorua that is becoming well-known nationally.
Rika Kereopa-Barrett has just won the Shuriken New Zealand MMA Tournament, and Hakaraia Wilson has become a pro MMA fighter: Both are from the Hori Thai club.
Club owner and coach Paki-Tu Wirihana said MMA was a sport that involved a really heavy physical combat outlook but not just that: “It is also a place to strengthen one’s mind, soul, and spirit”.
His club runs on whānau and tikanga Māori, and he said it was a place of refuge for those searching for a new path to inner peace physically and spiritually. “ All types of fighting sports are great for us, for Māori. It’s in our blood, there is no other sport that compares to MMA,” Wirihana said.
Kereopa-Barrett (Te Arawa), who took out the Shuriken New Zealand MMA Tournament, has a fighting record of seven fights, with six wins and one disqualification. He was thankful to get the victory over a “very strong” opponent and his coach was his uncle, “so that’s probably a big difference. When I look behind me, I’ve got my cousins, my uncle, and also my extended whānau have come to support me.”
His coach/uncle Wirhana said: “He kept his head in the game from start to finish, his punches and kicks were devastating, and at the end he won. I’m proud of my nephew.”
At 25 Wilson has been doing mixed martial arts since the age of three. He has recently returned from the US chasing his new MMA professional career. Wirihana is both his coach and dad.
Wilson has had 10 amateur fights, then turned pro two years ago when he went to the US. “I continue to develop and strengthen my game and my dream is to make the UFC, Bellator, and do it all for my family,” Wilson said.
“He is now prepared to chase his dreams and fight and enter tournaments against people around the world,” his proud dad said.
Hori Thai has 40 members, men, women, and children who compete in Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, or MMA. The club has three adult gold world champions for No-Gi. It took a team to The Sports Jiu Jitsu Federations Worlds 2019 at Long Beach California with six adults and three juniors where all the juniors won gold and adults gold, silver and bronze including Wirihana and his gold at the worlds.
The Wirihana whānau has been involved in mixed martial arts for 17 years and the Hori Thai club has been operating for most of that time.
Besides its value in physical training and MMA being a full-contact sport, Wirihana sees it as a means of helping Māori with mental challenges such as depression and anxiety.
The club has had its fair share of whānau going through these difficulties but Wirihana has had an open-door policy for those who those who show up.
“It’s a sport that requires one to control their anger, discipline their aggression. This is a place of safety and support for those who come through these doors who seek change, who seek help from the heaviness of life burdens,” Wirihana said. 
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