Taiaha

As with other martial arts styles, students of the taiaha spend years mastering the skills of timing, balance and co-ordination necessary to wield the weapon effectively.

The taiaha is widely known due to its use in the wero — the traditional Māori challenge during the pōwhiri, a formal welcoming ceremony.

In full view of the visiting party, a selected warrior would parry invisible blows and strike down unseen foes.

Weapons such as the taiaha were replaced by the Europeans' muskets and para whakawai, or traditional Māori weaponry training schools, disappeared altogether.

The survival of Māori weaponry was only possible with the work and activism of remaining experts like Irirangi Tiakiawa, Pita Sharples, John Rangihau, Matiu Mareikura and Mita Mohi.

Much of the knowledge within today's para whakawai is presented with a background of a deeper tribal history, offering a strong sense of identity, kinship and belonging.

The para whakawai on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua trains members of Te Arawa and other interested individuals in weaponry ideologies, theories and beliefs.

The para whakawai Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa began at Hoani Waititi Marae in Auckland and grew to include a number of outreach programmes in different regions.

It was established by Pita Sharples in the 1980s ‘to offer the ancient art of mau rakau back to Maoridom as an innovative programme’.