 Like pouwhenua and taiaha, this long club was designed for sparring and lightning strokes and thrusts, aided by quick footwork on the part of the wielder.The blows were not struck with the blade as one would with an axe, but rather with the thicker straight front edge.It was common for tewhatewha to be decorated with a bunch of split pigeon or hawk feathers which hang from a drilled hole near the lower edge of the extension.