The reason I started this company in 2011 was so I could bring Kōnane back into the future. I’m just scratching the surface of what this game can do. The more people I can get to play Kōnane the better future we all will have.
My three favorite Hawaiian values that can be found playing Kōnane are:
- Ahonui- Patience, Perseverance, Confidence: Being able to bear difficulties calmly and without complaint.
- Ha’aha’a- the value of humility
-‘Ike loa - To seek learning, wisdom and mastery
There are many more Hawaiian values lessons that can be taught while teaching Kōnane, but these three hold a special place for me.
Ahonui: You have to have patience when you play Kōnane. That’s why women are successful in this game because they take their time. You have to analyze the board, anticipate and rationalize the what if I move there? Then with confidence, you make the move.
I always tell the young eager boys “you play fast, you lose fast” Kōnane teaches patience.
Ha`aha`a and the value of humility. Nobody likes to lose, but losing is a part of life. But it is how you lose, is where you find the greatest value. Kōnane, like any game, gives you a chance to take risks, try new things and learn from your mistakes.
Even when it comes to winning, the value of Ha`aha`a is there. There is always someone out there that is better than you. I love it when a student wins and then congratulates their opponent for a good game. That is Aloha and that is Kōnane.
`Ike loa. Every time I play, I learn something new and sometimes where I least expect it. Sometimes a new tactic on the board, sometimes I learn something about my opponent that I never knew and sometimes about myself.
Because Kōnane is a thinking game, and you got to think. The more you think, the more you learn.
What I love about this game is when I think about our Kupuna and how they survived hundreds of years ago. These were smart people who were great thinkers.
Their `ike or knowledge to me was unbelievable how they came up with solutions using limited resources and at the same time preserving as much of those resources as they could, that took great thinking skills, a lesson we could learn today.
