I remember reading an article about taiaha. It was about WW2-era training camp for Allied elite soldiers and training was really intense. Instructor was adamant that rifle with bayonet (AKA spear) was best weapon man could wield and Māori among trainees disagreed with taiaha. Lots of debate and eventually they settled to fight it out and "accident" happening. Lots of betting and eventual result was instructor getting severe strike after several failed attacks with modernized spear (they did not hold back). It was solid demonstration of taiaha being good or at least Māori being bery food with it. Instructor was hospitalized because of "accident" happening.
I once had the luxury of picking the brain of a combat veteran who led battalions in Afghanistan. He said modern inframtry even today sometime use “alternative” melee weapons besides their knife or in the case of jungle terrain, machete, etc. Let’s put it this way, if you happen to be a fencer on top of your soldier training you may wanna bring a sword like a wakizashi or a short saber. If you throw and fight with axes, you probably do carry tomahawks. If you play baseball and are a good batter you’re better off fighting people using a bat than with a knife bc you know how to swing the bat. But if you’re already carrying a rifle you may as well just carry the rifle and use that to fight. Love these convos
A note about the comment you made toward the end of the arero (tongue) being blunted from potentially sticking it in the ground: this is actually avoided, as stabbing the ground with the taiaha is seen as bad form. The two explanations I’ve seen for this are that stabbing the earth is seen as disrespectful, and that because the taiaha is a physical manifestation of an ancestor figure for the wielder, stabbing the ground with the arero is equivalent to forcing your ancestor to lick the ground. For this reason, the taiaha is almost always held with the arero pointing up while not in combat.
The club the young woman is holding is a Tewhatewha (tefa tefa) which actually implies she was nit only a trained soldier but could’ve led her own troops. They used them to denote rank and call out orders in addition to powerful and rapid striking.
@@itsthatwutangguy btw the name Geldner means Golden One. You can’t make me feel bad about having a Germanic name without even knowing German. And you don’t know shit about me. I will literally make you cry if you keep @ing me. I have not even begun to insult you. In these three days, have you even considered how low it is of you to do this? Have you even stopped for a single moment to just say “wow, I am literally stalking this man because his taiaha is shorter than I like. I am insane” or are you just too deranged even to realize that?
My ancestors are my history. Mankinds journey to discover the new world was their purpose. Like many indigenous peoples (Tangata Whenua) they were well versed in all things LIFE Agriculture , astronomy, boat building ,navigation,music, ,war, art etc etc.
Yes and there have been Māori human remains whose bones were 8 foot ancient Māori warriors were huge James cook even referred Aotearoa as the land of the giants
You would strike like a sword, but to preserve it's integrity, being that the instrument is made of hardwood. The strike is not to follow through the opponent. But, to retract as quickly as to strike. Then the fighter is to return to a stance to make another strike in repetition.
The actions of the fighter is swift and yet controlled. The Taiaha is a very balanced weapon and a fighter may master it's movements quickly, then the fighter would perfect his motions and stance with more focus.
The Taiaha was used like a Bo staff, believe it or not. It was quickly spun in circles and they’d strike with all ends. Mere and Patu were used somewhere between clubs and daggers. The woman in the photo is holding a Tewhatewha implying she was probably a chieftain or at least lieutenant of the army.
They still practice taiaha and patu in Nee Zealand it’s very interesting there are schools that teach the old ways.. they won the world weaponry competition before and also lost in the finals against a Viking weaponry practitioner in 1995 I believe
Love this. The taiaha is thee primary weapon of a culture with tons of great weapons. This proved to be their most effective battlefield armament considering the climate, terrain, enemy armor etc
Pretty bang on man; there is an art to using these and it would be tough to take on a trained fighter equally armed. I learnt the basic strikes at school with the training sticks foam and electrical tape wrapped around both ends for padding. Was fun as.
