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Wooden Weapons of Hawaiian Lua

Lua, page 1, 2, 3

The first weapon was held much like an ancient version of brass knuckles; the koa frame protected the hand and provided a heavier blow, while the shark's teeth cut and ripped.

(Click photo to see large version)

Click to see large photo of shark-toothed weapon.

 

The second weapon was wielded as a club and could inflict less-than-lethal blows with the flat sides of the paddle, and serious slashes with the toothed edges.

Again, sharks' teeth were used to provide a cutting edge.

(Click photo to see large version)

Click to see large photo of shark-toothed paddle.

Sticks and stones will break your bones...

This brings us to the lua's famed bone breaking techniques, used with or without weapons. Once a warrior executed a successful stabbing attack, the wooden weapon, without an edge to cut, would then be used as a lever to snap neighboring bones. Common targets included the rib cage and collarbone.

Unarmed combat used joint manipulation, much as in jujitsu, to achieve the same bone-breaking results to limbs.

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