Once Pruckmuller and three other black belts were incorporated in the tribe, the chief, using an interpreter, disclosed he didn’t realise his son was learning to become an instructor under her tutelage over the years.
“He also said he didn’t realise that Master Pruckmuller was actually a lady so everybody laughed and I didn’t know what he had said until the son had translated it,” she says with a grin.
“It was an eye opener — no running water and all those other things,” she says, mindful New Zealanders take such things for granted.
Tahi (not the chief’s son), who turned 32 on Tuesday, hails from Pentecost Island and was instrumental in inviting Pruckmuller and her accomplices in 2015.
It took him six seasons – each season extending from November to May – to incrementally hone his discipline to become a black belt after graduating through the myriad colour rankings.
“He was like a little sponge and was soaking everything I could teach him,” she says, admiring his dedication, commitment and motivation for training.
Tahi’s compatriots, Peter Bovi and Tom Kamisak, also passed with black belts.
“I pushed them hard from start to finish, starting with a 5km run in under 30 minutes in the rain,” she says.
He returned to the workers’ billet along Omahu Rd to discover some islanders were already frequenting the dojang.
“It’s all about going out for a game,” he says, catching the bug and starting a modest club with six boys three years ago.
Tahi, who trains here with countrymen Samson Timothi, of Tana Island, and Fabrice Antoine, of Malekula Island, sees his black belt as an opportunity “to teach the boys a little bit more at home”.
He relishes the fitness he acquires from taekwondo, seldom feeling tired after an entire day’s work in the orchards.