Yeah Te Aute College in New Zealand. It wasn’t the old school training method, it was quite tame, the trainers would come on site and we would do the practicing in front of the wharenui (large house) on the marae atea (village grass area).
Tools for what tho? Breaking coconuts? Serious question. Oars? My theory is that all the paddle and oar shaped weapons in Polynesia were made that way bc they could double as paddles and oars for rowing. Don’t get me wrong, a Leiomano etc is a weapon 100% but it can usually double as a paddle too.
One more thing lol according to several experts such as the woodcarver Broxh, Todd’s Workshop and Scholagladatoria all say that in many cases wood can actually be made to be more overall durable than steel because of that tiny bit of elasticity, the tensile strength and different ways to treat it, etc. He also says it’s more traditional to do it this way with no jade tip than to use the jade tip that I’m sure you’ve seen in some examples. He says it’s much more common to just make them strictly of wood or bone so you’re correct in case anyone thinks you’re wrong on that. Jade was used to tip them, but very rarely.
@@itsthatwutangguy and since he has a good eye he can tell what it’s made of. Not pine or “Chinese” jade. Btw though Chinese jade is objectively better quality than greenstone from New Zealand. Objectively better.
@@ObjectHistory i have a large pane of ballistic "glass" that I've been wanting to turn into patu Ave jawbone style warclubs.... might even be able to cut a short taihaha from it.... just don't have the space to break it down right now
@@TheLord0Ice0Wind I recommend you just make a larger Patu in the shape of a Mere. They got humongous, like several feet. Obv most were small. But many were absolutely gigantic. Make a two foot Mere!
If that isn't a form of writing I'm a monkeys uncle.. not to the advanced degree of Eurasian writing but given a few more centuries it would've advanced considerably..like hieroglyphs
@@ObjectHistory You’ve probably heard that Musashi defeated a rival, very skilled samurai with “just a boat oar” whereas the rival samurai was using a “live blade” and while winning any duel is impressive skill-wise, I submit to you that Musashi actually had the advantage with that oar. A boat oar is big and heavy, and wood is no joke as you know. It’s got a reach advantage and a weight advantage. But it’s not so huge or heavy that it’s a disadvantage. Why weren’t oars more popularly carried? Well in Okinawa they were. In Polynesia many clubs looks like paddles and oars as you know. But it’s big to carry on land, like a spear. It’s basically a wooden pole arm. It’s wood, but it’s still a large, battlefield scale weapon.
@@davidgeldner2167 Agreed. Obviously steel will cut better and last longer, etc. but in a single fight with unarmored opponents (like Maori or the Musashi duel), the oar is not to be underestimated. I wish we had more details on the Musashi duel but it seems the length advantage is something he wanted. His opponent (forget his name) had a very long katana so was used to having that on his side. Clever.
@@ObjectHistory Even against armor a 2 pound swords isn’t gonna have the effect a 7 pound oar has. If it’s oak or harder, like maple, it’s going to hold up to a beating and god forbid it breaks on contact that probably means your opponent has already broken too.
@@ObjectHistory getting cut on the surface isn’t that deadly. Don’t get me wrong, a deep cut or a deep stab is fatal, but a surface level cut or even stab is more of a deterrent than a kill shot. It’s gonna slow you down and it’s gonna hurt real real bad, it’s gonna make you back off and seek medical attention but even back in the day they could stitch that up if it’s not real deep. A crushed or caved in skull, you ain’t recovering from.
The taiaha is the gloryboy of all the Maori weapons and it is the one most people know but it wasn't the most effective of all the weapons the Maori used that weapon was the Te whatewha the weapon the girl is holding at the begining of the video. The te whatewha is the woodenequivalent of the European Halberd or the Chinese dagger ax
Here ya go Bro Te Irikura series 1 Episode 12. Listen to the language close you will find it's a very easy language to learn.. Do you know that all tribal People's Language Vowle sounds. Once understood it's easier to pick up the flow ..😁👍
When I use to do taiaha it was forbidden to stick the arero (tongue) on the ground as traditionally Māori treated their taiaha as a living being even giving it a name.. and sticking it in the ground is a no no bro if you see Māori in photos you will never see it sticking in the ground
The face is Whiro...the God of malevolence....you see him last before you're introduced to your ancestors...
