Posted on 09/15/2014 7:34:19 PM PDT by naturalman1975
They may have lost the match but the New Zealand wheelchair rugby side certainly won over the crowd with their boisterous haka performance at the Invictus Games.
The Kiwi players aggressively thumped the sides of their wheelchairs for the traditional dance as their British opponents watched on ahead of the rugby match on Saturday in London.
It was the first haka of the Invictus Games - an inaugural military Paralympics event for men and women wounded in combat.
New Zealand Victoria Cross winner Willie Apiata led the team of soldiers in the dramatic haka.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
The Haka is a New Zealand tradition, drawn from Maori culture. Sometimes described as a 'war dance' it is done in a variety of circumstances, including before sporting contests.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
ping
Nicely done Kiwi!
ping
The first time I saw this haka was in the film “Forever Strong.” The Highland Rugby Club in Utah performs it before their matches in honor of the NZ clubs.
During the film, a team member translates the words and explains their meaning. Unforgettable.
http://highlandrugby.net/index.php/highland-rugby-haka
Forgot this one - the scene from the movie where they explain and then perform it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9zyWDSBHLk
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