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Flash Mob Haka

By lex, on September 5th, 2011

Finally, what the world has been waiting for: A flash mob Haka in a New Zealand shopping mall.

It’s the rugby season, innit?

For the uninit, here are the All Blacks getting ready for a scrum in Eire.

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September 5th, 2011 | Tags: , | Category: Politics and Culture, sport

41 comments to Flash Mob Haka

  • Will S
    September 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm

    Well, I now know what happened to all the extras who were the Uruk-Hai in the Lord of the Rings movies that were filmed in NZ. Reminded me of the beginning of the assault on Helm’s Deep.

  • SGT B
    September 5, 2011 at 6:31 pm

    I’d love to see the reaction of the punk flash mobs to this crew. The haka is, in effect telling the spectators not only how they are going to rip them asunder, but also how much it is going to hurt…

    (Okay, maybe the last part isn’t true, but it sure SOUNDS like the message…)

  • Wilko
    September 5, 2011 at 6:34 pm

    Nothing like a little bug eyed chanting to boost retail business. No idea what they’re yelling about. Maybe it’s the latest screaming deals available for customers.

    Can’t wait ’till this catches on in the states.

    • virgil xenophon
      September 6, 2011 at 6:53 am

      It already has. The Univ. of Hawaii football team performs its own version before all football games just prior to taking the field. (yes, I know, the Hawaiian Isles aren’t geographically part of CONUS, still..)

  • Kiwidave
    September 5, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    If it’s Ka Mate — am at work so can’t play it, and I’ll bet that it is, here is a little history:

    (Note this was during the period sometimes referred to “The Musket Wars”)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_Mate
    http://www.haka.co.nz/haka.php

  • Bou
    September 5, 2011 at 7:15 pm

    Holy crap. A flash Mob Haka. That is a serious bad ass flash mob. I cannot frickin’ quit laughing. I have to send this out… never in a million years would I have expected to see a flash mob Haka…

  • Bou
    September 5, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    BTW, that is one of my favorite vids of the All Blacks doing their Haka. What cracks me up when I watch is the looks on the faces of the opposing team. Sometimes its bewildered. Sometimes entertained. Sometimes like “Holy crap, what have we gotten ourselves into…”

  • Busbob
    September 5, 2011 at 7:54 pm

    Back in the 70′s Cag 9 and the Connie were in a joint exercise with the Aussies and the HMS Melbourne. At the end there was a meet and greet (more like beer and cheer) with the participants in Hawaii, if my memory is correct, and I got to attend. I had no idea or concept of the Maori, they were outside my little world. All of a sudden one end of the room filled with about 30 Maori who were crew on the Melbourne. They were wearing grass skirts, were bare foot and bare chested, and most had incredible tattoos, not at all like the tame art you see in the US of A. My first thought was, “Why are these men wearing grass skirts? Is this some Hawaiian dance number?”
    The room got real quiet and the Maori got into the “stance” and went into the Haka.
    Having no knowledge of a Haka I was suddenly taken over with a sense of…well, fear. The Maori were fearsome loud, they struck all parts of their bodies with an open hand, and I can tell you that in a closed room the sound of thirty men making impact with body parts is quite unsettling.
    Each change in the stance and chant, along with the impact sounds, was pure intimidation. The finish was one loud chant and skin on skin impact, followed by all 30 men sticking out their tongues at us.
    I can tell you, 30 fearsome men with chiseled tattoos sticking out their tongues at you after that chant is not funny. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

    • SpazSinbad
      September 5, 2011 at 10:58 pm

      Busbob, Kiwi A-4Ks were at NAS Barbers Point in 1978 for RIMPAC78, or perhaps an RNZN destroyer was participating in the RIMPAC you mention? Do you have any knowledge of this anecdote please? Thanks.
      HMAS Melbourne vs. USS Constellation RIMPAC 1980
      http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/topic/14224/HMAS-Melbourne-vs-USS-Constellation-in- RIMPAC-1980?page=1
      “Nobuyoshi Koremoto, an ex-skipper of JDS Amatsukaze that participated in RIMPAC 1980, wrote in the August 2010 issue of the Ship of the World that in the 1980 exercise a flight of Australian A-4G Skyhawks from HMAS Melbourne playing an ‘Orange’ force carrier attacked USS Constellation, which was assessed to be ‘heavily damaged’….”

