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Author Topic: Rugby, Haka, WTF?  (Read 4873 times)

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KeithHernandez

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Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« on: July 24, 2006, 06:11:07 am »
What in the world is this?  From what I understand it is some New Zealand thing, but why do they let them do it?  And, what are they doing?  Really just anyone at all who knows anything at all about this should tell me.

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Edit: PMCD9

Edit: Thanks, I have never figured out how to do simple stuff like put the link in a word.  I knew when I was liek 13, then the power escaped me.  Probably should try to learn again.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2006, 06:53:59 am by KeithHernandez »
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theinevitable

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2006, 06:35:36 am »
this is what happens when 90% of the people who have c*ckes and testes in this world are very comfortable doing crazy things to show that they have these body parts.

I don't get it, either. things like yelling in unison and banging on myself make me feel uncomfortable.

...unless I'm at a punk show. so I guess yeah, it's just a crazy thing to show they are Rugby people, and that they are proud of this. in a manly way. they are speaking their crazy rugby language, and yelling their rugby words, and doing a rugby dance.
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Doc

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2006, 07:56:32 am »
Ok, I'm thinking I can help here.
Luckily not only was I born Australian, I am 50% New Zealander (and basically all NZers claim to have some Maori in them somewhere).

The Haka is (or was) a sort of traditional Maori war-dance.  The only place you'll generally see it now is before an international rugby game in which NZ is playing and sometimes at various official things that they want to lend a bit of a culture to. 
Of course you already knew that. As to why... well no particular reason, I can't track down just now when they started doing this regularly but you might think of it as being a rider to the national anthem that reflects the Maori culture. That and it's just good way to intimidate the opposition and generally looks pretty good if they do it right. I'm on a javascript free computer at the moment so i can't check out the youtube video.
New Zealand is one of the few European-colonised countries I'm aware of that really seemed to embrace the culture of their native people. Don't get me wrong, lots of Maoris are still in a pretty bad way over there but when my mum grew up there she learnt Maori in school and so on which is a dman site better than what you can say for how us primitive Aussies treated the Australian Aborigines.

One of the odd side effects of this tradition is that the Aussie team started to feel a bit left out and for a while they tried to come up with something similar. The most recent thing was singing waltzing matilda as well as our anthem but frankly I think everyone realised after a while that was a bit stupid so they stopped (at least I hope they stopped).

Seriously though, don't fuck with the Haka.
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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2006, 10:56:59 am »
That was pretty sweet. Maori seems like one of the few native/aboriginal/first nation cultures that (somehow) remained so strong, it got seriously co-opted by us white folks. I think it might have something to do with the strength of the male (and, well, everybody else) within the culture, and Europeans' general lack of rights of passage. I mean seriously, if you're 17 and angry, a group of people where everybody gets heavily tattooed when they become adults must look pretty awesome. But that's about the extent of my knowledge.

And Waltzing Matilda after that must look like the most pathetic thing ever.

Thank god at least one sport still wears short shorts! I'm gonna have to start watching me some rugby.
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Lister

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2006, 11:53:16 am »
You'll find many references to Hakas (I do not know if I am conjugating this properly) amongst the various documentaries in your Lord of the Rings Special Edition DVDs that you surely own.  According to at least one story that I recall, this is what helped many of the extras to get a lot of emotion into the battle scenes when shooting went long.

I've also seen reference to a couple of Maori players in our own National Football League doing this for their teams to get them fired up for big games.  It's one of those things that if you detach yourself it can look kind of comical, but if you're in the moment it's absolutely electrifying.

I guess that's true about most rituals, though.  When you're involved physically/intellectually/emotionally, it moves you.  If you're not it kind of looks goofy.  I think this may be true for everything from weddings to country line dancing.
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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #5 on: July 24, 2006, 04:19:18 pm »
I'd have to say that surely lends some psych-out value.

All screamin' and poundin' themselves and others.  If I was faced with that I would certainly respond in a positive manner.  I would be all "Oh man, sure you guys can have the pool table!"
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theinevitable

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2006, 05:15:00 pm »
yeah, I'm imagining those guys going all out on Waltzing Matilda, though. Geez.
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KeithHernandez

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2006, 05:32:49 pm »
Quote from: Lister on July 24, 2006, 11:53:16 am
I've also seen reference to a couple of Maori players in our own National Football League doing this for their teams to get them fired up for big games.  It's one of those things that if you detach yourself it can look kind of comical, but if you're in the moment it's absolutely electrifying.

I'll have to look for that.  I was more asking, like they are sliting their throats and stuff, which will get you suspended in the NFL,  but I guess rugby is more hardcore than the NFL.  I mean, somebody did get killed playing rugby recently.

Quote from: theinevitable on July 24, 2006, 05:15:00 pm
yeah, I'm imagining those guys going all out on Waltzing Matilda, though. Geez.

That could be the first thing on a message board that has literally made me laugh out loud.
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AlohaDawg

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2006, 07:58:55 pm »
If you go to the Polynesian Culture Center here in Hawaii, the Maori exhibitors do a Maori war dance that is almost exactly the dance the All-blacks do.  I first saw this on TV years ago when I was in the UK and when I saw the show here, I realized it was almost the same thing.
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pmcd9

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #9 on: July 24, 2006, 09:06:56 pm »
Yeah, but you feel really silly when you do that haka dance and then get your ass handed to you by the waltzing matildas.

~Paul
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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #10 on: July 24, 2006, 11:31:51 pm »
Quote from: AlohaDawg on July 24, 2006, 07:58:55 pm
If you go to the Polynesian Culture Center here in Hawaii, the Maori exhibitors do a Maori war dance that is almost exactly the dance the All-blacks do.  I first saw this on TV years ago when I was in the UK and when I saw the show here, I realized it was almost the same thing.

Samoa Joe was in the 84 Olympics doing Plynesian dancing. Now he occasionally busts it as an entrance for major matches.
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KeithHernandez

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #11 on: July 24, 2006, 11:42:47 pm »
Sorry, I never got around to my real question:  (to Doc probably) Why does the other team just stand there and watch, do they have to, and what about the throat sliting?  Is it still cool to do that in sports outside of the United States?
« Last Edit: July 24, 2006, 11:47:48 pm by KeithHernandez »
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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #12 on: July 25, 2006, 12:48:40 am »
I don't find synchronized choreography intimidating.  Unless it was in prison.
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theinevitable

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #13 on: July 25, 2006, 01:22:00 am »
ok, where is someone slitting a throat? I don't see anyone die in that video. what am I missing?
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AlohaDawg

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Re: Rugby, Haka, WTF?
« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2006, 01:26:46 am »
I didn't see the video, but isn't there the gesture of placing your finger on one side of your throat and pulling it across followed by the tongue sticking out, etc?
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