Homegrown heroes Dhcamad Armstrong with former world boxing champion Daniella Smith, both Kaikohe-born and bred. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Hundreds of people have gathered in Kaikohe to welcome home local hero Dhcamad Armstrong after his latest international mixed-martial-arts title win.
Tuesday's welcome was an acknowledgement of Armstrong's achievements, both in the fighting ring and in his hometown, where he uses martial arts to help young men back onto the straight and narrow.
Former world boxing champion Daniella Smith, who helped organise the event, said it also aimed to boost pride in a town that punched well above its weight when it came to producing champions.
"It's beautiful to see our town come together, it's beautiful to see our tamariki and our rangatahi here, to see that they too can achieve something great, just like Dhcamad," Smith said.
"There's a lot of negative publicity about our town, but there's a lot of beautiful gems and a lot of really successful things that are occurring here. We wanted people to come and acknowledge that Kaikohe's more than a town with negative press. So that's what this was about, town pride."
Dhcamad Armstrong is welcomed to Papa Hawaiki sports centre with his wife Izumi and children Yamato and Momoka. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
As many as 200 schoolchildren attended the welcome at the town's newly built Papa Hawaiki sports centre, which included waiata, passionate speeches, and rousing haka.
Four schools from Kaikohe took part as well as Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Pukemiro all the way from Kaitāia.
Armstrong, who was fighting back tears during some of the speeches, said the welcome was an emotional experience.
"I actually didn't know how big it would be but walking into this complex I got quite emotional just to see the support from my town. It was massive."
Dhcamad Armstrong performs a pukana with a few of his whānau. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Armstrong said a lot of pride was on display during the event.
"There's always pride in this town, but unless you come here and see what's going on, you won't know. What you'd know is what you see in the media, which is not always good things - but there's a lot of good that happens in Kaikohe."
Community leader and reformed gang member Jay Hepi said Armstrong's contribution to the town was huge.
"He does a lot of work with ex-gang members and ex-addicts, training at the gym, making transformational changes, and getting them on the right pathway. He contributes a lot. He's a positive person."
Kaiwero Manga Puhi presents Dhcamad Armstrong with a gift of a taiaha. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Armstrong said his Team Alpha used fitness and martial arts as vehicles to promote positivity.
The team accepted anybody - all they had to do was meet the standards of "everything positive, nothing negative".
That included the language they used and the way they conducted themselves, he said.
Dhcamad Armstrong signs the hand of 10-year-old Skylah Rapihana from Kaitāia. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Armstrong, 37, the youngest of eight siblings born and raised in Kaikohe, has many national and international titles in MMA and Muay Thai.
His most recent win, and one of his biggest, was an Australasian heavyweight MMA title fight against Antz Nansen at Auckland's Trust Arena earlier this month.
Kaikohe's many sporting champions include two-times World Rugby Player of the Year Portia Woodman, world welterweight boxing champion Daniella Smith, and world unicycling champion Chris Huriwai.
An emotional Dhcamad Armstrong (Ngāpuhi) speaks during the welcome. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
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