“Deadliest Warrior” – S01E07 – Shaolin Monk vs Maori Warrior
Deadliest Warrior — Season 01, Episode 07 — Shaolin Monk versus Maori Warrior
This episode of Deadliest Warrior takes us to two remote and lesser-known parts of the world: Denfeng, China and east Polynesia/New Zealand.
Up first we have China’s Shaolin monk.
Don’t let the small size or seemingly peaceful and remote lifestyle of the Shaolin monk throw you off guard. Extremely skilled in martial arts and very deadly with their weapons, the Shaolin monks will prevail when defending themselves and their monastery. The monks wanted to live a peaceful lifestyle, but because of attacks from bandits and other troublemakers, the monks learned kung fu and practiced the art to deadly levels. But rest assured, the monk’s Buddhist code prevented them from being the attackers. Their deadly skills were only used in defense.
Going against the Shaolin monk is the Maori warrior.
Hailing from eastern Polynesia and New Zealand, the Maori culture was one that focused on warfare. Battles between tribes were common. The dedicated and fearsome warriors would continue attacking, even after being seriously wounded. After battles, sometimes the victors would eat parts of their enemy’s body, gaining even more mana and spiritual power for future battles. Strength and aggression were key factors to the Maori warrior’s success in battle.
When looking at the Shaolin monk and Maori warrior, it’s hard to find two cultures with a greater difference. From size to weapons to fighting style to personal beliefs, these are two OPPOSITE cultures. Can the smaller Shaolin monk find a way to defeat a larger and more intimidating Maori warrior?
VERSUS 
WEAPONS:
In this episode of Deadliest Warrior, the Shaolin monk is armed with Twin Hooks (hook swords), Emei Piercers (short steel daggers), a Staff, and a Whip Chain. The Maori warrior is armed with a Stingray Spear, Mere (a short, broad-bladed club), Taiaha (wooden staff with one end sharpened and the other with a stone dagger), and a Shark Tooth Club. Neither the Shaolin monk or Maori warrior wear any armor in battle.
mid-range weapons: Twin Hooks versus Stingray Spear
Up first is the extremely versatile and quite deadly Shaolin monk weapon, the twin hooks. As we see in the demonstration, every edge of the twin hooks is a deadly weapon nearly perfect for slicing and dicing an unarmored opponent. The pig carcass was absolutely decimated by the twin hooks.
The added bonus of the twin hooks is that the two weapons can be linked together, forming a medium-range slicing weapon. The midsection of the gelled torso was cleanly sliced open by the weapon, creating a very painful mortal wound.
Going against the twin hooks is the Maori’s stingray spear. The spear itself is a wooden pole with a few stingray barbs attacked to the end of it. As it’s noticed during the demonstration, the stingray spear is a one-time weapon. The barbs remain in the target’s body. If the attack hits a vital spot, then it’ll be fatal. Hitting anywhere else on the body will cause agonizing pain as the barbs are removed, ripping apart flesh and organs as they do so.
This isn’t a contest between the two weapons. The versatility and deadliness of the twin hooks makes it the hands down winner.
Winner — Shaolin’s twin hooks
short-range weapons: Emei Piercers versus Mere
Again we see the power of the Shaolin monk’s steel weapons. The emei piercers/daggers poked and jabbed the head of the gelled torso, delivering an incredible amount of destruction to the target. But as it was noticed, the emei piercers are an extremely short range weapon, requiring you to be nearly on top of the opponent to benefit the most from them. On a side note, it was beautiful when he used the emei piercers to poke both eyeballs out of the torso. 😉
Constructed from stone jade and only about a foot long, the Maori warrior’s mere club was a very strong weapon capable of smashing bone and ruining somebody’s day. In the demonstration against the bull’s skull (twice as thick as human skull), the mere smashed right through the bone, completely shattering the skull.
The steel versus mere test against the bricks was rather interesting. They set up a series of bricks and first tested a steel blade. The steel was only capable of breaking one brick whereas the stone mere broke through three bricks. It wasn’t a completely flawless or scientific test, but it was enough to show that the jade could smash through not only bone but several bricks as well.
The difference between these two short-range weapons comes down to raw power. While the emei piercers require striking critical spots in order to deliver a fatal blow, the mere has a wider target range on the body. A critical strike by the mere to the head, neck or chest can deliver a fatal wound, while a strike to an arm, leg, or pretty much anywhere else can easily break bone and disable the opponent, setting him up for the fatal follow-up strike.
