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Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

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Two staff weapons deserve special mention due to their uniqueness<br />

and lethality. <strong>The</strong> Maori, the aboriginal peoples of New Zealand, developed<br />

a special type of massive war club. With a length of about 1.5 meters<br />

and a weight of approximately 5 kilograms, this curved, two-handed club<br />

was powerful enough to shatter the largest bones in a human body. Maori<br />

warriors were able to close against the British invaders and use the weapon<br />

to good effect. Another type of club, used by the Samoans, was the tewhatewha,<br />

a long stick (1.5 meters) with a wooden haft at its end. This axlike<br />

device was also a fierce weapon in a premetal technology.<br />

Even in this Neolithic world, an extensive range of unique weapons<br />

A late-nineteenthcentury<br />

engraving by<br />

J.W. Warren of a<br />

bare-knuckle boxing<br />

match between<br />

Hapae islanders.<br />

(Hulton-Deutsch<br />

Collection/Corbis)<br />

Pacific Islands 405

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