Maori Fighting Arts

[Makalakumu]

There isn't really a good place to put this, so I'll put it here. New Zealand is West...

Anyway, I'm taking a two week trip to NZ this summer and I'm really excited. One of the things I'd like to learn about a little more is the Maori culture. From my research, I've learned that they have a strong Warrior Culture and that they have highly developed systems of fighting. I'll post some interesting tidbits here and there about what I learn and hopefully we can discuss it.

Feel free to post anything that you find...

 

[Makalakumu]

This is the Maori Haka. This is the traditional challenge that the warriors of the iwi (tribe) dance before they go into battle.

This video is one that shows how popular NZ culture has mingled the maori warrior tradition into their sports tradition.

They do the haka before every game...even when away.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4415484536180232877&q=Haka

Rugby is the national religion in NZ, so the mysticism behind this comes as no surprise.

Anyway, that was cool.

Here is an explanation of its cultural significance and what the words mean.

 

[Makalakumu]

Here is an example of maori stickfighting.

This video shows how popular NZ culture has adopted this.

It looks like a reality TV show in NZ, but those strikes are for real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofybOAqLWZM&mode=related&search=

This is the traditional Maori weapon.

 

[Makalakumu]

Here are a couple of other peices of information about Maori.

Pa are the foritified villages that Maori iwi lived in.

Mere is the traditional Maori weapon.

Taua is the traditional Maori war party.

 

[Flying Crane]

It would be interesting to hear what you find out.

I think we tend to forget that every culture had it's own fighting methods thru the ages. Perhaps they were never codified to the same extent as the Asian arts, but they definitely had them. I would find the study of indiginous martial arts to be a very interesting topic, wherever in the world they can be found today.

 

[Blindside]

My kali instructor is a Maori, and while he doesn't claim to be well versed in the arts he had received some training. What little he showed me of the use of the taiaha made it seem like a very athletic art. What he showed me did not look like the examples of stickfighting that you linked, it was closer ranged. Those taiaha are heavy and a strike by one would present huge problems, the wood is similar in density to the ironwood/kamagong of the Phillipines.

Lamont

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

You should have an excellent time and hopefully you will have an opportunity to practice with some competent Maori martial arts
practitioner's.

The one thing I do not envy you is the long, long, long, long flight.

 

[Brian King]

Have you seen the movie whale rider? Not a bad flick.
http://www.whaleriderthemovie.com/
Have a great trip
Brian

 

[Makalakumu]

Yeah, I've seen that movie and I've seen "We Once Were Warriors." I don't know how representative those movies in their portrayal of the Maori arts, but from what I've seen, it seems pretty interesting.

I'll be spending some time in Rotorua which is pretty much the center of Maori culture in NZ. Maybe I'll be able to visit a marae and at least be able to see a bit.

Who knows? I've heard that the Maori culture can be very insular when it comes to outsiders.

Blindside - would you mind going into a bit more detail regarding your experience?

 

[Blindside]

Blindside - would you mind going into a bit more detail regarding your experience?

My instructor thought the bit from Whale Rider was decent.

The stick sparring you linked to showed them holding the ends of fairly narrow sticks. What I was shown was holding the stick about 2/3 of the way down the stick so the blade of the taiaha was above the hands and the pointed end was fairly close. What I saw and vaguely remember was techniques to close and use the butt end as a thrust, or to literally leap out of close range combat (spinning leap) and landing with a finishing slash with the blade end of the taiaha.

Sorry I can't be more specific, it was about two years ago and it wasn't a long discussion.

Lamont

 

[Makalakumu]

That sounds more what I've been reading about, thanks. One thing that I find interesting is that a lot of the close quaters stick fighting that Maori warriors learned was designed for attacking and defending the trenches of their fortifications. Blindside, your description seems to dovetail right into that.

Anyway, apparently, the Maori fighting methods were so successful in their defense of their "pa" that the British were never fully able to conquer them. Even when cannons were brought to bear on Maori Pa, the warriors were so skilled and ferocious that actually taking a fortification was a very bloody affair.

Another thing that I read was that ANZAC units in WWI were taught some maori fighting arts in order to prepare them for trench warfare. I don't know how much truth there is to that?

 

[Makalakumu]

As I laid around sick all day, I managed to find a little time for MT and I happened to walkabout many different pages. This next link comes from my querry into Maori Fighting Arts.

I happened to read a story about a maori family in which the dad went off "captain cooker" (pig) hunting with his mates. Mum and daughter just so happen to find one rooting around in their backyard, so mum grabbed a kitchen knife while dearest daughter cornered and grabbed the pig by the back legs. With the quick stick, mum dispatched the pig.

I was a tad astonished by this. I had heard of people going after pigs with spears, but never with knives! So, I decided to dig a little deeper.

