Listen Now: 
Pita Sharples may be out of politics, but he still knows how to fight.
The former Tamaki Makaurau MP and Maori Affairs Minister is at Hoani Waititi Marae today where more than 100 mau rakau practitioners from around the country have come to be graded in the Maori martial arts.
He says he’s buoyed by the enthusiasm and committment people have around the country to ensure the old skills and the knowledge around them doesn’t disappear.
"It used to irk me see people using their taiaha like a shovel, leaning on it or something like that or they have the tipuna, the head and the tongue stuck in the ground leaning on it and stuff. All these things were taboo in the old days and we try and respect the name of the taiaha and the tipuna that your taiaha represents by not doing that still, but its really hard to keep those old conventions," he says.
Pita Sharples says he feels at a bit of a loss now he is no longer an MP, but he won’t be retiring any time soon.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH DR PITA SHARPLES CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjI5NTg=
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