We teach the Huna of Kuauhaoali'i, Daddy Bray, Pappa Bray, Taneo Sands Kumalae, Uncle George Naope, and John Kaimikaua. In our workshops, you will meet many native Hawaiians, each of whom will impart their specialized knowledge and wisdom of their lineage. Our trainers' schedules vary and there will be a variety of different presenters. We have permission to carry on the lineage and teach in Hawaii.
Matthew B. James, MA, PhD, President
Matthew B. James is one of the most highly-sought after trainers and educators in the world today. He is the president of The Empowerment Partnership, the leader in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Hypnosis education.
Matt is a living example of the power of The Empower Your Life teachings. Matt began his studies at an early age, by learning teachings such as meditation and siddha yoga. As a young boy he studied with great teachers such as Baba Muktananda and Uncle George Na`ope (one of the most highly respected authorities on Hawaiian hula and chants, and was honored with the "Living Golden Treasure" designation). In the 80s, he studied with Tony Robbins and was invited by Richard Bandler, the legendary co-founder of NLP, and Wyatt Woodsmall, also a pioneer in the NLP field, to continue his education. Matt was chosen as one of Bandler's select-few students, eventually becoming certified as an NLP Master Trainer (a level that takes most people years to achieve, if at all).
Having been there in the early years when NLP was just getting off the ground, Matt was well prepared for his future. Now, decades later, he has more than proven himself in his own right as a teacher and educator. He is renowned for his insight and his intuitive gifts for awakening the hearts and minds of his students. His unique upbringing has enabled him to take the best of the best in NLP, Huna, Hypnosis, and Time Empowerment Techniques and develop a proven system of effective, instantaneous, long lasting change.
Through his role as President of Kona University and President and Master Trainer of its training and seminar division, The Empowerment Partnership (formerly Advanced Neuro Dynamics), Matt is personally responsible for bringing thousands of students closer to fulfilling their dreams. Each year he teaches the life-altering techniques of Hypnosis, NLP, Time Empowerment, and the ancient Shamanistic Hawaiian spiritual system of Huna throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Matt is certainly making his life a living demonstration of the extraordinary power of this wisdom. Along the way, he has picked up several university degrees, including an MA in Organizational Management and a PhD in Health (Integrative) Psychology.
Matt continues to be a student of the ancient Hawaiian ways, studying with Etua Lopes, a top student of Uncle George Na`ope. Etua continues to provide Matt support in sharing these teachings with students from all over the world.
Uncle George Na'ope (October 26, 2009)George Na'ope's full name is George Lanakilakekiahiali'i Na'ope, but throughout the Hawaiian Islands he is known simply as "Uncle George." He is revered for his knowledge and mastery of traditional hula and chant. Born on O'ahu and raised in Hilo, Na'ope began his studies of hula at the age of three under the training of his great grandmother, Mary Malia-Puka-o-ka-lani Na'ope who lived to be over 100 years old. By the age of 12 he was already performing on recordings of Hawaiian music. Upon graduation from high school, he moved to Honolulu and opened the George Na'ope Hula School. A lifelong teacher, in 1962 he founded the Merrie Monarch Festival. A landmark turning point in the renaissance of Hawaiian culture, the festival is focused on the traditional chant and dance of the islands. Recognized by the Governor and Hawaii State Legislature with the designation "Living Golden Treasure," he has welcomed both President Franklin Roosevelt and President John F. Kennedy to Hawaii and he more recently represented Hawaii at the royal wedding of Japan's Emperor Akahito. Uncle George has traveled the world over performing and teaching hula. Uncle George believed that hula is for everyone; not just Hawaiians. Uncle George was always an honored part of The Empowerment Partnership's Huna training in Kona, Hawaii every March and September. The Empowerment Partnership will always recognize Uncle George as a mentor and inspiration, his attendance was a real gift. His entire life he gave from his heart and was there for so many. And rather than focusing on paying this back, we should all honor him and live by his example, so that we too may have such amazing lives.
Etua LopesEtua Lopes has studied under the tutelage of George Na'ope for over 25 years and carries on the hula traditions of his teachings. Hand chosen by Uncle George, Etua was sent to other Hula masters to learn during his training with such hula greats as 'Iolani Luahine, Lokalia Montgomery, Edith Kanaka'ole and Henry Pa. Since Etua's uniki (graduation) to Kumu Hula, he has started his own halau, an award winnng halau that focuses his teaching on (keiki) children. He starts to teach them at the young age of 3 years old, taking them on their journey at a pace they are willing to learn. Etua has been teaching hula approaching 25 years in Kona Hawaii. Twenty-two of those years, Etua has been teaching at the Huli He'e Palace. He is the only Kumu Hula that has the privilege of teaching on these royal grounds. His halau puts on a performance once a month on the Huli He'e grounds to share his Hula teachings. Etua attends the Empowerment Partnership's Huna Training in Kona Hawaii every March and September. He is the Kumu Hula of our Huna class teaching important ancient lessons through the art of the dance.
John Kaimikaua (1958 - 2006)John Ka'imikaua and his wife Ka'oi have been sharing their knowledge of Huna with our students for many years at our bi-annual trainings in Kona Hawaii. We are very grateful to have had the chance to spend time with John at our last Huna Training in March 2006 before his passing.
Kumu Hula and Hawaiian Scholar, John attributed his knowledge to a 92-year-old woman named Kawahinekapuheleikapokane (Sacred Woman Traveling on the Night of Kane), who began mentoring him at age 14. He was given the responsibility of carrying on 156 Molokai chants, ranging in length up to 928 lines "an unbroken oral history of our people for 1,000 years," he once explained. His passion was to share his knowledge for hula and Hawaiian culture by teaching his lineage to people all around the world.
Since 1978, John Kaimikaua taught at Leeward Community College, the University of Hawai'i and, Hawai'i Pacific University. Ka'imikaua wrote 15 compositions on a CD, "From Deep Within," released in 1997 for the 20th anniversary of his Halau Hula O Kukunaokala. John also founded the Moloka'i Ka Hula Piko festival in 1991. The annual three-day cultural event in mid-May features lectures and a hoolaulea showcasing hula, foods and crafts.
We thank John for sharing his passion and knowledge of hula with our Huna students. His teachings have been a blessing and inspiration that will live on in each and every one of us. Ka'oi Ka'imikaua will continue to share the light of her husband by carrying on his teachings at our next Huna training and many more to come.
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