I remember reading an article about taiaha. It was about WW2-era training camp for Allied elite soldiers and training was really intense. Instructor was adamant that rifle with bayonet (AKA spear) was best weapon man could wield and Māori among trainees disagreed with taiaha. Lots of debate and eventually they settled to fight it out and "accident" happening. Lots of betting and eventual result was instructor getting severe strike after several failed attacks with modernized spear (they did not hold back). It was solid demonstration of taiaha being good or at least Māori being bery food with it. Instructor was hospitalized because of "accident" happening.
Would love to read about that.
I once had the luxury of picking the brain of a combat veteran who led battalions in Afghanistan. He said modern inframtry even today sometime use “alternative” melee weapons besides their knife or in the case of jungle terrain, machete, etc.
Let’s put it this way, if you happen to be a fencer on top of your soldier training you may wanna bring a sword like a wakizashi or a short saber. If you throw and fight with axes, you probably do carry tomahawks. If you play baseball and are a good batter you’re better off fighting people using a bat than with a knife bc you know how to swing the bat.
But if you’re already carrying a rifle you may as well just carry the rifle and use that to fight.
Love these convos
That being said, OUCH.
Aubrey Rota - Tatiana vs Bayonet
@@itsthatwutangguy Don't tell me you don't know this figure of speech, please.
A note about the comment you made toward the end of the arero (tongue) being blunted from potentially sticking it in the ground: this is actually avoided, as stabbing the ground with the taiaha is seen as bad form. The two explanations I’ve seen for this are that stabbing the earth is seen as disrespectful, and that because the taiaha is a physical manifestation of an ancestor figure for the wielder, stabbing the ground with the arero is equivalent to forcing your ancestor to lick the ground. For this reason, the taiaha is almost always held with the arero pointing up while not in combat.
Great information. Thank You.
I remember people holding it upside down with the oar side on the ground and the tongue sticking straight up.
Makes me want to do some Maori research, thanks!
The club the young woman is holding is a Tewhatewha (tefa tefa) which actually implies she was nit only a trained soldier but could’ve led her own troops. They used them to denote rank and call out orders in addition to powerful and rapid striking.
Ah, very cool.
@@ObjectHistory yeah! It’s used like a staff and not like an axe. They strike with all ends, just like the Taiaha. Maori, dude!
@@itsthatwutangguy btw the name Geldner means Golden One. You can’t make me feel bad about having a Germanic name without even knowing German. And you don’t know shit about me.
I will literally make you cry if you keep @ing me. I have not even begun to insult you. In these three days, have you even considered how low it is of you to do this? Have you even stopped for a single moment to just say “wow, I am literally stalking this man because his taiaha is shorter than I like. I am insane” or are you just too deranged even to realize that?
@@itsthatwutangguy Loser. 😂 who does this? Stay mad about my Taiaha ur whole life bro.
@@itsthatwutangguy ima keep saying whatever tf I want, u stay a child about it keep trolling like an obsessive looney toon character
My ancestors are my history. Mankinds journey to discover the new world was their purpose. Like many indigenous peoples
(Tangata Whenua) they were well versed in all things LIFE Agriculture , astronomy, boat building ,navigation,music, ,war, art etc etc.
Taiaha were usually made to be shoulder hight so if that one is 6 foot it may have been welded by a 7 foota
Yes and there have been Māori human remains whose bones were 8 foot ancient Māori warriors were huge James cook even referred Aotearoa as the land of the giants
Acknowledge the Taiaha like a sword.
You would strike like a sword, but to preserve it's integrity, being that the instrument is made of hardwood. The strike is not to follow through the opponent. But, to retract as quickly as to strike. Then the fighter is to return to a stance to make another strike in repetition.
