Tena Koutou, Hello everyone. So I've decided to make a blog about Mau Rakau as I've recently have taken it up. Its amazing to think that its been 5 generations since anyone in my family has practiced Mau Rakau, so for me to doing it is super special.
Since hearing about Mau Rakau in 2008 Iv'e been raring to do it but there wasn't any local Tohunga (tutors) available to teach it. Last week however a new Mau Rakau school was established in my local neighborhood. Although I've been out of shape since my motorcycle crash back in 2011, I decided to stand strong (Kia Kaha) and get into it. My fitness and weight is something that definitely needs working on. Also, I gotta get my some proper knee and ankle supports.
My older sister is also doing Mau Rakau with me, which is massive for her as she has social anxiety. She has been wanting to do martial arts for years but her shyness kept her back. So I'm super proud of her for coming and par taking.
The training is intense as its essentially cultural immersion. I have to learn how to speak Te Reo Maori, preform Karakia (traditional prayers), Kapa Haka (war dance), traditional battle formations, traditional greetings (hongi), memorize ancient lore, whakairo (carving), play Taonga Puoro (treasured instruments) as well as empty hand combat, learning to use the Taiaha and Patu. And that's just scratching the surface. Training at the moment is once a week for 2 hours, and believe it or not, to learn all of this knowledge is only costing me a dollar for each training session. The club is trying to establish more training days, which is great (the more the merrier).
Last week I learnt basic foot work, karakia, battle formations and empty hand combat. This week I did foot work, karakia, battle formations, empty hand combat, step sparring and basic Taiaha. As I don't have a Taiaha of my own yet, I've been using a wooden broom handle instead (which does the job).
If anyone was to ask me what Mau Rakau is similar to in terms of style and technique, I couldn't give a straight answer. The empty hand combat is inspired by the Ruru (Morepork) which is a New Zealand owl. The Ruru is the Kaitiaki (guardian) of the region I live in.
There are elements of the empty hand combat that remind me of Karate. And the use of the Taiaha reminds me of Kobudo. But the footwork is something else all together. In Mau Rakau our footwork is inspired by native birds, we flick our feet up. In Mau Rakau, like in Muay Thai we use our shins to protect ourselves from incoming blows. And many of the stances are similar to what you would find in Karate, but its the way how its put together is what makes it different to anything that I've done in the past. The foot work is complex and elegant to watch when everything is put together, but at the moment all I've been doing tripping up all over myself (well, hey, I've only been doing it for 2 weeks). Our club does do full contact sparring with Taiaha and Patu, but I ain't going near any of that until I've got the basics down. Hopefully I'll be updating this blog every week.
Here's a video demonstrating Mau Rakau foot work:
Since hearing about Mau Rakau in 2008 Iv'e been raring to do it but there wasn't any local Tohunga (tutors) available to teach it. Last week however a new Mau Rakau school was established in my local neighborhood. Although I've been out of shape since my motorcycle crash back in 2011, I decided to stand strong (Kia Kaha) and get into it. My fitness and weight is something that definitely needs working on. Also, I gotta get my some proper knee and ankle supports.
My older sister is also doing Mau Rakau with me, which is massive for her as she has social anxiety. She has been wanting to do martial arts for years but her shyness kept her back. So I'm super proud of her for coming and par taking.
The training is intense as its essentially cultural immersion. I have to learn how to speak Te Reo Maori, preform Karakia (traditional prayers), Kapa Haka (war dance), traditional battle formations, traditional greetings (hongi), memorize ancient lore, whakairo (carving), play Taonga Puoro (treasured instruments) as well as empty hand combat, learning to use the Taiaha and Patu. And that's just scratching the surface. Training at the moment is once a week for 2 hours, and believe it or not, to learn all of this knowledge is only costing me a dollar for each training session. The club is trying to establish more training days, which is great (the more the merrier).
Last week I learnt basic foot work, karakia, battle formations and empty hand combat. This week I did foot work, karakia, battle formations, empty hand combat, step sparring and basic Taiaha. As I don't have a Taiaha of my own yet, I've been using a wooden broom handle instead (which does the job).
If anyone was to ask me what Mau Rakau is similar to in terms of style and technique, I couldn't give a straight answer. The empty hand combat is inspired by the Ruru (Morepork) which is a New Zealand owl. The Ruru is the Kaitiaki (guardian) of the region I live in.
There are elements of the empty hand combat that remind me of Karate. And the use of the Taiaha reminds me of Kobudo. But the footwork is something else all together. In Mau Rakau our footwork is inspired by native birds, we flick our feet up. In Mau Rakau, like in Muay Thai we use our shins to protect ourselves from incoming blows. And many of the stances are similar to what you would find in Karate, but its the way how its put together is what makes it different to anything that I've done in the past. The foot work is complex and elegant to watch when everything is put together, but at the moment all I've been doing tripping up all over myself (well, hey, I've only been doing it for 2 weeks). Our club does do full contact sparring with Taiaha and Patu, but I ain't going near any of that until I've got the basics down. Hopefully I'll be updating this blog every week.
Here's a video demonstrating Mau Rakau foot work:
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