Nunchaku (nunchuks)

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Interesting this subject comes up as the bill repealing the age old ban on carrying nunchaku in Arizona just went to the Governors desk for his signature. A law in search of a reason, pretty much.
 
Like most laws we can't easily explain this particular case comes out of the fantasies fed by martial arts movies instead of real gangs on the streets whacking citizens randomly. Kinda like the switchblade bans or the AWB. Fearmongering based on fantasy.
 
Like most laws we can't easily explain this particular case comes out of the fantasies fed by martial arts movies instead of real gangs on the streets whacking citizens randomly. Kinda like the switchblade bans or the AWB. Fearmongering based on fantasy.

I liked this post so much I "Liked" and "Unliked" it several times.

:D

I think such things were banned more for the political gesture than anything else. It was something else that could be used to rally people around, either for or against.
 
Interesting this subject comes up as the bill repealing the age old ban on carrying nunchaku in Arizona just went to the Governors desk for his signature. A law in search of a reason, pretty much.
Yeah? That's good news, I hadn't heard that. The AZ law on chucks always struck me as a little strange. Want to carry six hanguns, a shotgun, a sword, and two switchblades under your coat? No problem! Wait a minute, do we see two sticks joined by a chain? Jail time for you!
 
Yeah it is legal to carry a silenced machine gun openly in Arizona, switchblades in your pocket, etc., but nunchucks are currently the only "dangerous weapon" still prohibited here.
 
... and as a practical matter... My police career started at the very end of 1973 and ended in 1995 - so I actually did end up on the scene where nunchucks were a possibility and occasionally a reality on one scene or another... Fortunately I was never confronted by an individual swinging a set... The standard advice given a young officer was to simply stay out of range of the things - but if attacked, reply with deadly force, period... The very real limitations of that kind of weapon involves proximity - you have to be in close quarters contact to use one (no different than someone armed with a baseball bat or other impact weapon) - very good for defense - not so much in a confrontation with anyone that's smart enough to stay out of range.... Mostly in the martial arts community those with real skills were never likely to be a problem for an officer on the street - but there were exceptions. One such was an individual high level type that had worked as a trainer and bouncer at local bars. He met his end in prison by suicide -after being convicted of a multiple murder at his own gym and "health spa".

Funny thing, the triple murder (by him and an associate...) was done with a pistol - not any martial arts techniques.. It was the first time in any jurisdiction nationwide where a fingerprint was found on a victim's skin after the homicide and successfully used at trial to convict...
 
... and as a practical matter... My police career started at the very end of 1973 and ended in 1995 - so I actually did end up on the scene where nunchucks were a possibility and occasionally a reality on one scene or another... Fortunately I was never confronted by an individual swinging a set... The standard advice given a young officer was to simply stay out of range of the things - but if attacked, reply with deadly force, period... The very real limitations of that kind of weapon involves proximity - you have to be in close quarters contact to use one (no different than someone armed with a baseball bat or other impact weapon) - very good for defense - not so much in a confrontation with anyone that's smart enough to stay out of range.... Mostly in the martial arts community those with real skills were never likely to be a problem for an officer on the street - but there were exceptions. One such was an individual high level type that had worked as a trainer and bouncer at local bars. He met his end in prison by suicide -after being convicted of a multiple murder at his own gym and "health spa".

Funny thing, the triple murder (by him and an associate...) was done with a pistol - not any martial arts techniques.. It was the first time in any jurisdiction nationwide where a fingerprint was found on a victim's skin after the homicide and successfully used at trial to convict...
since I routinely carry a heavy cane when on public transportation which I can justify because of weight and a service connected bad knee--it is only the martial artists that notice I am putting little weight on the stick and am carrying it in case I need a weapon in downtown Los Angeles
 
I have carried a sturdy flashlight on a braided Paracord lanyard when traveling, for years. It's useful...and extends my reach by over 2 feet, should I need that.

Instead of a specific weapon, it's probably more useful to think of weapon types, and then know how to use improvised defensive tools.

John
 
Nunchaku are now legal to possess in Arizona. I read the governor signed off on it friday.
 
Photo on 5-19-19 at 4.12 PM.jpg I have a new addition to my micro obsessive collection. It's a $34.99 ($12.00 shipping bummer but what can I say) light weight (my lightest pair yet) pair of bamboo nunchaku from Century Martial Arts. These are no doubt economically mass produced. They seem to be treated and coated with some hard clear finish. I have to say they feel kind of slick. After getting my hands wet due to washing these things got real slippery and I can only speculate that if you anticipate sweating you may want to consider this.

In contrast the more pricy ones with the exception of the aluminum of course do not suffer this problem. The wood on the more pricy ones feel natural and do not get excessively slippery with wet hands.

Quality bamboo is hard, strong, and resists impact quite well but will splinter quite a bit when it reaches it's breaking point. That is also something to consider. I don't know the quality of this bamboo but if it is modernly treated, which I think it is, it should be quite durable.

What sparked my interest in these is after reading a post by a member of a martial arts forum that claimed Century Martial arts produced decent low priced ball bearing chain kits for nunchaku repairs or nunchaku building after I had just about gave up on that venture since cheap garbage chain assemblies proliferate the internet and detailed descriptions and closeups pictures are lacking. These looked beautiful so I decided to buy these nunchakus to see if it was true and it seems that it is.

The chain and swivel hardware is the same type of design (a good design when done right like these) as the cheap garbage however the materials used although economical are superior and quite adequate. Fit and finish is excellent despite it's economical design.

Here are some more photos Photo on 5-19-19 at 4.23 PM.jpg

There is a US patent stamped on the top but make no mistake these are imported most likely from China. No rough edges the steel looks slightly thicker than the other crappo version.

