Gain the benefits of a Madu without being proficient?

[PapaZorro]

The weapon called a "Madu" was just brought to my attention, and it gives you some nice benefits for fighting defensively/using Combat Expertise if you're wielding one. However it's an exotic weapon. So if you're not proficient with it, and are just holding it in your off hand and not attacking with it, do you gain these benefits still?

[dragonhunterq]

Ultimate Equipment wrote:

If you are proficient with the madu, you may use it to fight defensively with a –2 penalty instead of the normal –4, and your attack penalty for using Combat Expertise improves by +1 (minimum –1 penalty).

nope, you need to be proficient to gain the benefits.

[Doomed Hero]

You should. Nothing in the rules prevents that. The only actual penalty for not being proficient is that you take a -4 penalty when attacking with that weapon.

[Sniggevert]

PRD on Madu wrote:

If you are proficient with the madu, you may use it to fight defensively with a –2 penalty instead of the normal –4, and your attack penalty for using Combat Expertise improves by +1 (minimum –1 penalty). You cannot hold anything else in the hand that bears a madu. If you are not proficient with the it, treat it as a light spiked shield.

If you are proficient in a Madu and are using it to fight defensively, you get the benefits listed above that less your attack penalties.

If you are not proficient in the Madu, you treat it as if you were fighting defensively with a regular light spike shield as listed above.

In either case, if you are not fighting defensively with the Madu, but with a weapon in your other hand, you gain none of the benefits of the Madu (outside of shield AC) as you are not using it currently.

[Doomed Hero]

oops, missed the "if you are proficient" part.

Sniggevert is correct.