Lua, an ancient Hawaiian martial art, was banned from public display two centuries ago by Queen Kaʻahumanu after she heard the gasps of missionaries who were terrified when they saw it performed at a ceremony.
For most visitors, the word “Hawaiian” conjures images of graceful hula dancers, not warriors. But the line between dance and combat in pre-contact Hawaiʻi was never as clear as it seems today. Lua — a martial art that includes bone-breaking joint locks, strikes, and weaponry — was once practiced widely across the islands, including by women. After it was driven from public view, its techniques were concealed within hula movements, where they remained for generations. This article traces what Lua actually is, how it survived, and what it means to practice it today.
Lua is a traditional Hawaiian martial art focused on joint manipulation, strikes, and weapon use, historically practiced by both men and women. It was banned from public display in the early 19th century and went underground, with techniques hidden inside hula. Today, it is being revived by a small number of practitioners, though its history remains contested — particularly around the role of women warriors and the exact nature of pre-contact combat.
Cultural researchers
Martial arts practitioners
Hawaiian history enthusiasts
| Aspect | Lua (martial art) | Hula (dance) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Combat, self-defense, spiritual discipline | Storytelling, ceremony, entertainment |
| Historical visibility | Banned from public display c. 1819 | Banned 1830, revived late 19th century |
| Practitioners | Men and women (aliʻi and commoners) | Men and women (specialized hālau) |
| Relationship | Techniques concealed within hula movements | Some movements derived from Lua footwork and strikes |
| Current status | Small revival, few recognized kumu | Widely practiced, globally recognized |
Where Lua Began: Pre-Contact Combat in Hawaiʻi
Before European contact, warfare in Hawaiʻi was frequent and highly organized. Aliʻi (chiefs) maintained standing groups of trained warriors, and combat included hand-to-hand techniques alongside weapons like the leiomano (shark-tooth club), ihe (spear), and pāhoa (dagger). Lua was the system that governed this fighting — a set of techniques for breaking joints, dislocating limbs, and striking vulnerable points on the body.
Unlike many martial arts that emphasize linear force, Lua relies on circular movements, leverage, and redirection of an opponent’s energy. Practitioners learn to feel the opponent’s intent through touch — a concept sometimes called “listening hands.” The art was taught within ʻohana (family) lines and through hālau (schools), with knowledge passed orally and through direct physical instruction.
A common misconception is that Lua was exclusively a male practice. Historical accounts and oral traditions indicate that women — particularly those of aliʻi rank — also trained in Lua. Queen Kaʻahumanu herself was said to be skilled in combat, and the term wahine koa (woman warrior) appears in traditional chants.
What remains debated among historians is how standardized Lua was across the islands. Some sources suggest each island or district had its own variations, with techniques adapted to local terrain and fighting styles. No written records from the pre-contact period survive, so much of what is known comes from 19th-century accounts by Hawaiian scholars like Samuel Kamakau and John Papa ʻĪʻī, as well as oral traditions passed through families.
The Ban and the Concealment Within Hula
In 1819, Queen Kaʻahumanu — who had converted to Christianity — ordered the destruction of heiau (temples) and the banning of public Lua demonstrations. The immediate trigger, according to oral tradition, was the horrified reaction of Christian missionaries who witnessed a Lua performance at a ceremony. Lua went underground.
Practitioners found an unlikely refuge: hula. The dance, which itself was banned by Queen Kaʻahumanu in 1830 under missionary pressure, had already been a vehicle for preserving Hawaiian history and genealogy. Lua practitioners began embedding combat movements within hula sequences — a strike disguised as a gesture, a foot sweep hidden in a step. To the untrained eye, it looked like dance. To those who knew, it was a fighting system in plain sight.
This concealment was so effective that many contemporary Hawaiians were unaware Lua existed as a distinct practice until the late 20th century. Even today, some hula practitioners dispute the extent to which Lua influenced hula movements, arguing that the two arts developed separately and that the connection has been overstated by revivalists.
Reviving Lua: The Work of Kumu Michelle Manu
Michelle Manu is one of the most visible figures in Lua’s revival. The daughter of a Hawaiian-Filipino-Chinese-English father and a Norwegian-Danish-Scottish mother, she grew up primarily in Southern California. Her father, who had turned his back on Hawaiʻi to pursue education in California, forbade his children from tracing their Hawaiian roots.
Manu found her way to Lua through an indirect path. At 15, she moved to Chicago and began performing traditional dances with a Samoan-Italian family, doing up to 11 shows a week. She trained in other martial arts for conditioning but did not encounter Lua until about ten years before a 2024 interview with ABC Pacific. She eventually found Kumu Ōlohe Solomon Kaihewalu.
Manu was not allowed to speak directly to Kaihewalu at first. He would hang up when she called. She kept calling until he relented and invited her to watch a class. What followed was an eight-year hazing period during which she broke the right side of her rib cage, suffered several concussions, broke every finger, blacked out once, and fractured the inside of her hip. She kept showing up.
After years of training, Manu was recognized as a kumu (teacher). She now teaches Lua with a softer approach than her own teacher — meeting students where they are rather than relying on fear or intimidation. Her goal, she says, is to make Lua more available and accessible.
Manu teaches “intentional movement” — treating the body, mind, and spirit as one. She sets spiritual intention before moving and describes movement in Lua as medicine. She believes Polynesian bodies are conduits of mana (spiritual energy), and that movement heals them.
Women Warriors and the Politics of Memory
One of the most contested aspects of Lua’s history is the role of women. Manu has stated that many Kanaka (Hawaiian people) believe women were never part of Lua and that there were no women warrior foremothers. She disagrees, pointing to oral traditions and historical accounts of wahine koa.