The actions of the fighter is swift and yet controlled. The Taiaha is a very balanced weapon and a fighter may master it's movements quickly, then the fighter would perfect his motions and stance with more focus.
It would be nice to see how this were used and how they work. Expecially patu and tahaia
The Taiaha was used like a Bo staff, believe it or not. It was quickly spun in circles and they’d strike with all ends. Mere and Patu were used somewhere between clubs and daggers.
The woman in the photo is holding a Tewhatewha implying she was probably a chieftain or at least lieutenant of the army.
I use one every day
They still practice taiaha and patu in Nee Zealand it’s very interesting there are schools that teach the old ways.. they won the world weaponry competition before and also lost in the finals against a Viking weaponry practitioner in 1995 I believe
It's a representation of our ancestors never drop it never stick it in the ground that's like putting ur tupunas face in the dirt
Thank You
@@ObjectHistory should do more videos on maori artifacts
Love this. The taiaha is thee primary weapon of a culture with tons of great weapons. This proved to be their most effective battlefield armament considering the climate, terrain, enemy armor etc
Yes. On the variety, I had to restrict myself to just one of theirs for my upcoming book. As interesting an arsenal as any culture has.
Pretty bang on man; there is an art to using these and it would be tough to take on a trained fighter equally armed. I learnt the basic strikes at school with the training sticks foam and electrical tape wrapped around both ends for padding. Was fun as.
In school? That is awesome. Love that they pass on some of it to the kids that way.
Yeah Te Aute College in New Zealand. It wasn’t the old school training method, it was quite tame, the trainers would come on site and we would do the practicing in front of the wharenui (large house) on the marae atea (village grass area).
they were likely to be used as both weapons and tools.
Tools for what tho? Breaking coconuts? Serious question. Oars?
My theory is that all the paddle and oar shaped weapons in Polynesia were made that way bc they could double as paddles and oars for rowing. Don’t get me wrong, a Leiomano etc is a weapon 100% but it can usually double as a paddle too.
No..we have tools. They have too much mana to be used as a tool. Would be considered Tapu to use a Taiaha like that.
The arero (tongue) is not allowed to touch the ground. So highly unlikely that wear is from that.
Ah, thanks
One more thing lol according to several experts such as the woodcarver Broxh, Todd’s Workshop and Scholagladatoria all say that in many cases wood can actually be made to be more overall durable than steel because of that tiny bit of elasticity, the tensile strength and different ways to treat it, etc.
He also says it’s more traditional to do it this way with no jade tip than to use the jade tip that I’m sure you’ve seen in some examples. He says it’s much more common to just make them strictly of wood or bone so you’re correct in case anyone thinks you’re wrong on that. Jade was used to tip them, but very rarely.
The weapon the women is holding is called the tewhatewha (pronounced defa-defa) which is a Maori axe
Hope I get to hold one of those some time.
Defa defa eh
Hey just sent that email. Excited for you to see my Taiaha, it’s not traditional but it’s dope.
@@itsthatwutangguy he loved it. Because he’s not a bigot like you.
@@itsthatwutangguy and since he has a good eye he can tell what it’s made of. Not pine or “Chinese” jade. Btw though Chinese jade is objectively better quality than greenstone from New Zealand. Objectively better.
I hope I can try my hand at creating one of these weapons
That would be an awesome project.
@@ObjectHistory i have a large pane of ballistic "glass" that I've been wanting to turn into patu Ave jawbone style warclubs.... might even be able to cut a short taihaha from it.... just don't have the space to break it down right now
@@TheLord0Ice0Wind I recommend you just make a larger Patu in the shape of a Mere. They got humongous, like several feet. Obv most were small. But many were absolutely gigantic. Make a two foot Mere!
