Gina Gee is the first female trainer to join the Fale Dojo coaching staff. Gina brings her remarkable background and experience in combat fighting, adding significant skills and knowledge to the young lions’ three-month professional wrestling course. Gina also teaches her popular box fit and kickboxing classes to the general public.
Born to a European father and Tongan mother, Gina and her siblings were ingrained in sports, culture and family. Inspired by their grandfather and father who were boxers (her father also winning championships in Australia), Gina and her brothers naturally followed in their footsteps.
“My dad used to box, and my brothers are all athletes. My brothers also represented New Zealand,” said Gina. “I always loved fighting. I liked kickboxing, but I also played rugby, netball, basketball, water polo and hockey.”
Gina was passionate about pursuing combat sports despite her mother’s well-meaning concerns for Gina being one of two daughters. However, Gina began to commit intently to fighting when she got older: “I started training in boxing after I had my last baby,” she shared. “I was boxing in the women’s classes just to get fit. Eventually, the coach asked if I was keen to have a boxing fight, and I said yes.”
Gina and her children relocated to Australia where she mastered her combat skills, winning several major championships.
“I competed in amateur boxing and won a few titles in Queensland,” Gina revealed. “I managed to win the Australian Golden Gloves title, the Queensland State title and the South-East Queensland title.”
Gina traveled further abroad to the fight capital of the world, gaining more accolades.
“I had a kickboxing fight in Las Vegas where I won the Wakko North American title.”
Having already made her mark on the international stage, Gina endeavoured on a new journey. She moved her family to Fanga, Nukualofa in Tonga, where she sought to give her children a valuable and life-changing discovery of their heritage.
“We moved back to New Zealand, but I wanted to take my kids to Tonga to experience living there,” she explained. “More importantly getting to know their roots, we did that for a year.”
Upon returning to New Zealand, Gina became a sought after combat trainer, teaching at various locations around Auckland. Gina eventually came in contact with Fale Dojo.
“Arthur Papali’i [Fale Dojo mainstay] used to be one of my students, and he approached me about whether I would be interested in teaching some classes at Fale Dojo,” Gina recalled. “With Arthur’s recommendation, I began discussions with Toks Fale and Mark Tui about becoming a trainer at the Dojo.”
Gina’s family values and respect for her culture aligns with the Fale Dojo’s values, making this an excellent partnership. As a mother of five children, it is a natural instinct for Gina to want to invest her time and skills into the youth and sees it as a long term ambition to create a training programme specifically aimed at the youth who wish to train and improve their skills.
“I want to show my kids that you can achieve anything, as long as you put the work in,” Gina stated in closing.
“I’d like to slowly incorporate some boxing programmes at Fale Dojo for the youth and especially for young teenage girls, and bring some nice positive energy.”
ABOUT FALE DOJO / NJPW NEW ZEALAND DOJO:
Founded in 2016 by Head Trainer Toks Fale, Fale Dojo is a professional wrestling training school, wrestling promotion and fitness facility based in South Auckland, New Zealand. Toks Fale first came into the wrestling scene as the first non-Japanese student to successfully train as a young lion (rookie) at the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo in Tokyo from 2008 to 2009, before his 2010 debut in NJPW. Known professionally as the “Rogue General” Bad Luck Fale, his wrestling status was elevated in 2013 when he became one of the founding members of Bullet Club. Regarded as the hottest faction in pro wrestling, Bullet Club has maintained its dominance in the wrestling world for over half a decade, due partly to Fale’s reputation as the Club’s revered enforcer.
Toks Fale envisioned the Dojo as a way of sharing his experience and knowledge with his community with the goal of presenting professional wrestling as a viable career opportunity. Fale’s reputation helped ensure an affiliation between the Dojo and New Japan Pro Wrestling which has allowed graduates from the Dojo’s three-month professional wrestling course to pursue further training at the New Japan Dojo and from there the possibility of gaining a spot on the NJPW main roster.
Notable graduates to emerge from Fale Dojo include “Switchblade” Jay White, Toa Henare, Robbie Eagles, Gino Gambino, and Aaron Solow. The incentive and the opportunity to gain Fale’s insight has drawn in many locals, as well as attracting students from all over the world.
Fale’s passion is to give back to his community, to share his experience and knowledge of the wrestling profession and to instil the teachings required to become a successful professional wrestler.
Fale Dojo is proud to have partnerships with Coca-Cola, and Xplosive Supplements, Papatoetoe, South Auckland. Fale Dojo also is the first Pacific Island owned and operated professional wrestling training school and wrestling promotion in New Zealand.
Fale Dojo is an official part of the New Japan Pro Wrestling training system, known internationally as NJPW New Zealand Dojo.