Fale Dojo has reopened and is ready to once again offer its world-class training and fitness programme to the New Zealand public. As a fitness facility, the Dojo is equipped to offer a wide variety of classes aimed at building up people’s fitness, their self-confidence and to support their journey and personal development. The classes are led by trainers who are experts in their disciplines and who relish the opportunity to pass on their knowledge and understanding. The Fale Dojo coaching staff reflect New Zealand’s rich and multi-layered identity; they are equipped and ready to welcome people from all walks of life.
TANGI ROPATI – Head Trainer
- NZIFBB Counties 1st place Men Open Class C and Overall Physique Champion
- 2nd in Men’s Physique Class C and 2nd in Classic physique bodybuilding Class C in the Natural Nationals NZIFBB
- NZIFBB Pro/Am 2nd place Novice Physique Men Class C
NZIFBB Nationals 2nd place Novice Physique Men Class C
NZIFBB Counties 2nd place Novice Physique Men Class C - Auckland Vulcan’s Runner Up Player of the Year
- Featherstone Rovers RLFC England, Community Player of the Year
- Rugby League UKCC Level 2 Coaching Certificate, UK
- Represented Samoa in Rugby League Pacific Cup, Australia
- Represented Samoa in Rugby League World Cup, Australia
- Represented NZ in Rugby League 9s Tournament, Australia
Tangi Ropati is the Head Trainer and specialist in fitness and nutrition. Ropati’s wealth of sporting achievements in rugby league, fitness, and bodybuilding are utilised in his popular ‘Body Shock’ class. Ropati was born a member of a sporting family, both his grandfather Tagi and father Faaniva played rugby union respectively and represented the Manu Samoa rugby union team. Ropati’s league accomplishments include playing for professional clubs in Auckland, Australia, and England as well as representing Samoa in the 2008 World Cup and the 2009 Pacific Cup. After his stellar career in rugby league, Ropati entered the world of bodybuilding as a competitor with the New Zealand International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness where he won many championships.
“As a trainer at Fale Dojo, my goal is to make everyone from all walks of life feel welcome,” said Ropati. “I will help them achieve their fitness goals and take them to the next level whether its body sculpting, improving their fitness, teaching them about nutrition or just helping them to achieve whatever goal they have in mind.”
“I transitioned into bodybuilding when my league career finished up in 2015,” Ropati explained. “I decided to become a personal trainer and became qualified in 2016. I have been competing in bodybuilding and I love combining knowledge about training, lifting weights and nutrition to achieve a certain goal.”
“I can guarantee that I will push you through that dark place you need to go through in your fitness journey in order to get to the next stage of being the better version of yourself.”
GINA GEE – Box Fit Trainer
- Australian Golden Gloves Champion
- Queensland State Gold Medalist
- South East Queensland Gold Medalist
- Wakko North American Kickboxing Gold Title Holder
Gina Gee is the first female trainer to join the Fale Dojo coaching staff. Gina adds her extensive background in combat fighting which she implements into her box fit and kickboxing sessions. Born to a European father and Tongan mother, Gina and her siblings were ingrained in sports, culture and family. Inspired by her grandfather and father who were boxers, Gina followed in their footsteps.
“I competed in amateur boxing and won a few titles in Queensland,” said Gina. “I managed to win the Australian Golden Gloves title, the Queensland State title and the South-East Queensland title.”
She added: “I had a kickboxing fight in Las Vegas where I won the Wakko North American title.”
As a mother, 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 opportunities specifically aimed at young people.
“I want to show my kids that you can achieve anything, as long as you put the work in,” explained Gina. “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.”
VIK PAWAAR – Kushti HIIT Trainer
- Fale Dojo Graduate
- Extensive Experience in Personal Training, Power Lifting and Mixed Martial Arts
Vik Pawaar was one of the first to train at Fale Dojo when its Auckland premises opened 2016. As a graduate of the inaugural three-month professional wrestling course, Pawaar learned the Japanese strong style directly from Toks ‘Bad Luck’ Fale. This discipline complemented Pawaar’s background in powerlifting and MMA, as well as his most recent achievement as a nationally recognised Personal Trainer. Pawaar has brought all of these accolades to his role as the Dojo’s Kushti HIIT Trainer.
“It was a great opportunity for me to be the first student at Fale Dojo because I was getting trained by Fale-San himself,” said Pawaar who migrated from India to NZ in 2011. ”I learned discipline, positive energy and my wrestling skills from Fale. We started in a small place and now we are getting bigger and bigger, and I am very honoured to be a trainer at the very place that gave me my start.”
“Kushti is the Indian word for ‘wrestling’ and HIIT is otherwise known as High-Intensity Interval Training,” Pawaar explained. “HIIT is a form of training for people that want to lose weight and get into shape but without doing steady pace cardio.”
He added: “The objective of Kushti HIIT is that it will help you lose more fat in less time. Your body goes into a catabolic state and starts to lose more stored fat.”
“I’ve taken the best influences from my training in Indian wrestling, and Japanese wrestling and combined it with HIIT. The way it works is that you engage in Kushti HIIT workout for a certain amount of time before taking a break, and you repeat these intervals for the rest of the session.”
TONY KOZINA – Wrestle Fit Trainer
- Fale Dojo Pro Wrestling Coach
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, x2
- NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Champion, x3
- Canadian Unified Junior Heavyweight Champion, x2
- Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing Champion
Tony Kozina is a seasoned pro of the wrestling business with over 20 years’ experience. Having wrestled extensively throughout North America, this native of Portland, Oregon captured many championships on his travels. Kozina is also an experienced fighter who is well versed in kickboxing and Jiu-jitsu and has won championship medals at the 2011 NAGA tournaments in St. Louis and Chicago. During his lengthy career, Kozina had a hand in training some notable wrestlers, the most recognised being the ‘Rogue General’ Back Luck Fale, whom Kozina trained during Fale’s foreign excursion in the United States. In June 2018, Kozina moved to Auckland where he took up the role of Pro Wrestling Head Coach at Fale Dojo, a reputable and intense programme that draws in students from all over the world. Kozina also coaches Wrestle Fit which is a course aimed at the general public.
“Our main customers are everyone,” stated Kozina. “While we are an official part of the New Japan Pro-Wrestling training, we also offer an assortment of classes to the general public!”
He continued: “We have beginners level wrestling class for kids, kickboxing class, and an assortment of general fitness and conditioning classes throughout the week.”
“We have all walks of life coming through our doors and changing their lives for the better. Positivity and improving oneself is what we’re all about at Fale Dojo!”
“I stay vigilant to make sure everyone is taking care of their bodies the way it is required, with plenty of nourishment, rest and positivity,” said Kozina.
“This isn’t a race, this isn’t a competition … It’s ‘you vs. you’, and when you learn that, you can will your way through adversity.”
“You learn that no goal is too high and no dream too big! My job is to bring that out in every person that steps through the doors at Fale Dojo.”
About Fale 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.