I found this.

Apparently, hunting pigs with knives is quite common for kiwi blokes. I think I just found something I just may have to try when I'm over there this summer!

 

[Steel Tiger]

That sounds more what I've been reading about, thanks. One thing that I find interesting is that a lot of the close quaters stick fighting that Maori warriors learned was designed for attacking and defending the trenches of their fortifications. Blindside, your description seems to dovetail right into that.

Anyway, apparently, the Maori fighting methods were so successful in their defense of their "pa" that the British were never fully able to conquer them. Even when cannons were brought to bear on Maori Pa, the warriors were so skilled and ferocious that actually taking a fortification was a very bloody affair.

Another thing that I read was that ANZAC units in WWI were taught some maori fighting arts in order to prepare them for trench warfare. I don't know how much truth there is to that?

Ah yes, Maoris. Big, scary blokes who wear black and run over you on the rugby field. Its not surprising that Maori culture has a comprehensive MA component. They like to fight. There is a particularly good story from the Maori Wars which illustrates this.

A Maori force had cornered a British force in a pa and settled in for a siege. The British quickly ran out of ammunition and their commander offered a surrender. Instead, the Maori leader gave the British half of their ammunition so that the fight could continue.

I have not heard of Maori arts being taught to ANZACs as a whole, but the NZ contingent may have learned something.

My first MA teacher was a great advocate of the Maori arts and he pointed out that the striking techniques were good but the strongest aspect was the throwing techniques. It seems that you should never run away from a practitioner of traditional Maori fighting arts. He'll throw something at you and hit you! Interesting.

 

[Makalakumu]

Ah yes, Maoris. Big, scary blokes who wear black and run over you on the rugby field. Its not surprising that Maori culture has a comprehensive MA component. They like to fight. There is a particularly good story from the Maori Wars which illustrates this.

A Maori force had cornered a British force in a pa and settled in for a siege. The British quickly ran out of ammunition and their commander offered a surrender. Instead, the Maori leader gave the British half of their ammunition so that the fight could continue.

I have not heard of Maori arts being taught to ANZACs as a whole, but the NZ contingent may have learned something.

My first MA teacher was a great advocate of the Maori arts and he pointed out that the striking techniques were good but the strongest aspect was the throwing techniques. It seems that you should never run away from a practitioner of traditional Maori fighting arts. He'll throw something at you and hit you! Interesting.

Thanks for the reply, Steel Tiger. I'm heading over the pond with my wife and some mates in August, so I'm looking to get as much information from people in that neck of the woods as possible. Could you go into more detail about what your instructor told you about certain aspects of Maori MA? I'm curious about your comments regarding the striking aspects of their arts.

 

[exile]

There's some very decent ethnological evidence that the Maori practiced cannibalism; so being taken a prisoner in the endless intergroup fighting of pre/pericontact Maori culture was not exactly an augury of a brilliant future. . There was an interesting ecological effect as a result: when a Maori group faced defeat in battle, they basically decamped before they could get slaughtered/eaten. This wasn't easy, because precontact Maori populations were pretty dense, so all the good places were already taken. There was one way out, though—the fire escape, so to speak, but it was rough. Basically, you bolted for the southern island rainforests and set up shop there anew... surrounded by trees some of which had twelve to fourteen foot diameters and crowded together as thick as blades of grass in a well-tended lawn. You had to figure out how to cut these enormous trees down, uproot their tough-as-steel root systems, and carry out agriculture under pretty inhospitable conditions—rain is nice, but several hundred inches of rain a year, in the rainforest ecosystem? Not nice at all!

This endless warfare cycle was therefore the main reason that the population of the southern island was so relatively dense at the time the Euros showed up. In the typical cycle-of-conquest scenarios that gave rise to the great early empire/civilisations of Egypt, the Indus Valley, Mesopotamia and the South American highlands, you got conquered, you got to be slaves, very unpleasant but doable. In aboriginal NZ, you got conquered, you got eaten. Not doable at all...

 

[Rich Parsons]

Have you seen the movie whale rider? Not a bad flick.
http://www.whaleriderthemovie.com/
Have a great trip
Brian

I just saw this over the weekend. I liked it.

I also liked going to a history museum in Auckland. While it covered British and New Zealand history it also covered the Maori culture as well. At least it did in 1999, when I was there.

 

[Makalakumu]

I just saw this over the weekend. I liked it.

I also liked going to a history museum in Auckland. While it covered British and New Zealand history it also covered the Maori culture as well. At least it did in 1999, when I was there.

One of the spots on my list to visit is Te Papa, the national museum in Wellington. I'm hoping that they have some great info in there on the Maori Warrior Culture.