The debate reflects broader questions about how Hawaiian history was recorded and who controlled the narrative. After contact, most written accounts were produced by male Hawaiian scholars and foreign missionaries, both of whom may have had reasons to minimize or overlook women’s martial roles. The oral traditions that survived were often filtered through male lineage holders.
If you attend a Lua demonstration or workshop, avoid asking performers to “prove” the art’s effectiveness or to demonstrate techniques on volunteers without explicit consent. Lua includes dangerous joint locks and strikes that can cause injury even when demonstrated slowly. Let the kumu set the parameters for participation.
Manu’s own definition of “warrior” is deliberately expansive. She describes being a woman warrior as intellect — the masculine (Ku) with the intuition (Hina). For her, the physical techniques of Lua are inseparable from the spiritual and mental discipline required to use them responsibly.
How the Tradition Differs Across the Islands
Because Lua was taught within family lines and hālau, regional variations developed. The following table summarizes some of the known differences, though much remains undocumented.
| Island / Region | Known Emphasis | Notable Lineage | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaiʻi (Big Island) | Weaponry, large-scale combat formations | Few documented lineages | Limited revival efforts |
| Maui | Hand-to-hand, joint locks | Some oral traditions preserved | Small community of practitioners |
| Oʻahu | Integration with hula, concealment techniques | Kaihewalu lineage (via Oʻahu) | Most visible revival, Michelle Manu based here |
| Kauaʻi | Less documented; possibly distinct footwork patterns | Fragmented knowledge | Minimal active practice |
The variation across islands is not unique to Lua — it reflects the broader political structure of pre-contact Hawaiʻi, where each island was often ruled by a separate aliʻi and maintained its own military traditions. The unification of the islands under Kamehameha I in 1810 did not erase these regional differences.
- Lua is a distinct Hawaiian martial art, not a variant of other Polynesian fighting systems.
- Its concealment within hula was a deliberate survival strategy, not a natural evolution.
- The role of women in Lua is historically documented but remains contested in some circles.
- Revival efforts are small-scale and face challenges around authenticity, accessibility, and lineage.
What Outsiders Usually Get Wrong
The most persistent misconception is that Lua is simply “Hawaiian kung fu” or a direct equivalent to East Asian martial arts. While Lua shares some principles with other martial arts — circular movement, joint manipulation, redirection of force — its philosophical foundations are rooted in Hawaiian concepts of mana, ʻohana, and the relationship between the physical and spiritual worlds.
Another common error is assuming that Lua was a single, codified system. Like many indigenous practices, it was transmitted orally and through direct experience, with variations across families and regions. There was no “Lua manual” or standardized curriculum.
Be skeptical of claims that Lua is “the deadliest martial art” or that it was kept secret because it was too dangerous for outsiders to learn. These narratives often come from commercialized martial arts schools looking to add exotic appeal. Lua’s concealment was a response to colonial suppression, not a mystical choice.
Questions Readers Ask
Can I learn Lua as a visitor to Hawaiʻi?
Opportunities are limited. Lua is not taught in commercial gyms or tourist-oriented cultural centers. Your best bet is to seek out workshops led by recognized kumu like Michelle Manu, though these are infrequent and often require a serious commitment. Manu has stated her goal is to make Lua more accessible, but the art remains intentionally difficult to access.
Is Lua related to other Polynesian martial arts?
Lua shares some principles with Māori mau rākau and Samoan limalama, but each developed independently within its own cultural context. There is no evidence of a unified “Polynesian martial art” before contact. The similarities likely reflect shared ancestral roots rather than direct borrowing.
Did Hawaiian women really fight in battles?
Historical accounts confirm that some women, particularly of aliʻi rank, trained in Lua and participated in combat. Queen Kaʻahumanu and the chiefess Kekūhaupiʻo are often cited as examples. However, the extent of women’s involvement in warfare is debated among historians, and it likely varied by period and island.
How is Lua different from hula?
Hula is primarily a dance form for storytelling, ceremony, and entertainment. Lua is a combat system. The two arts share some movements because Lua techniques were concealed within hula, but their purposes and training methods are fundamentally different. A hula dancer is not necessarily trained in Lua, and vice versa.
Why was Lua banned?
Queen Kaʻahumanu banned public Lua demonstrations in 1819 after Christian missionaries expressed horror at the performance. The ban was part of a broader campaign to dismantle traditional Hawaiian religious and cultural practices following the death of Kamehameha I. Hula was banned separately in 1830.
The Art That Refuses to Disappear
Lua’s survival is a story of adaptation under pressure — of techniques hidden in plain sight, of knowledge passed through families who refused to let it die. It is not a museum piece or a tourist attraction. It is a living practice carried by a small number of people who believe that the movements of their ancestors still have something to teach them about how to move through the world with intention.
For anyone curious about the deeper layers of Hawaiian culture, Lua offers a reminder that what we see on the surface — the dances, the chants, the ceremonies — often conceals histories that are still being uncovered. The art of hula itself carries stories that go far beyond what most visitors ever glimpse.
Sources and further reading
ABC Pacific. “Kumu Michelle Manu on the ancient martial art of Lua.” 2024. 🔗
ABC Pacific. “Stories from the Pacific: Michelle Manu.” 2024. 🔗
Related reading on IslandHopperGuides
Unveiling Hawaii’s Ancient Hula: More Than Just a Dance — Explores the deeper ceremonial and historical layers of hula, including its suppression and revival.
From Kapu to Law: Understanding the Complex Legal System of Ancient Hawaii — Context on the legal and social structures that governed pre-contact Hawaiian society.
Hawaiian Tattoo Traditions: Inking Stories of Lineage and Legacy — Another example of a Hawaiian cultural practice that was suppressed and later revived.
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