Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 6, 1 June 2006 — THE ART OF WAR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE ART OF WAR

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By Sterling Kini Wnng Publicatinns Editnr As the "secret weapon" of traditional Hawaiian warfare, the practice of lua,

the Hawaiian art of breaking bones, was always kept hidden. And even now, as lua enjoys a revival after nearly becoming extinct, secrecy still plays an important role in contemporary lua schools. But now the foremost modern-

day teachers of lua have eome forward to a certain extent in a new, long-anticipated book called Lua: Art of the Hawaiian Warrior. The informative book was put together by four graduates of Charles William Lu'ukia Kaho Kemoku Kenn, one of the last lua teachers of the 20th century. Richard Paglinawan, one of those graduates and a teacher of the lua

school Pā Ku'i-a-Lua, said that there are several reasons for the book, whieh details some history of lua, its protocols and deities. The first reason for the book, he said, was to honor Kenn, who studied lua under several knowledgeable people, including six men from King Kalākaua's lua school. "He was a prolific writer and educator who was fiercely proud of his culture," Paglinawan said of Kenn, who was the first person honored by the state as a "living treasure" for his work perpetuating Hawaiian culture. "It should have been him writing this book." While the book names and describes more than 300 'ai, or lua techniques, and features illustrations of about 30 of them, Paglinawan said it's not intended to be an instruction manual. "There's a lot of mystique surrounding lua," he said. "One goal was to introduce people to it and to put it in its proper perspective. We want Hawaiians to get a deeper appreciation for their culture and to get in touch with their spirituality. But we're not trying to romanticize it." There was also the issue of the budding commercialization of lua. Kenn forbade his students from making a profit from lua, and it was one of the reasons he wanted lua to remain a secret. "With all these martial arts competitions, people get fantasies of winning trophies," Paglinawan said.

"And then there are martial arts schools trying to be different, claiming they're

teaching lua. People have to ask for a teacher's lua genealogy to be sure." Traditionally, only a small group of men were taught lua. The selected warriors practiced lua in secret, under the cover of darkness. They were usually a chief or a royal bodyguard who, during time of war, briefly trained the commoners and then lead them to battle. Lua began to gradually slip out of Hawaiian society following western contact and Kamehameha's conquests, as warfare between chiefs ended and modern

weapons were introduced. When Christian missionaries began to denounce native traditions, lua was forced deeper into the shadows. By the 1 9 7 0 s , lua was almost completely lost. In 1974, Kenn agreed to pass on his knowledge of the art to five Native Hawaiian men, all of whom had backgrounds

in various marital arts: Paglinawan, Mitchell and Dennis Eli, Moses Kalauokalani and Ierry Walker. For four years he taught them, while still observing some of the warrior's codes of secrecy, such as teaching at night and requiring a password to enter the school, whieh was then the carport of a Papakōlea home. In 1991, Bishop Museum's Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program labeled lua as a dying Hawaiian art. As a result, the museum requested Kenn's graduates to further research lua and to teach it. Shortly after, four members of the group (Dennis Eli moved to the continental U.S.) started Pā Ku'i-a-Lua. In the late 1 9 9 0 s , the members split, and Walker and Mitchell Eli established Pā Ku'i-a-Holo. Walker said that although lua will probably never be used in war on the same scale as in the past, it still serves a purpose in today's society. "Lua is a lifestyle," he said. "By keeping yourself in a warrior's mindset, you eat right and stay fit. It teaches leadership skills and discipline. It trains you to break down, say, a business situation mueh like you would your opponent in a match. It translates very well today." E2

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