      • SpazSinbad
        September 6, 2011 at 1:12 am

        HMAS Melbourne RIMPAC List, A4Gs Embarked: Nov 1971; Aug 1972; Ex. ‘Hula Girl’ Sep 1973; Mar 1975; Mar 1977; Jun 1978; Mar 1980

      • Busbob
        September 6, 2011 at 6:05 am

        Based on the dates listed, must have been RIMPAC exercise in March of 1977. I was off the Connie at the end of 1977.

        • SpazSinbad
          September 6, 2011 at 7:38 am

          Thanks Busbob. RIMPAC77 info from:
          http://rnzncomms.org/ourhistory/dc-1977-2/
          “…During the period 11 February – 5 March 1977, HMNZS Otago, 3 RNZAF Orions, and 73 RNZAF personnel allocated to operations and control duties took part in Exercise RIMPAC 77. This exercise, sponsored by the United States, was a major open ocean maritime exercise involving Australian, Canadian, United States, and New Zealand forces in an area south of the Hawaiian Islands. Like KANGAROO II, RIMPAC 77 provided valuable training in the exercise of common doctrine and posed some challenging questions for future operations….”

  • SFC D
    September 5, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    I think there is only one thought that runs through your mind when on the recieving end of the Haka.

    Run.

  • fliterman
    September 5, 2011 at 8:21 pm

    Great PsyOps! Sign ‘em up!

  • Errol
    September 5, 2011 at 8:48 pm

    It’s more than the rugby season, the Rugby World Cup starts in NZ on Friday! I’ve seen the All Blacks and Fijian rugby team exchange ‘greetings’ at Eden Park – great stuff!

  • Sim
    September 5, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    The Wallabies and the US are in the same pool.

  • Comjam
    September 6, 2011 at 6:03 am

    Aye, and a fine thing it is indeed. Of course, the Scots have a way of dealin’ with such… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaJSGky4F4U

  • SGT B
    September 6, 2011 at 6:55 am

    What does one feel when one is facing a haka? If you are not a warrior, it might be fear or intimidation. If you are a warrior, then it will be “By God, these are men who will give me a grand fight!” or “This are men I can stand with on the Line.”

  • Grandpa Bluewater
    September 6, 2011 at 10:53 am

    It might be instructive to compare the combat record of New Zealand’s armed forces over the last fifty years with say the Canadians or the Australians.

    Stomping your feet and sticking out your tongue? My three year old granddaughter, pound for pound, can do as well or better, when motivated.

    Readiness, equipment, and recent record, they aren’t much. As an ally in the cold war, or since, not so you would notice.

    • Sim
      September 6, 2011 at 10:56 am

      Willie Apiata says Hi.

    • NaCly Dog
      September 6, 2011 at 11:11 am

      GB, The 2nd NZ Division was the Commonwealth’s best division in WWII. They punched above their weight in North Africa, Greece, and Italy. The British used them as leading shock troops at a number of important battles.

      Perhaps all the casualties suffered in WWII had a deleterious effect on New Zealand’s martial ardor.

      The NZ politicians have been responsible for much of the NZ caution in the past 50 years. THe military of NZ can perform if tasked. As an example, the NZ SAS has an excellent record in combat.

    • Snake Eater
      September 6, 2011 at 12:18 pm

      Grampa Bluewater, It might also be instructive/suggested that you respectfully consider the folowing admonition …

      …to kindly lighthen the fu**k up, quit sucking lemons, take a couple of Midols and kick back and enjoy the energy…the awe…and the cultural wonderment that is the Haka. Best

      PS, I’m of the opninion that a full moon, or in the alternative a full Monty, al la the rude but lovable Scots, is an appropriate response when facing a Haka

      • Quartermaster
        September 6, 2011 at 4:14 pm

        No matter the quality of the weapon, it’s just an ugly piece of steel if you refuse to pull the trigger.

