"KOTAHI" means “To be one, number one or unite together”
There is a saying of the Maori people: “Ki te kotahi te kakahokawhati, ki te kapuia, e kore e whati” If there is one toetoestem it will break, but if they are together in a bundle they will never break!
The Kotahi design is inspired by the structural pillars of the indigenous Maori of New Zealand; the wharenui or meeting house. This sacred structure is the central gathering house of the Maori people of the village and unites all minds together. It’s large outstretched arms to the left and right is representative of the strong connection to its tikanga (customs, traditions and beliefs) of the area.
Like the wharenui, it’s bringing of minds together and the toetoe stem, kotahi centralizes the core principles of unity, strength and like the putting system we have developed, it brings together the science of this movement into one efficient method.
KOTAHITANGA PRINCIPLES
Whanaungatanga is the value placed upon family and obligation. In principle, the family morals have primacy over the individual. Whanaungatanga ensures that no matter how long this contact may have ensued, family and heritage are always connected.
Manaakitanga, the second principle, flows from the first and means care or support. Manaaki means that the door is always open to support new better things, ideas and that the goodwill of people in kind will always prevail.
Kotahitanga binds these two principles together. Kotahitanga is the core of both individual identity and group cohesiveness – the value placed upon the feeling of unity, of being at peace and at one together.
Some see this as the highest value of all since it is so difficult to achieve.
THE NAME KOTAHI AND THE SIGNIFICANTS TO OUR PRODUCT
It is always tough trying to find a name suitable for new and innovative developments, especially when the innovative idea contains product, system and the affect it has on ones psychology. We believe the word KOTAHI sums up exactly what we are trying to achieve and deliver to our customers.
THE PUTTER GRIP - This is a uniquely designed grip that encourages the palms to face up, this in turn reduces the available mobility in the joints of the hands and arms, this then affects how the putter is moved through space and reduces the vast amounts of putter face and putter head variations. The putter grip can be used separately from the putting system with various kinds of different holding styles and the grip alone will still have a positive affect on the golfers reactions.
THE PUTTING SYSTEM – This system was the motivation behind the development of the new grip design. It became very clear to me that there is no real reason behind the way we hold the putter the way we do. If the original intention was to reduce the available mobility in the hands and arms to create consistency in the putter head movement, then we were holding it all wrong to begin with. I am not sure if it was the holding system that encouraged the early development of putter grips with the flat top for the thumbs or it was the putter grip that encouraged us to hold the club the way we do at present but turning both palms up to hold the putter would be way more effective for reducing the available mobility in the hands and arms. Once again this holding system can be used separately with any type of putter grip and again will still encourage the golfer to reaction in a positive way.
THE PSYCHOLOGY – We as golfers react to the result of the ball, there is not much else to go on. If the ball has an undesired result then we react, whether it is on a conscious or subconscious level. There are a number of entities that we need to consider but the one that gets the most attention is our movement/swing/stroke, but what we don’t realize is the way we HOLD the club, amongst many other factors, has an influence on how we move therefore how we react and in most cases the reaction is a negative one that has a perpetual detrimental affect on the golfer. The hold has a massive affect on the chain reaction of the body movement based on the specific task one has chosen to achieve. Undesired results play largely on our minds, but with the putting system and the new putter grip we believe the reaction to the outcome will be more positive increasing the golfers awareness of success therefore enhancing the overall putting experience.
KOTAHI - If you choose to use the putting system and the putting grip together then you will achieve KOTAHI, the power of unity, of the bringing together of these 2 principles to create a very powerful entity and the peace and positive feeling it has on your psychology.
KOTAHI – To be one, number 1 or to unite together. This is what we bring to you with the product and system we have developed.