Māori Martial Arts has captured movie makers and now it has received funding from Sport NZ.
The crown agency has invested a quarter of million dollars to Te Whare Tū Taua - an international Māori weaponry school.
It’s the first organization to receive the funding from the new Te Ihi Fund, which was created in response to the impact of Covid-19 on Māori.
Māori can trace the ancient art of mau rākau back to their creation story.
However, over the last two decades it has been commonly seen on both the big and small screen, from Academy Award-winning film Whale Rider, the Deadlands and even with actor Temuera Morrison showing off his skills in the Star Wars franchise.
Māori believe the knowledge of mau rākau comes from Tūmatauenga - the God of War, who was mentioned in the latest Taika Waititi film Thor: Love and Thunder.
The art was almost extinct following colonisation and legislation like the Tohunga Suppression Act in 1907.
"Ko te whare tu taua nei he huanga tenei na nga ture aupehi, na nga ture tāmi (the International School of Māori Weaponry was formed out of these laws to suppress and assimilate us)," mau rākau exponent Hemi Tai Tin told Newshub.
Sir Pita Sharples founded Te Whare Tū Taua o Aotearoa - the International School of Māori Weaponry in 1983.
It offers practitioners the opportunity to learn the ancestral practices, values and protocols of Māori martial art and to preserve the rich culture of the warrior.
Tai Tin was part of Sir Pita's first intake and said it has helped revitalise the taonga.
"Kaore matou i te tino mohio i te whakarauora matou i tenei mea tetahi taonga. Ko tenei te pai mo te tupu i roto i te kaupapa, me ki. Nana matou i arahi, nana hoki matou i ati kia whaia te reo kia akona enei mahi engari me ki (we didn't know we were revitalising this taonga, we were immersed in it, they lead us and instilled in us the language and celestial knowledge)," he told Newshub.
Around 40 years later there are about 30 branches across Aotearoa, in London, Australia, Hawai'i and Abu Dhabi. Students in Rānui, west Auckland said māu rakau changed their lives.
"I love māu rakau, it makes me feel like I can do anything," Parewaikahurangi Pahewa-Johnson said.
Another student said there are both physical and mental benefits to it.
"It's just the physical benefits, obviously just being physically active but also just that connection to our tupuna and help strengthen me you know in a holistic way mentally and emotionally. It's a way to release some of the worries and stresses in our world."
Sport NZ has recognised its value and provided $276,000 in funding for the school.
It had earlier been found that COVID-19 disruptions had increased inequities for young Māori and Pacific people living in high deprivation areas, with higher proportions of young Māori and Pacific identifying barriers such as affordability and lack of confidence.
An independent review that Sport NZ commissioned in 2017 also found that Māori participation in sport had significantly declined in the past 16 years, with Sport NZ lacking in areas such as engagement with Māori.
Sport NZ Toihautū spokesperson Moana-Lee Raihania said helping fund this will help them to learn and grow.
"Our return on investment not only is increasing the participation for Māori and increasing new pathways for Māori to engage kaupapa Māori activities but it's also a learning journey for us."
A journey that began with the creation stories of the Māori and continues today with our great storytellers in movies and books.
