Maori with a taiaha

First off, great picture. But the pointed end isn't really used as the "business" end of the taiaha. It was mainly used to poke holes in the opponent's defences in a melee. The flat, bladed end of the staff was what you really had to worry about. Since it was made of wood, it couldn't cut you very well. But the blunt force would be far more crippling than that of a baseball bat. The taiaha was made to break bones (especially the skull), and it did it very, very well. The British learned the hard way during the New Zealand Wars that in a fight between a bayonet and a taiaha, the taiaha always won.