Down syndrome hasn’t stopped Hawke’s Bay’s Maui Oliver from achieving his taekwondo dreams

Maui Oliver is now an instructor at Koryo Taekwondo in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor

Maui Oliver has taken his passion for taekwondo to the next level by becoming an instructor at Koryo Taekwondo in Hastings.

Oliver ran his first class, accompanied by dojo master Camille Pruckmuller, on Monday, which had a turnout of 12 children aged between 4 and 12.

He said the opportunity to take on the role has been great, as he’d been looking for employment at a nursery after he lost his job following Cyclone Gabrielle.

“It was a bit of a challenge and a game-changer,” he said.

Oliver is a black belt under two dojos and has competed overseas, winning two gold medals and one silver in Argentina.

He said the best part about being an instructor was working with children and making sure they are listening and learning correctly.

He teaches a range of techniques in his class, including self-defence, front kicks and roundhouse kicks. His class runs for an hour from 4.30pm to 5.30pm on Monday nights, and he says it’s for everyone.

“Even if there was a real fat person, or a halfway fat person, they [could] do it without being fit. Like myself - I was on the wide-ish side.”

He said he enjoys taekwondo because it’s something he was able to pick up quickly and which was in accord with his love of fitness.

Pruckmuller said his gentle ways set him up perfectly to become an instructor.

“He just shows all the good attributes of a trainer. He pushes himself, he tries hard, and he is honest and willing to give it a go,” she said.

She put Oliver through training which taught him how to work with and understand the students.

“When you are teaching, you need to go to the speed of the slowest person,” she said.

Becoming an instructor is the next step for Oliver, who has a memory like an elephant when it comes to remembering patterns for the poomsae style of taekwondo.

Oliver is part of the New Zealand para team heading to Australia to compete in the 2024 Gold Coast Open World taekwondo championship in para kyorugi and poomsae [sparring and patterns].

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. Michaela covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.