 

[Steel Tiger]

Thanks for the reply, Steel Tiger. I'm heading over the pond with my wife and some mates in August, so I'm looking to get as much information from people in that neck of the woods as possible. Could you go into more detail about what your instructor told you about certain aspects of Maori MA? I'm curious about your comments regarding the striking aspects of their arts.

It was quite a while ago. He wrote an article for Australasian Fighting Arts magazine. I don't know if it is even published any more. What I found most interesting was the movement associated with Maori fighting. There is a lot of rapid backward and forward movement, especially with weapons.

I think the Haka can give you an idea of the sort of unarmed strikes that may have been prevalent at the time of its creation. The forearm and elbow get used a lot in the Haka, and there is some suggestion of the groin as a target. It looks a lot like a very close fighting style, with perhaps an intension of closing to grappling. I actually learned to do the Haka at school, its very interesting.

As a side note, the NZ Rugby Union recently started using a different Haka at matches. It is much more aggressive and suggestive of combat. The Australian coach objected to it, especially the throat slicing action at the end.

 

[Makalakumu]

There's some very decent ethnological evidence that the Maori practiced cannibalism; so being taken a prisoner in the endless intergroup fighting of pre/pericontact Maori culture was not exactly an augury of a brilliant future. .

This is kind of an understatement. From what I've read, its quite common for Maori in the common day to trash talk other iwi by saying things like...

"Their not so tough, we were still eating them 100 years ago."

There was an interesting ecological effect as a result: when a Maori group faced defeat in battle, they basically decamped before they could get slaughtered/eaten. This wasn't easy, because precontact Maori populations were pretty dense, so all the good places were already taken.

According to Jared Diamond, one of the only reasons the british were able to establish a foothold at all on NZ was the fact that their germs thinned out the population substantially. Abel Tasman, the discoverer of NZ, was driven off by a band of Maori.

There was one way out, though—the fire escape, so to speak, but it was rough. Basically, you bolted for the southern island rainforests and set up shop there anew... surrounded by trees some of which had twelve to fourteen foot diameters and crowded together as thick as blades of grass in a well-tended lawn. You had to figure out how to cut these enormous trees down, uproot their tough-as-steel root systems, and carry out agriculture under pretty inhospitable conditions—rain is nice, but several hundred inches of rain a year, in the rainforest ecosystem? Not nice at all!

Another one of my stops in August will be in Westland. Hopefully, some of these ecosystems still exist. It would be awesome to see that! I wouldn't want to try and eek out a living though...

This endless warfare cycle was therefore the main reason that the population of the southern island was so relatively dense at the time the Euros showed up.

Just to add another dimension to this, the period of time that preceded the arrival of most Europeans is known as the Musket Wars. During pre european times, iwi warfare was very intense, but most tribes were evenly balanced so not alot of social upheaval occured. Still, competition was intense and the amount of stress the tribes exerted on one another was considerable.

When the first Europeans arrived, those that were in closest contact with said europeans traded everything they had for...you guessed it...muskets. In fact, maori cheifs who were brought to England and showered with gifts, sold those gifts and bought muskets for their iwi. This caused a great imbalance of power between the iwi as the few who had muskets proceeded to slaughter those who did not.

The histories of the musket wars are wraught with stories of 1000 human barbecues. The europeans stood on the outside and watched as Maori society self destructed.

This is how the islands initially became depopulated. Disease came next. And STILL the british could not conquer all of NZ.

Maori are badass.

In the typical cycle-of-conquest scenarios that gave rise to the great early empire/civilisations of Egypt, the Indus Valley, Mesopotamia and the South American highlands, you got conquered, you got to be slaves, very unpleasant but doable. In aboriginal NZ, you got conquered, you got eaten. Not doable at all...

Agreed.

 

[Makalakumu]

It was quite a while ago. He wrote an article for Australasian Fighting Arts magazine. I don't know if it is even published any more. What I found most interesting was the movement associated with Maori fighting. There is a lot of rapid backward and forward movement, especially with weapons.

I wonder if this is representative of the trench warfare that maori were accustom to when attacking another pa?

I think the Haka can give you an idea of the sort of unarmed strikes that may have been prevalent at the time of its creation. The forearm and elbow get used a lot in the Haka, and there is some suggestion of the groin as a target. It looks a lot like a very close fighting style, with perhaps an intension of closing to grappling. I actually learned to do the Haka at school, its very interesting.

I've watched the haka alot actually. It looks like a kata. It makes me wonder if it is a kata of a sort. That would be interesting wouldn't it?

As a side note, the NZ Rugby Union recently started using a different Haka at matches. It is much more aggressive and suggestive of combat. The Australian coach objected to it, especially the throat slicing action at the end.

This is the new All Blacks haka. What do you think?

One thing to consider is that the kiwis may be a little pissed from all of the ribbing they take from the aussies about their supposed sheep shagging habits...