Kapu Kuialua; Kuʻialua; or Lua; is an ancient Hawaiian

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

based on bone breaking,

joint lock A joint lock is a grappling technique involving manipulation of an opponent's joints in such a way that the joints reach their maximal degree of motion and hyperextension. In judō these are referred to as, 関節技 ''kansetsu-waza'', "joint loc ...

s, throws,

pressure point derive from the supposed meridian points in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda and Siddha medicine, and martial arts. They refer to areas on the human body that may produce significant pain or other effects when manipulated in a specific ...

manipulation, strikes, usage of various weapons, battlefield strategy, open ocean warfare as well as the usage of introduced

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s from the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

ans.

History

Origin and ancient use

A caste system and various martial arts were introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Tahitian colonists, who arrived in the 1300s. The Koa warrior group are credited by '' Black Belt'' magazine as the creators of the martial art of Kuialua. The name "Kuialua" literally means "two hits". That name was subsequently given to the

god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

of this martial art. Only those associated with the alii (nobility), such as professional warriors, guardsmen, and members of the royal families, were generally taught Kuialua. During times of warfare, the makaāinana (commoners) were also instructed in the basic movements and functions of the martial art. The old warriors of this art would coat themselves with a thin layer of

coconut oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...

and remove all of their body hair in order to be able to slip away and avoid being grappled in battle. The word for Lua masters, ''ʻōlohe'', literally means "hairless". The Koa helped

Kamehameha the Great Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. T ...

unify the islands in 1810. Lua was only to be practiced by the king’s honor guards, and others were forbidden to learn it. The word "

kapu Kapu may refer to: * Kapu (Hawaiian culture), a Hawaiian code of conduct * Kapu (caste), a social group of India * Kapu, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India ** Kapu Assembly constituency * Kapu, Arunachal Pradesh, a settlement in Tirap district, A ...

," meaning "forbidden", is a part of the old name.

Modern times

While living on

Oʻahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...

Kamehameha II Kamehameha II (November 1797 – July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu ʻIolani. It was lengthened to Kalani Kaleiʻaimoku o Kaiwikapu o Laʻ ...

established three Lua schools (called'' pā kuʻialua'') to help prevent extinction of this art. One school was instructed by Hāhākea, another by Nāmakaimi, and another by Nāpuaʻuki and his assistants. Nāpuaʻuki's school, probably the most prominent one, taught 24 boys, including

Kekūanāoʻa Mataio Kekūanaōʻa ( – November 24, 1868), formally referred to as His Honor or His Highness, was a Hawaiian politician who served as governor of the island of Oahu, father of two kings, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V, and held the office of ...

and

John Papa ʻĪʻī John (Ioane) Kaneiakama Papa ʻĪʻī (1800–1870) was a 19th-century educator, politician and historian in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life ʻĪʻī was born 1800, in the month of Hilinehu, which he calculated to be August 3, in later life. He was b ...

of Kamehameha's court. Some of the techniques used in Lua were incorporated into

danzan-ryū is a ryū of jujutsu founded by Seishiro Okazaki (1890–1951) in Hawaii. Danzan-ryū jujutsu is of mainly Japanese origin but is most common on the West coast of the United States. The Danzan-ryū syllabus is syncretic, and includes non-J ...

jujutsu, which was developed in

Hilo Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...

Henry Okazaki Seishiro "Henry" Okazaki ; January 28, 1890 – July 12, 1951) was a Japanese healer, martial artist, and founder of Danzan Ryu jujitsu. Biography Born in Kakeda, Date County in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, he immigrated to Hawaii in 1906 ...

in the 1920s. Introducing the sport to America in 1963, .html" ;"title="Õlohe Solomon Kaihewalu">Õlohe Solomon Kaihewalu brought the sport public in the 1960s, a controversial act, as previously, the martial art had not been taught to outsiders. Direct disciple of Olohe Solomon Kaihewalu are: Kumu Lua Carlos Deleon, Kumu Lua Mike Wittle, Kumu Lua Michelle Manu, Kumu Lua Hans Ingebretsen, Kumu Lua James Muro, Kumu Lua Isidro Trujillo, Kumu Lua Tim McGuire, Kumu Lua Ron Burns, Kumu Lua Greg Shaner.

Style specifics

The Lua martial art style is based on bone breaking,

s, throws,

manipulation, strikes, usage of various weapons, battlefield strategy, open ocean warfare as well as the usage of

s. Kumu Lua is the title of a teacher of Hawaiian Lua martial arts. “Kumu Lua” means teacher (Kumu) Lua (martial art style). Kumu Lua is similar to Sensei for a teacher of Japanese martial arts, Guru for a teacher of Filipino martial arts, or Sifu for a teacher of Chinese martial arts. For the Hawaiian Lua Martial Arts in the Kaihewalu lineage, the title of Kumu Lua was granted to the disciples of Olohe Solomon Kaihewalu, founder of the Kaihewalu Lua Halau O Kaihewalu. The modern form of Lua has been adjusted to suit modern times; however, the traditional spirit of the art remains intact. Weapons used by natives of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

may have been focused primarily on the artform at one time, as it is said the fighter who loses his weapons should then resort to the hand-to-hand stylings of Kuialua.

Training methods

Training methods include spear catching, training in the surf, and focus of "

mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a ...

" or life force. This energy is described much like

chi Chi or CHI may refer to: Greek *Chi (letter), the Greek letter (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ); Chinese *Chi (length), ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon *Chi (surname) (池, pin ...

or ki in Chinese or Japanese martial arts. Exercises are used to focus this energy much like the exercise of

chi kung ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

Weapons

*Hoe -

Canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered wa ...

*Hoe

Leiomano The leiomano is a shark-toothed club used by various Polynesian cultures, but mostly by the native Hawaiians. Leiomano is a word in the Hawaiian language and may have been derived from ''lei o manō'', which means "a shark's lei." The weapon r ...

- Paddle,

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

tooth weapon *Ihe - Short

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

with barbed edges or straight point (up to staff) *Kaane -

Cuerda The term "cuerda" (Spanish for ''rope'') refers to a unit of measurement in some Spanish-speaking regions, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and Paraguay. In Puerto Rico, the term cuerda (and "Spanish acre"strangling Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...

cord) *Kookoo - Staffs (long and short) **Kookoo Loa ( staff) **Kookoo Pōkole ( staff) *Kuekue Lima Leiomanō -

Knuckle duster Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...

weapon * Leiomanō - Shark tooth weapon *Maa - Sling *Maka Pāhoa - Double-edge (eye)

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

*Newa - Short (small) club *Pahi - Knife *Pāhoa - Single-edge dagger *Pāhoa Kookoo -

Cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...

double-edge dagger

Modern references

*Lua was featured in "Kekoa (The Warrior)," episode 16 of the third season of the ''Hawaii Five-O'' reboot.