        Gramps isn’t dissing the troops, just what the politicos have made them.

        Just so you know, much of NZ’s equipment is sitting and rusting away.

        • Kiwidave
          September 6, 2011 at 4:19 pm

          Really – have you actually “looked” — again, people stating things without really knowing.

          The NZ Armed forces have NEVER been so active since WWII, rusting away — hmm, more like “worn out” from overuse.

    • Kiwidave
      September 6, 2011 at 4:16 pm

      NZ Armed Forces in Action, let’s see, off the top of my head;

      1950s:
      Korea (RNZN, Gunners), Malaysia (SAS),
      1960s:
      Borneo (SAS), Thailand (SAS), Vietnam (SAS, RNZAF, Army)
      1970s:
      Vietnam (SAS RNAF, Army) — all over by 1972 ???
      1980s:
      Sinai (RNZAF – peacekeeping but what the hell)
      Post Iran / Iraq war (RNZAF) – late ’80s ???
      1990s:
      Desert Storm (RNZAF, SAS ??)
      Balkans (Army)
      East Timor (RNZAF, RNZN, SAS, Army)
      2000s:
      East Timor – round 2 (RNZAF, RNZN, SAS, Army)
      Iraq – post Gulf War (Army)
      Solomon Islands (Army)
      Afganistan (since 2003) – (RNZAF, SAS, Army, RNZN – personal)

      Not conclusive, sure I have missed some out, but do take some exception to your comment. (and am ex RNZAF).

      Given that the entire NZ Armed forces total less than 11K now, and maybe 15K at its Post World War II peak, I would say its not too bad.

      Am sure Cpl Doug Grant would like to say something to you (SAS, killed rescuing British Council Staff in Kabul just recently) – but he’s a tad indisposed.

      • NaCly Dog
        September 6, 2011 at 5:47 pm

        KiwiDave, agree with you that the NZ forces have been active and effective, given the politician induced constraints. Cpl. Doug Grant is a modern day Charles Upham, but with a more tragic ending.

        New Zealand policy towards the USN and nuclear power is what most of us in the US Navy remember. The nuclear-free zone earned NZ derision, IIRC.

        Prime Minister Helen Clark’s comments on Iraq were a tad unhelpful, saying that there would have been no war if Al Gore had been elected.

        The NZ SAS were awarded a PUC for work in 2006, so there is a long history of appreciating the NZ Army. The NZ Navy, less so, although their service in Korea is noted.

      • Grandpa Bluewater
        September 6, 2011 at 6:43 pm

        I have the greatest respect for courageous individual soldiers who gave their lives in action with enemies of freedom and democracy.

        Which includes the 33 New Zealand solders killed in Korea and those who gave their lives in Vietnam. As well as those since.

        It’s not about KIA counts, or individual valor.

        New Zealand is lovely I’m told, and reportedly good liberty, when and if the latch string is out. US CVN’s and SSN’s? Chancy.

        Now about national military policy…opinion and comment. The interest of New Zealand’s government in maintaining, training, and modernizing an appropriately sized defensive armed force, or maintaining good relations with a current and historic ally, is not sufficient to be considered primary considerations in their overall policy.

        Understandable for a very small nation very distant from, well, most places, but perhaps not the best, in terms of their own self interest.

        Not that it’s a major concern. There’s a couple of paragraphs in “The Prince” about motivations of nation states and their decisions…

        Midol? Never use it. Not for grumpy old men, as I understand it.

        • Snake Eater
          September 7, 2011 at 7:03 am

          Nothing personal Gramps…just saw the opportunity to re-cycle a 4th of July rant from the way back…and I did. Best

          PS, My Bride a/k/a she who must be obeyed, is in womans health…says Midol is a great muscle relaxant…quien sabe…prefer old Jonny Dewar myself.

  • Sim
    September 7, 2011 at 3:12 am

    Tis ok KiwiDave, only Aussies are allowed to pick on Kiwis :)

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