Nunchaku
Nunchaku are a pair of short sticks connected by a small rope or chain. Nunchakujutsu, the art of using nunchaku as a self-defense tool, is one component of kobudō and many other martial arts, because nunchaku are inexpensive and easy to learn. The nunchaku is a gateway to flexible weapons. Once a student learns to use the nunchaku, they can apply its principles to other, more exotic weapons, like the:
- Manrikigusari (weighted chain)
- Suruchin (rocks tied together)
- Kusarigama (chain-sickle)
- Three-section staff
Nunchaku were most likely grain flails, which were used to beat grains to loosen them from their husks before threshers were invented. Horse bridles, and the alarm clappers used by town criers and night watchmen are other possible origins of the nunchaku.
Nunchaku can be wielded in pairs, but this is not recommended, as it limits your available techniques to a few basic strikes. Both hands are needed to access the nunchaku’s full range of blocks, strikes, strangleholds, and joint locks. Unlike sticks, nunchaku cannot follow-through; once the nunchaku strikes a target, they will bounce, and follow an identical path back towards their wielder. You need a free hand to catch the nunchaku, or they will hit you. With practice, you will learn to flow with the nunchaku, and you can use this recoil momentum to augment your next strike.
Contents
Warnings
Nunchaku use can lead to self-injury, but only when the user fears or disrespects the weapon. This is why nunchaku are reserved for advanced students, since any dangerous levels of timidity or hubris should be purged from their characters by this point.
Due to the widespread moral panics which coincided with the 1980’s Ninja Craze, nunchaku may be illegal in your area. If nunchaku are not explicitly banned, then they are most likely legal, since courts have ruled that nunchaku "have a legitimate sporting use" and cannot be considered a "club" or "bludgeon" since they are not weighted and do not have a heavier end. Please consult your lawyer to find the specific details for your area.
The author assumes no liability for your actions.
Kata
Unlike other kobudō weapons, few kata were formulated for the nunchaku, and even fewer survived to modern day. Nunchaku were not popular weapons in their time, since it is less effective against attackers armed with swords or polearms. Nunchaku only became popular in the 1970’s, after their appearance in Bruce Lee movies. The great majority of nunchaku forms are “dōjō kata,” forms created by individual teachers for their handful of students, so they could have something to practice. As a result, nunchaku kata have little consistency, and vary greatly from place to place. We will not make an in-depth or rigorous study of nunchakujutsu; we will only explain how nunchaku are used within Goshin-Jutsu, though our system’s form for this weapon:
For more information on nunchakujutsu, please consult Fumio Demura's Karate Weapons of Self-Defense: The Complete Edition, or a used copy of one of the following out-of-print books:
- Nunchaku: Karate Weapon of Self-Defense, by Fumio Demura
- Advanced Nunchaku, by Fumio Demura & Dan Ivan
- Dynamic Nunchaku, by Tadashi Yamashita
(Though this might seem like a cop-out, no one can do a decent job of teaching nunchakujutsu without blatantly plagiarizing these books.)
Tips on selecting nunchaku
Many different nunchaku styles are commercially available, and even an unskilled craftsman could easily make them at home. There are no requirements for a nunchaku's size, composition, or linkage type; these are largely determined by personal preference.
Nunchaku are joined by a rope or chain. From our experience, most martial artists prefer the handling and performance of rope-linked nunchaku over the chain-linked kind -- but again, these are personal preferences. The rope can be made from synthetic or natural fibers, or even braided hair. A longer linkage increases the weapon’s range, but it also makes the weapon harder to control. Likewise, you cannot perform locks and strangleholds when the linkage is too short. The martial arts community seems to agree that the optimized linkage is one fist-width in length.
Nunchaku handles are typically 12” (~30.5 cm) long, but they can be any size. We recommend using slightly longer nunchaku (14”, ~ 35.5 cm), since these are easier to catch. Hardwoods, like oak, cherry, or hickory offer the best balance between speed and energy transfer. Heaver (e.g., metal or weighted) nunchaku strike like hammers, but they are harder to start, stop, or change direction. Lighter (e.g., plastic or rattan) nunchaku are faster, but they may not be able to cause the skeletal trauma needed to incapacitate an opponent. For this reason, the hollow-plastic foam-covered “safety” nunchaku are intrinsically dangerous, since they teach a false notion of what nunchaku use feels like.