Winner — Maori’s mere club
mid-range weapons: Staff versus Taiaha
The most basic of the Shaolin monk’s weapons is the staff. Composed of wood and about five feet long, the staff was one of the most common weapons carried by the monk when venturing outside of the monastery. In addition to being simple to construct, the staff is also rather versatile when it comes to offense and defense. Its length can keep enemies at bay, it can be spun to block or disarm enemies, and it can jab an opponent or smash against the side of an opponent’s head, causing a fatal injury if struck the correct way.
The staff’s demonstration against the clay pots showed off the skill and agility of its user. The wooden staff spun and smashed through each target, symbolizing a strike against an opponent. But could any of those strikes be considered to be fatal, let alone stopping a charging Maori warrior?
Answering the Shaolin monk’s simple wooden staff is the Maori warrior’s taiaha, a wooden staff with one end sharpened and the other wielding a sharp stone dagger. The wooden staff was also carved with the ancestors of the warrior’s family, giving him spiritual strength when using the weapon in battle.
The first test against the pressure sensor showed the wooden end of the taiaha delivering a strike of almost 200 PSI. As it was pointed out, a strike force this high is more than enough for the weapon to go through a person’s collar bone. The second test against a cow’s backbone (three times thicker than human) proved that the wooden blade end of the taiaha could break a person’s back.
While both the Shaolin monk’s staff and Maori warrior’s taiaha are fast weapons that can work great on defense, the taiaha, on the other hand, can also shatter the thickest of bone, making it much more lethal. This isn’t even taking into account the taiaha’s stone dagger on the opposite end of the weapon. The taiaha can stab, it can slice, it can smash bone, and it can also parry and defend the Maori warrior. No question about it, between the staff and taiaha, the taiaha is a significantly more dangerous and lethal weapon.
Winner — Maori’s taiaha
special weapons: Whip Chain versus Shark Tooth Club
Going first one more time is the Shaolin monk and their steel whip chain. Four feet long and composed of linked, steel segments, the whip chain is capable of lashing out and delivering a massive amount of damage to targeted spots on the enemy’s body. The demonstration had five ball targets suspended with string. As we saw, it took two strikes for the steel tip of the whip chain to smash through all of the targets, showing off the weapon’s speed and accuracy.
But is the whip chain a lethal weapon? There’s no doubt that the steel tip of the whip chain can stun and seriously injure an opponent, but without it being tested on a gelled torso, it’s debatable whether or not it can easily kill an opponent.
The Maori warrior’s shark tooth club is a particularly nasty weapon. Carved out of wood and looking like a club, the edges of the club are lined with shark teeth. As you can probably guess, a slicing blow with this weapon against anywhere on the human body is going to deliver a serious if not fatal blow. The demonstration against the slab of meat showed just how deep the weapon could slice into the human body.
Here we go again with speed and accuracy versus brute force. As it was pointed out, the Shaolin monk’s whip chain just doesn’t prove that it has killing power as compared to the Maori’s shark tooth club. The whip chain will give you a nasty hit, but unless it strikes one of a couple critical spots, the opponent is going to close the distance and strike with his own weapon. The shark tooth club, on the other hand, can cut deep enough to kill or even rip off a person’s arm.
Winner — Maori’s shark tooth club
OVERALL WINNER — SHAOLIN MONK
FINAL THOUGHTS
So what happened here?
The Maori warrior’s weapons won three of the four weapon tests. Why did the Maori lose so badly when going against the Shaolin monks?
The bottom line is that the Shaolin monk had the power of steel and one particularly devastating weapon. Well, two actually. The twin hooks destroyed the Maori warrior, claiming 566 of the Shaolin monk’s 692 total kills. The Maori’s best weapon was the taiaha.
If this was an unarmed match between the two cultures, the Maori warrior would win hands down. I’m not a fan of kung fu in particular, and the Maori would use his hands and brute strength to rip apart the monk.
But neither person was unarmed. They both had their weapons, and the monk’s twin hooks, not his famous staff, made all the difference in the world. Those twin hooks are so versatile and deadly that they will tear apart unarmored opponents all day and all night long. And that’s why despite losing the three other weapons, with those twin hooks the Shaolin monks are unstoppable.
What I liked best about this match-up was the lack of a ranged/firing weapon, and a lack of body armor. This was a contest between staffs, blades, and special weapons. It came down to the skill of the warrior and strength of the weapon. And with the twin hooks, the versatility and pure killing power.
Note to self — Do NOT disturb a Shaolin monk carrying twin hooks.