Martial Arts: Fighter backs anti-bully drive

UFC fighter James Te Huna (centre) meets with some Rotorua children at the Pacific MMA Gym on Maisey Place. Photo / Ben Fraser

If you look at the size of the man, you could be forgiven for thinking James Te Huna never copped any abuse from bullies.

But the UFC fighter shared from his own experiences about bullying during a trip to Rotorua on Friday.

Te Huna was visiting the city to hold a mixed martial arts seminar at the Pacific MMA Gym on Maisey Place, and also spoke to local children as part of a bully free programme.

"I've always wanted to visit Rotorua and always wanted to tour all of New Zealand. Originally, I was coming back to do a couple of seminars so we approached a few gyms. I wanted to try and give back to the community and anyone learning martial arts."

His nationwide tour is taking him from Auckland to Queenstown in the space of two weeks, and he said his time in Rotorua went really well.

The Kiwi fighter, who is based in Sydney, has been fighting in the UFC since 2010 and is currently taking time out to recover from surgery.

He said he wanted to give back to the sport in New Zealand.

"It was the right time for me. We have been fighting and training for so long now this was the first break I have really had," he said.

"I'm aiming towards the end of the year [for my next fight] but I've just come off some pretty serious surgery on my shoulder and ankle and want to have them all healed before I get back into full training."

Te Huna has trained at world-class gyms across the world and shared some of the things he has learned during the mixed martial arts seminar in Rotorua.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest mixed martial arts promoter in the world and features most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport. It is based out of the United States.