Kamehameha Day Training Camp

KĀNEOHE, O‘AHU – ‘Aʻohe Hope e Ho‘i Ai – There is No Turning Back.

Kamehameha Day, for many, may be just another day off from school or work. But for Nā ‘Ālapa Hawai‘i, it was a weekend of intense training.

The Nā ‘Ālapa Hawai‘i U-18 Kāne and Wāhine gathered in Kāneʻohe over the Kamehameha Day weekend to prepare for battle against the Māori later this month.

As we head to Aotearoa, we’re reminded of Kamehameha’s famous battle cry.

I mua e nā pōki‘i a inu i ka wai ‘awa‘awa, ‘a‘ohe hope e ho‘i ai.

Go forward my brothers and drink the bitter waters (of battle), there is no turning back.

As the story goes, Kamehameha’s army landed in Kahului on their way to battle Maui’s forces when he ordered his men to unlash their canoes. There was no escaping the ensuing battle. It was all or nothing.

This is the mindset we carry with us as we travel to Aotearoa. I mua e nā ‘ālapa, ‘a‘ohe hope e ho‘i ai.