Hawaiian warriors were trained how to fight, heal and live. But when it was time to fight, those trained in lua — the Hawaiian martial art — went for the jugular, the eyes and the groin.

"The Hawaiian fighters were very dirty fighters, so to speak," said Wela Tolentino, a member of martial arts group Pa ku'i a lua. "The Hawaiians were known for their in-close fighting, so a lot of the weapons that were used were in-close weapons."

Those weapons were among an array of artwork and crafts on display at Honolulu Hale yesterday during the Hawai'i Book & Music Festival. The two-day event that ended yesterday was launched a year ago as a means of fostering reading and storytelling through books and music.

The festival also is meant to raise awareness of Hawai'i's multicultural heritage including lua. The little-known art form is experiencing a bit of a revival thanks in part to books such as "Lua: The Art of the Hawaiian Warrior," which was featured during yesterday's events.

Written by Rich Paglinawan and others, the book touches on several aspects of the cultural art form known as lua.

"For us, lua is a way of life," Tolentino said. "When we speak about lua the warrior, we also talk about training, we discuss protocol and we discuss family living."

That includes the need to find balance between a person's ku and hina, the strong and rigid versus the soft and reclined aspects of personality, Tolentino said.

"In our society today, our kane (men) have too much ku and they need to be able to identify their hina — to be able to talk rather than using their fists," he said. "For our women, you also need to project your ku and don't be a doormat to the kane."

Hawaiian warriors prepared for battle via chants that included motions mimicking strikes to various tender regions. The weapons of Hawaiian warriors were made from hardwoods, stones, fish bills and sharks teeth and often were designed to rend and rip flesh.

"I like the detail involved in making" the weapons, said Greg Plummer, a cruise ship worker from Virginia who attended yesterday's fair. "This was my first time (seeing them), but I was pleased."

Other exhibits yesterday ranged from Asian-Americans in World War II to local folklore and mythology.

"The festival is good, but we should have more Hawaiians here," said Honolulu resident Jeri Mamala. "There's a lot of information under this tent — a lot for the younger generation."

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.