Kāhu ki Rotorua: CrossFit specialist Aritaku Robens takes skills to wānanga

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He tāiki ngāpara a Aritaku Robens koia tētehi o ngā toa whakataetae o Aotearoa i te ao CrossFit, ināianei he mahita kura e tuku iho ana i ōna mōhiohio ki ngā whakatupuranga o te ao hou.

Kua niho roa a ia i tēnei tūmomo āhuatanga engari ko tōna hiahia ki te awhina me te whakapakari i ngā tangata nā reira te pūtake i whāia ai e ia tēnei huarahi."

Ko te whakahira, ko te oranga ngākau o ngā tauira, kāhore he mea i tua atu o tēnā, ko te hiki tangata ki tōna paepae rangatira e tū kaha ai rātou", koinā ki tā tēnei toki o te ao whakataetae CrossFit i eke ai ki te taumata tuarima i te whakataetae ā motu i te wāhanga takawaenga i te tau e rua mano e rua tekau mā tahi.

E rua tekau mā whitu te rahi o Aritaku. He pouako Tākaro ia ki Te Whare wānanga o Aotearoa, i Te Waiwhero tētehi o ngā wānanga i Rotorua nei.

E toru tekau mā waru te roa o tēnei kaupapa ,mātua ko te whāinga nui ko te whakahuri i ngā momo whakaaro o āna tauira mā te huarahi o te mātauranga." Ko tētehi o aku tino kōrero ka kaha kōrerongia e ahau, ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini ".
" Ka oti i a koe tō pepa tono, ka noho te mana ki runga i ō pakihiwi, māu e whakamana ngā rauemi hai oranga mōu ko ngā mōhiohio māu ēnā e whakahoki atu ki te whānau e kaha ai tō rātou oranga".

E pūare ana te ngākau o Aritaku ki ngā momo iwi, ki ngā momo tangata katoa, pakari mai, rūhā mai ko te mea nui ko te whakaputa ngoi."

"He rarahi ngā tauira hou ka tae pōhauhau mai, ko tāku he āta whakamoea tēnā wairua pōkē, kia rangatira ai ngā rangatira".

Kua whakawhiwhia a Aritaki ki tana tohu paetahi ā hākinakina, he mea tuku ki a ia e Toi Ohomai rāūa ko AUT he kaupapa mahi tahi mo te kotahi tau engari ko te wāriu o tana pepa he taumata tuawha tākaro waihoki he taumata tuawha ā hākinakina hoki. Ka ngā rā mahi ko te rātahi tae noa ki te rāwhā o te wiki.

Toko iwa o ngā tauira e toitū ana ki tēnei kaupapa kua hemo tokowha.

Aritaku me ona tauira no te tau 2021. Ka whakapotaengia e ratou hei te tau nei.

Kai te aro ngā tauira nei kia mahita hākinakina rātou. Nā te mate urutā ka noho kē ngā tauira ki ngā kāinga mahi pepa ai, engari he kāri urutomo ki te whare pakari o Golds tētehi oranga mō rātou i ēnei wā uaua."

"He mātauranga anō ka hua mai i ēnei momo haerenga ki te whare pakari. He hakoke te mahi a ngā rāwhā ki ngā tōpito maha o te takiwā ka tino hiahia mātou ki te noho tahi mē ērā atu o ngā whare whakapakari o Te Waiariki nei".

Ki tā Aritaku kua hauruangia te karaehe, ko tētehi wāhanga he whakapakari ko tētehi anō wāhanga he hauora." Ko te whāinga matua kia tū rātou hai mātanga hauora"."

Me te maha hoki o ngā ara ka puta mai i tēnei momo kaupapa, ae, ka tū rātou hai mātanga whakapakari tangata, engari anō ko te wāhanga ki te ako hākinakina, takitahi takitini rānei, te whānui hoki o ngā mea ka tāea e tēnei tohu".

Ko tētehi atu wāhanga o te kaupapa nei ko te aro ki ngā tākaro o te ao Māori.

"Ki taku whakaaro nō te wānanga e whakarite ana i tēnei kaupapa he hiahia nō rātou ki te whakarākei i ētehi wāhanga o ngā momo tākaro a te Māori me te kaupapa mātanga whakapakari."

E mea ana a Aritaku ko ngā momo tākarokaro o te ao Māori ko ngā kēmu ngāwari pēnei i te kī-o-rahi, te horo hopu, te poi poa me ētehi atu o ngā parawhakawai rākau. Ka pau te kaupeka i ēnei tākaro, ā, ka ako hoki ai ngā tauira ki ngā take i waihangatia ai ēnei kēmu e ngā tūpuna Māori.

"Ae, he taha whakangāhau o ēnei kēmu engari ko te tino tikanga ko te whakapakari i te tangata kia toa ia kia mārō ngā kōwititanga o te ringaringa me ētehi atu wāhanga o te tinana".

