Nunchaku

Few weapons have been so closely associated with the martial arts than the nunchaku, westernized as nun-chucks, or simply chucks. They were first popularized in the west by Bruce Lee in his widely popular 1973 movie, Enter the Dragon.

Nunchaku originated in Okinawa. Some believe it was used by to harvest rice. A farmer would be in his boat and swing the nunchaku in a long arcing motion to gather as much rice as possible. Grabbing the nunchaku on its return, the farmer would pull into the boat all the crop that was encircled by the nunchaku. A second theory says that the nunchaku was derived from the Chinese three sectional staff. This weapon proved too large for easy concealment by the Okinawans so they modified it, down-sizing it and eliminating one section of the staff. Another theory has it being used as a horse bit (the original cord was made from woven horse hair).

Some versions have two rods of equal length, some had one rod longer than the other where the long rod was held with both hands so the small rod could be strike powerfully against a shield. The long rod prevented the short rod from bouncing back against the user. The Chinese had similar weapons, the shuang-chin-kun, which had two rods connected with metal fitting, and the san-chin-kun, the three-sectioned staff. Another variation of this nunchaku has one normal stick, and the other side composed of two shorter sticks to makes it harder for the opponent to block an attack and easier to loop another weapon or attack. Another variation is made of four sticks (long piece-short piece-rope/chain-short piece-long piece).

Since they must withstand powerful strikes, most nunchaku are made from oak, although ebony and iron wood are used because of their weight. The connecting cord is usually made of silk or nylon but chain is also used.

The proper length of each stick should normally be equal the distance from the middle of the hand to the elbow so a stick may be with the length along the forearm as protection for blocking.

A hard plastic version of the nunchaku made by Monadnock is used by some law enforcement agencies in the United States. Some police departments have tried using nunchaku but discontinued their use because of the extensive training needed, injuries to trainees during training, and public viewing them as excessive force.

Many states list the nunchaku as a deadly weapon that cannot be carried in public. Since they are large and awkward to carry, they are not effective as a present day self-defense weapon. Also, if used, even in a self-defense situation, you will probably be viewed as the "bad" guy.

Nunchaku are glamorized by their swinging ability. A swinging nunchaku can reach in excess of 85 miles per hour. Swinging techniques are grouped by the direction of the swing. Examples are: up strike, down strike, horizontal strike, and the figure eight motion. Swinging techniques can also be used defensively where the user swings the nunchaku to deflect or otherwise stop an attack, such as a low kick). Nunchaku may also be used as an effective defensive/control tool.

Defensive techniques include: using the shafts of the held together as an augmented block along the forearm, using the rope or chain to catch and control strikes and grabs, and using both shafts separated as a cross block technique for overhead and low strikes.  The nunchaku may be used to bind an opponent's head and hands together in an "Okinawan Handcuff." It can also be used in a punching or clubbing motion to virtually imitate most karate hand strikes.