You shouldn't just make one you should learn about it first 😁👍
@@turuff7114 I've definitely read up on them
If that isn't a form of writing I'm a monkeys uncle.. not to the advanced degree of Eurasian writing but given a few more centuries it would've advanced considerably..like hieroglyphs
All maori carving and Ta Moko can be read if you understand the iconography.
A spear club and a sword in 1
Muskets and cannons kao, taiaha and patu. pew pew
No way!
It’s no coincidence that it reminds you of the Eku, it basically is a very niche version of that.
Quite true.
@@ObjectHistory You’ve probably heard that Musashi defeated a rival, very skilled samurai with “just a boat oar” whereas the rival samurai was using a “live blade” and while winning any duel is impressive skill-wise, I submit to you that Musashi actually had the advantage with that oar.
A boat oar is big and heavy, and wood is no joke as you know. It’s got a reach advantage and a weight advantage. But it’s not so huge or heavy that it’s a disadvantage. Why weren’t oars more popularly carried? Well in Okinawa they were. In Polynesia many clubs looks like paddles and oars as you know. But it’s big to carry on land, like a spear. It’s basically a wooden pole arm. It’s wood, but it’s still a large, battlefield scale weapon.
@@davidgeldner2167 Agreed. Obviously steel will cut better and last longer, etc. but in a single fight with unarmored opponents (like Maori or the Musashi duel), the oar is not to be underestimated. I wish we had more details on the Musashi duel but it seems the length advantage is something he wanted. His opponent (forget his name) had a very long katana so was used to having that on his side. Clever.
@@ObjectHistory Even against armor a 2 pound swords isn’t gonna have the effect a 7 pound oar has. If it’s oak or harder, like maple, it’s going to hold up to a beating and god forbid it breaks on contact that probably means your opponent has already broken too.
@@ObjectHistory getting cut on the surface isn’t that deadly. Don’t get me wrong, a deep cut or a deep stab is fatal, but a surface level cut or even stab is more of a deterrent than a kill shot. It’s gonna slow you down and it’s gonna hurt real real bad, it’s gonna make you back off and seek medical attention but even back in the day they could stitch that up if it’s not real deep. A crushed or caved in skull, you ain’t recovering from.
The taiaha is the gloryboy of all the Maori weapons and it is the one most people know but it wasn't the most effective of all the weapons the Maori used that weapon was the Te whatewha the weapon the girl is holding at the begining of the video. The te whatewha is the woodenequivalent of the European Halberd or the Chinese dagger ax
Great video
Man I want a taiaha so bad but it’s hard to find a decent one plus they’re large and my space is small.
Do you practice Mau rakau?
If not watch Mau_rakau 101 heaps of good info on tiaha and how to use some of our weapons and principles 😉
May rakau, thats the name of the practice! Shot
It's like the Ninga there weapons are blunt.. It's all about Techniques timing and angles 🖕🪓🔥🪓😁👍
Polynesians now from the Pacific Ocean 🌊 Is Bow staff Japanese? They are not poly nore the Fijians... Hawaii to Rapanui.
Here ya go Bro Te Irikura series 1 Episode 12. Listen to the language close you will find it's a very easy language to learn.. Do you know that all tribal People's Language Vowle sounds. Once understood it's easier to pick up the flow ..😁👍
It's not a God damn spear. We don't throw our ancestors. And it's not just a tounge. It's the face of one of our ancestors. The Upoko is a Head. Jesus
They mite used for cannows also
When I use to do taiaha it was forbidden to stick the arero (tongue) on the ground as traditionally Māori treated their taiaha as a living being even giving it a name.. and sticking it in the ground is a no no bro if you see Māori in photos you will never see it sticking in the ground
Ah, that makes sense, with a deific figure on the tongue, etc. Thanks.
Pita sharples was the Māori leader of the Māori seat in parliament he’s a very knowledgeable guy not to the level Ta Apiranga Ngata was though
Bro go to Mau_Rakau 101 here on TH-cam he might help with some info on our weapons,history and martial art as he knows 😉👍
Cool, I just subbed him. Thanks