About Us
In 2005, Kuʻialuaopuna was established under the guidance, blessing and authority of
ʻŌlohe Lua Kukui Richard Kekumuikawaiokeola Paglinawan,
ʻŌlohe Lua Moses Elwood Kalauokalani,
and ʻŌlohe Haka Noelani Kanoho Mahoe.
Kuʻialuaopuna, established in Puna, Hawai‘i, was created to preserve and promote the ancient knowledge of Hawaiʻi's warrior arts. The revival of Hawaiian fighting arts began in the early 1970s on Oʻahu, led by Richard Paglinawan and Moses Kalauokalani. Their comprehensive training included learning the protocols and kapu outlined by Native Hawaiian scholar ʻŌlohe Lua Charles William Lu'ukia Kaho Kemoku Kenn, as well as studying Native Hawaiian genealogy, cultural practices, and the historical lineage of Pākuʻialua. They also received instruction from Mary Kawena Pukuʻi and various Hawaiian cultural experts dedicated to maintaining traditional arts. These select ʻōlohe were diligently trained in all aspects of lua fighting techniques and spiritual practices, which are recognized as kapu and trace back to the Hawaiian Kahuna Orders of Papa KuʻiaLua and Papa Lonoikamakaihe, connecting to the lineage of Kekūhaupiʻo, who learned from his father, Kohapiʻolani, a warrior chief from Keʻei, South Kona, Hawai‘i.
James Palenapa Kekahuna and Olohe Naluahine Kaopua
Naluahine Kekaaweokaahumanu Kaʻōpua resided on the Keauhou side of Keʻekū, along the shores of Mākoleʻā in Kona. His great grandfather, Lana'i, stood over 7 feet tall and was a skilled lua fighter who served as an attendant to Khameha I. As a child, Naluahine remembers his grandfather hula during the day and lua at night, with his own role being to carry kukui candles into the pa lua at ‘Umihale, the enclosure of Lonoikamakahiki. The tradition of lua was deeply rooted in his family, as both his father and uncles were proficient in this art. Naluahine diligently trained under the various olohe lua of his region throughout his childhood and into adulthood, eventually on his family's lua knowledge to Charles Kemoku Kenn in his later years.
Naluahine Kaopua
Henry Seishiro Okazaki,
Henry Seishiro Okazaki, was born in the town of Kakeda, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on January 28, 1890. He migrated to Hawaii in 1906 and settled in Hilo, Hawaii. At the age of 19 he was diagnosed as having a lung disease thought to be tuberculosis. As a desperate measure to combat depression, he began his study of Judo under the tutelage of Master Yoshimatsu (Kichimatsu) Tanaka at the Shinyu Kai Dojo in Hilo. The arts fascinated him and eliminated his frustration over his illness. He practiced with all his strength and being. Strangely, his devotion led to a complete recovery from his illness.
Professor Okazaki studied various martial arts, including the Hawaiian fighting art of lua, from a Hawaiian man in Puna, Hawaiʻi.
Professor Okazaki eventually formed an eclectic system which he called "Kodenkan". This system included Judo, Jujitsu, Hawaiian Lua, Okinawan Karate, Chinese Kung Fu, and American Wrestling. Breaking with tradition, Prof. Okazaki taught not only the Japanese, but any and all races.
He gave the name "Danzan Ryu" to his school of Jujitsu, in which Okazaki also incorporated 20 lua strikes he had mastered from the man in Puna, Hawaii. These ʻai or lua strikes were passed down to Professor Libert O ʻ Sullivan.
Luʻukia Kaoho Kemoku Kenn
Charles William Luʻukia Kaoho Kemoku Kenn was born in Honolulu on January 2, 1907. One of the few remaining masters of lua during his time. Kenn was descended from a line of kāhuna. In his writings, Kenn argued passionately for defiance against the Americanization of the Hawaiian people.
Kenn recorded Hawaiian chants from elders, preserving information about the Hawaiian language and cultural traditions. As a young man, he had learned lua from several teachers, such as Naluahine Kaopua of South Kona, as well as from the olohe who had trained at a royal lua school established by King Kalakaua. He had also studied with sensei Seishiro Okazaki.
When he was in his late 60ʻs he was approached by men who wanted to learn the ancient tradition, Kenn initially refused, but eventually agreed to teach a core group of students. He graduated a group of five ‘ōlohe (masters), who have continued teaching select students. Kenn's efforts led to the establishment of two lua pa (schools) in Hawaii: Pa Ku‘i-a-Lua, Ku‘i-a-Holo.
ʻŌlohe Lua Richard Paglinawan
'Ōlohe Lua Kukui Richard Likeke Kekumuikawaiokeola Paglinawan was a student of Charles Kenn, and founder of Pākuʻialua. Richard is a descendant of Kapule, a warrior priest originally from Kohala, Hawai'i, who served in the army of Kalaniopu'u and later, Kamehameha I. Born and raised in Waiahole, Oʻahu, He was trained in many traditional Hawaiian practices from a young age until adult hood, as well as trained in various martial arts. He was a social worker and held many esteemed positions in the State of Hawaii as well as in the community. All for the perpetuation of Hawaiians and their culture. His dedication to promote Lua as a way of life took him and his students all over the Pacific in the promotion of all Indigenous fighting arts and culture. He sadly passed away in 2015. He is also still on our advisory board when needed!
Professor Libert Ku'uleilunalili O 'Sullivan
Professor Libert O’Sullivan trained under Professors Bing Fai Lau and Sig Kufferath in the art of Jujitsu, receiving his Black Belt in June of 1949. He also studied Kenpo and Karate under various sensei.