Kua māuri tau tōna ngākau i te mōhiohio kua whai take ai ngā kēmu Māori ki ngā wāhanga o te mātauranga o Aotearoa nei. E noho pouri iti nei a Aritaku i te korenga o te whakapōtaetanga nā te mate urutā ko te tikanga ko tana whakapōtaetanga tuatahi tēnei hai pou-ako.

Me uaua kē e mau ai i ahau te māuri o ngā tauira i te tau kua pahemo, ko tātou katoa i haukurungia ai e te urutā. Ko te noho a rorohiko, kanohi ki te kanohi he mea uaua hoki tēnā, ka whakapiri mai ētehi ka oma atu ētehi.

Aritaku Robens wants whanau to be healthy.

He āhuatanga horapa haere i te motu ko tōna hoa mahi he mahita pēnei i a ia, ā, he mōhio hoki ia ki ēnei taumahatanga."

He waimarie tātou i noho rāhui te motu mō te toru wiki anahe i tera tau – ka haria ngā karaehe katoa ki te paetukutuku mahi ai".

Aritaku Robens is one of the country's top CrossFit athletes and is passing on his skills and knowledge through his role as a kaiako at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

The talented sportsman has years of experience in the sport and recreation industry but his desire to help others improve their lifestyle is why he chooses to teach.

"The highlight is helping students realise their potential. I love that I have the ability to help and guide people into a healthier lifestyle and make healthy choices," says Aritaku, who came fifth in the 2021 national CrossFit intermediate division.

Aritaku, 27 from Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne and Ngai Tahu is a Kaiako at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa's Waiwhero campus in Rotorua, teaching the Certificate in Tākaro, Sport and Exercise.

The 38-week programme supports tauira in taking the first steps towards a career in the fitness industry but for Aritaku it's also about whānau transformation through education.

"One of the things that I tend to push earlier on in the year is that you aren't just here for yourself, you're here for your whānau.

"Once you enroll it's up to you to use the resources and gain the knowledge to take back to your whānau and promote healthier lifestyles."

Aritaku is open to teaching tauira from all backgrounds, no matter what their fitness and study goals are if they are willing to put in their best effort.

"A lot of tauira come in not backing themselves and then I'm able to teach them and show them that if you do back yourself, you're able to do a whole lot more than you thought you could."

Aritaku, who holds a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation from Toi Ohomai in conjunction with AUT teaches a one-year programme of level 4 in sport and level 4 in exercise. It runs Mondays to Thursdays.

Of the 13 who enrolled originally, nine are still there. His students want to be personal trainers.

Because of Covid the first semester meant the class mahi, the theory part of the course, had to be conducted online.

Students have the use of Golds gyms for training and learning there.

"This is one of the cool things. Through gym visits students get to learn a lot about health and fitness.

"On Thursdays we go off-site exploring which sees us heading out anywhere. We try to tee up with other gyms round the Bay of Plenty."

Aritaku says the course is sort of half and half fitness and hauora.

Aritaku me ona tauira no te tau 2021. Ka whakapotaengia e ratou hei te tau nei.

"My main aim is for them to be hauora practitioners.

"They can come out of the course as a qualified Personal trainer then can get into different aspects like group fitness, sports coach or recreation. "It covers a whole lot of
different things."

The other part of their certificate studies covers ngā tāonga tākaro or traditional Māori games.

"I think when the wananga designed the programme what they were after was a putting a bit of a twist on traditional personal training programme."

The takaro are what Aritaku calls "real basic ones" ki o rahi, horohopu, poi toa, and various rākau or stick games. They run throughout the whole year and students learn why our tupuna used to play them.

"The majority of these games, even though they are fun and real active, had multiple purposes like preparing for war, strengthening their wrists and other parts of their bodies."

The traditional sports bring another element for the students to embrace and Aritaku agrees that's going to become more relevant as Aotearoa embraces more mātauranga Māori.

Aritaku was looking forward to graduation this month but that will now be online because of covid.

He's disappointed because this will be his first ever graduation as a Kaiako.

It was hard to keep students engaged last year because of the lockdowns and traffic light phases. This was especially hard going from face to face to online studies.

Even though students could join classes online many didn't bother but others stuck it out.

One of Aritaku's mates runs similar course at another institution and was having worse problems retaining interest.

"I think we were pretty lucky last year as we only had a three-week lockdown. Had to move everything online then."

Being able to go to the gym and different places in the Bay helped keep up interest.
Aritaku praised the Wananga who were really supportive.

"The whole theory part of our course is all available online. Students were given a web portal and it was a great set up from the start.

"From Week 1 to 38 even if they can't attend class, they still have access to the resources and content."

The best outcome Aritaku sees for his students is education around health and wellbeing.
"Learning all the elements involved with that and then being able to pass knowledge on to their whanau.

"The main one is to get as many people as we can on a healthier journey."

One of main outcomes last year was building what he calls mental fortitude.

"In our gym trainings it is like teaching them to push through the really hard stuff. Or when they feel like really, really giving up teaching them they've still got a whole lot left."

At the Wananga Aritaku's main goal is to help as many people as he can through their programme.

His advice to prospective students?

"Just give it a go, no harm in trying. If not into it, sweetaz."