I Na Olohe e Kaulana Ala

Kii: 2025 Voyrix.com, Reed McFadden

Kaulana No Ho'i

The powerful chiefs of old Hawaii sought out the finest olohe lua to instruct the warriors in his court. These certain olohe lua were sought after throughout he islands to bring the best instruction to the chief’s court. These olohe were given lands, gifts and power as compensation for their ike and skill. The high chief of the island could request certain instructors under other chiefs to come to his court. These hand selected olohe were well known from island to island due to their great accomplishments in battle and of the accomplished skills of the men and women he trained. Many of these selected olohe were noted for specific skills they possessed such as leaping, flying, or use of weaponry, so the alii of old had access to the best ike and training that their power could provide.

Lua is a living and fluid fighting style that each olohe lua will later adapt and modify to make it better than it was received. This is the only way the art will increase and survive. Skilled olohe lua will increase the mana of the art, looking for flaws in the stroke (ai) and flaws in the movements that lead up to the ai itself. As the olohe perfects the ai to a greater degree, it builds to increase his mana and that of his teacher’s mana. There are always improvements to one's art if the person can dissect the art, analyze the movements and rebuild the framework to make the strike faster and more effective.

The changes usually are dramatic and so their specific form grows more powerful. Not ever olohe in the past is capable of doing this, as not everyone is capable of mastering the piano, or excelling in other things. Those olohe that stood out in time as the great ones, were doing this profession over multiple lifetimes and their knowledge and skill has increased over those many lifetimes. That is why some are proficient and well skilled amongst their adversaries. So, we can say these olohe were born into their profession ready to teach, as compared to some who were born ready to train and learn. This again, also pertains to other arts who have kumu who are very exceptional in their teaching.

Ka 'Ai A Ka U'i

 If we examine and break down one simple stroke or ai, there are many components that make up the whole process, which may take a few seconds to execute. The sizing up of one’s opponent, as one seeks out the target areas that his strike will land on. The angle of the approach, whether left or right side, top or bottom. The strategy of attack, whether it be waiting for the opponent to attack and the read of the opponent’s body, shoulders, toes and breath or to be the one to attack first. The skilled warrior must also breathe on a set rhythm while relaxed. Before the stroke is released by the opponent, the olohe must observe the cues of the adversary, which will tell him where the strike will emerge from. This can be done by reading the opponents toes, shoulders, tension of the body and opponents breathing patterns as well as his facial movements. All these insights will enable the lua person to know how to proceed with his defense or attack.

Te Po

Now, the olohe Lua’s skill takes over as the attack is made by the opponent. The amount of pressure that is applied to the attacker must be calculated to create the least resistance to the energy coming in on the attack. Now the opponent is extending his strike, and his balance is off as he extends too much into his stroke. He is in the realm of po and is not good for him, as he is unable to counter the olohe's movements while in this state. This is greatly recognized by the olohe lua and the olohe reacts to this error of his opponent. Too much force by the olohe on the blocking hand to stop the attack may cause the opponent to be placed back in balance and the olohe’s strike ai will not be effective. Too little pressure on the attacking arm and the opponent may pull back and escape. The force of the olohe’s block must be perfectly timed and balanced in order to maintain his opponent in the realm of po. The olohe's strike will be greatly effective on his opponent if it is done in po. The breath of the olohe lua must be calm and silent, flowing steady and smooth in a relaxed state, as he parry's the attacking hand he must step in or out at just the right angle to gain a clean and swift strike to his target. His focus is still on the target area of his opponent’s body and the strike zone is narrowed down to a pinpoint as he steps calmly to position his body to the correct angle. The olohe's lower body and frame is torqued up and bound like a spring as he gets ready to unleash his ai on to the target of his adversary. Timing and balance for both sides are essential for the olohe lua to cleanly execute his breath and stroke. The olohe must keep himself in balance and he must also keep the opponent in balance to execute his ai. All is done with very little energy or exertion of force on olohe's end. As the olohe expels his breath, his body unwinds from his toes to his legs and up into his shoulders and arms as the fleshy part of his hand that is one inch in area, finds the pinpoint mark that rests on a nerve under the skin on the right side of the opponent’s neck.

There is silence and the only sound is the lingering expulsion of breath from his opponent that still resounds in the air. This whole battle has taken less than a few seconds after the opponents first punch was released. This is an example of a simple lua ai that has about 15 or so movements calculated to be done at about the same time to actually complete the stroke to where it is done effectively, with very little effort. This is a simple scenario of how the olohe lua in the past approached lua. This is the mindset of the skilled lua practitioner that has lived many lives excelling in the art of Lua. Olohe Lua like Kekuhaupi’o of Ke’ei and his instructor, Koai’a of Kapalilua were such skilled olohe who could greatly advance and evolved their lua forms to a higher degree from their own instructors.