Born in Honolulu and raised on the island of Molokai. In 1957, Sensei O’Sullivan taught students at St. Louis High School and continued working with Professor Kufferath at the Nikko Dojo of Honolulu. In June of 2000, he received his 10″ degree professorship from the Hawaii Kenpo Jujitsu Society. He was also a guest jujitsu professor with Paku'ialua. Liberts training in American jujitsu brought him to the art of Lua while training under professor Henry Seishiro Okazaki. Reportedly, the secret of Lua was broken in 1917, when Henry Seishiro Okazaki learned Lua from a Hawaiian man on Hawai'i. Eventually, Okazaki converted the Lua he learned and transferred these strikes into his Danzen Ryu System. Professor Libert mastered those same strikes and passed them on. Professor Libert has since passed on and is also on our advisory board when needed.
Ōlohe Ha'a Noelani Kanoho Mahoe
Olohe Haka: Noelani Mahoe acted as the haka or chanter Paku'ialua, where she taught the chants and ha'a essential to lua practice. With comprehensive training as a kumu hula under Tom Hiona, Mary Puku'i, and others, she adeptly transitioned to lua and revived traditional ha'a. Noelani devoted herself to teaching hula, Hawaiian music, and `ukulele to new generations through a City & County of Honolulu program from 1958 to 1964. In 1999, she contributed to the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame Education Committee, helping to create the E Mele Kakou elementary school curriculum and was the first to teach it music classes for 4th and 5th graders. In 1963, Mrs. Mahoe established the "Leo Nahenahe Singers," and alongside Ka`upena Wong, they were the first Hawaiians to perform at the Newport Festival in 1964. Her outreach in Hawaiian music broadened when she joined the DOE Office of Instructional Services in 1980, collaborating with others to develop a unique Kupuna component for the Hawaiian Studies Curriculum in state schools. Noelani Mahoe was also a founding member of the original Hawaiian Music Foundation established by the late Dr. George Kanahele in 1971, coordinating the Hawaiian Music that same year. She organized concerts featuring Slack Key, Falsetto, and Steel Guitar across all islands. For Hawaii Public Television, she served as an associate producer on six half-hourNa Mele Hawai`i" shows that continue to air today. In May 2002, she received HARA's Lifetime Achievement Award, a fitting acknowledgment of her as a leading figure in Hawaiian music education. Noelani Mahoe, Singer, Musician, and Hula Teacher Edwina Noelani Kanoho Mahoe, is a recognized master of Hawaiian music and a pioneer in its preservation. In the 1960s, she co-founded the Leo Nahenahe Singers with Ethelynne and Mona Teves and Lynette Kaopuiki. In 1964, she and Kaupena Wong were the first Hawaiian performers invited to the Newport Folk Festival at Pete Seeger's request. In 1996, she was a finalist for Best Female Vocalist in Na Hoku Hanohano music awards and has received numerous Hawaii Music Awards, including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawai`i Academy of Recording Arts. Noelani taught music and hula through influential Honolulu Parks and Recreation programs in the 1960s, establishing the Waimanalo Keiki chorus known for its popular recordings. In 1971, she with Dr. George Kanahele to create the Hawaiian Music Foundation and the first Hawaiian Music Conference, coordinating slack key, falsetto, and steel guitar concerts throughout Hawaii. She also coined the term "oleo ki`eki`e" for falsetto voice, which was added to the Hawaiian Dictionary in 1985. She has served as a music judge for many Kamehameha Schools Songests and has worked extensively as a cultural consultant for the visitor industry, developing educational curricula centered on music. In 1974, Noelani produced the TV series Na Mele Hawaii, documenting many masters on film, with its archives still highly valued today. She also coordinates and hula shows at the International Market Place in Waikiki. Additionally, Noelani recognized for co-authoring "Na Mele O Hawai`i Nei: A Hundred and One Hawaiian Songs with Dr. Samuel H. Elbert, a vital resource for hula dancers and Hawaiian music singers. Her unique hula journey includes studying privately with hula master Tom Hiona from 1953 to1961, when she was granted permission to teach. She also learned specific hula styles from Alice Keane, Lena Machado, and others.
ʻŌlohe Lua Lua Moke Kalauokalani
Moses Kalauokalani, the esteemed Ōlohe Lua of Paku'ialua, holds the title of Ōlohe Lua Pili Paa. For over fifty years, he has passionately traveled across the Pacific, promoting the Hawaiian Lua practice from Raiatea and the Marquesas to Aotearoa and beyond. Olohe Moses believes that all Polynesian fighting arts share a common genealogy, connecting us to a shared origin. He is one of the five haumana who studied under the legendary Charles Lu'ukia Kaoho Kemoku Kenn. He is a co-founder of Paku'ialua and Ku'ialuaopuna. Olohe Lua Moke Kalauokalani recetly passed away in 2025.
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ʻŌlohe Lua Mamane Wong
ʻŌlohe Lua Mamane Wong has more than 20 years of committed training in lua. His path includes significant mentorship from notable figures like ʻŌlohe Richard Paglinawan, ʻŌlohe Kalauokalani, and ʻŌlohe Haʻa Noelani Mahoe. He has also refined his techniques under sensei 'O Sillivan, exploring the lua arts of Henry Okazaki With his extensive experience and lineage, he stands as a dedicated Hawaiian practitioner of lua.
'Ōlohe Moses Kalauokalani ( left) and
'Ōlohe Ha'a Noelani Mahoe ( center) and
ʻŌlohe Lua Kukui Richard Likeke Paglinawan
are still an integral part of Ku'ialuaopuna.
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Kuʻialuaopuna is dedicated to promoting and preserving the rich cultural and traditional knowledge of our people throughout the Pacific. We strive to honor our heritage through the practice indigenous fighting arts, ensuring that these valuable traditions are passed to future generations. Join us in celebrating our unique identity and empowering our community these time-honored practices. Together, we can keep our culture alive thriving.