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The cast steel is not ugly and crude like the other cheapos. The hardware is all riveted (steel I think) as opposed to the roll pin holding the the chain on the cheaper ones. I do prefer a roll pin because it makes changing the chain and repairs easier but it's no big deal and an easy fix for me if I really want a roll pin in there. I will leave well enough alone for now. The end cap rivets look to be steel rather than the cheap aluminum rivets of the garbage pair. The ball bearing swivel assembly is absolutely smooth in fact the smoothest of all of my collection and it is not even oiled yet. You can hear the balls rolling when you give it a spin. Unlike my garbage pair these had no metal shavings when spinning nor did the end caps wobble. The is zero wobbling of the end caps on these. That is how a modern end cap with ball bearing system should be.


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The chain is perfect. The welds are full and uniform, The links are uniform and finished smoothly unlike the nicked up chain with partial welds, non uniform shape, and a busted link on the cheapos.

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While I must admit the pair I received did not look as good it was close enough to not be considered false advertising. Each stick is 12 inches long with a very slight taper that is hard to notice. The angle of the photo makes them look a little longer than they are in my opinion but the listed specs are correct and that is what you get. I might purchase a chain assembly (about $8.00) from these people to repair my cheapos. I hope the chain kits are of the same good quality and I think they are due to the reviews from people who have purchased them.

For a low to moderate price pair of light weight nunchaku I would recommend these.


Now I am waiting for a pair of Silver Fire Stainless Nunchaku to arrive from China but it's been over 1 month (a month and 5 days) with a dead tracking number (label created but package not picked up message.) I am wondering if I should just demand a refund. I think paypal gives you 180 days I want to see how it pans out. From everything I have read Chinese EMS shipping is on point when it comes to tracking and if a label is not tracking that most likely means the package was never picked up by or sent into their mail system to begin with.

Can anyone who is familiar with this chime in.
 
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I oiled up the bearings and chain with ballistol and practiced with them for a while. While these are so smooth that a chuck will spin for the longest time without stopping if I give it a twirl while it hangs down from the chain it does not feel as smooth and natural in overall use as the U Swivel assembly versions i have from Chukworx and USANunchaku below

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How is it smoother but not ? I can only describe the bamboo nunchaku as being smooth in a slick rickety way. It feels like it has rattle during use. I can feel the vibrations from the ballbearings being transferred to the nunchaku when spinning and swinging. The ballbearing vibration is present in the cheap versions as well. The vibrations are by no means excessive and do not pose any problems as of yet but the presence of the vibration is clearly felt.

In contrast the U Swivel versions from Chukworx and USANunchaku don't have any such vibrations.

I think this kind of feel may be inherent to the ball bearing swivel design and I can see why the U Swivel design is well liked and sought after.

The para cord connection below from USANunchaku

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As far as I am concerned this is king when it comes to overall natural flow and smoothness as well as being totally silent. These 13.5 inch straight octagon hickory sticks are in my opinion hands down the best buy ($55.00) of my entire collection, bamboo sticks included, with quality second to none.

Regardless I still fell the bamboo nunchaku from century are well made for a budget price point.
 

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Fun With Bells From China

The deal with Silver Fire Nunchaku in China for 2 pairs of beautiful highly polished stainless steel tube high quality ringing bell nunchakus did not pan out. Delivery never happened and I wound up getting a full refund initiated by the vender along with some story about Chinese customs refusing to allow export of metal nunchaku these days. That is a bummer.

I wound up getting a lower priced version of the same from Karatemart.com. Instead of the beautiful polished stainless of Silver Fire these have a black gloss finish over steel (probably stainless) that feels like plastic. The finish seems to be quite durable, it looks alright but it is not immaculately applied and has some blemishes. I should have mentioned that at $21.00 a pair these are not just lower priced they are low budget priced.

They are the same size (about 11inches each chuck,) weight (13.8ozs) and design (NO that is a T Swivel [not H swivel] and chain with bells inside chucks) as the Silver Fire version, except for the lack of big rings that slide back and forth on the chain (Silver Fire claims it shifts the balance in a favorable way when in motion) as well as a few other minor differences (holes in end as opposed to closed on the Silver Fire versions.) I wonder if this design of nunchaku is common with varying levels of quality and quality control throughout China or maybe in one specific factory or few.

Both chucks on this budget version are equal and symmetrical with the exception that on one chuck has a seem line running from one end of the metal tube to the other it can be clearly felt and seen upon careful inspection. The long speed chuck type chain although on the thin side (a little less than 1/8 inch thick) seems to be uniform with welds similar and in the same place on each link. However because the chain along with the swivel and just about everything else is coated in that black gloss coating unless I scrape of off I can't really examine the chain welds under the coating with absolute certainty. I will say the chain looks alright and leave it at that.

It came delivered in a cheap plastic bag inside a cheap unpadded envelope with no damage noted. Out of the box ummm I mean bag (cheap clear plastic bag) the rotating action of the swivel was rough and sticky as in metal to metal sticky and would bind and cause chain whipper snapping from time to time and initially the bell in one chuck didn't always ring. I am glad to say with use (practice) and some ballistol the swivel action loosened up and the bell now rings reliably enough to satisfy me. It is now what I would call usable. The fact that is smoothed up so fast makes me wonder just how hard the steel in the swivel is. Hopefully it will work harden and smooth up enough to the point that it won't wear out significantly with use but only time will tell. Also note that the swivel action although now usable and smoother is still not what can be described as smooth it just works. I will leave it at that.

Overall if this only had a properly set up swivel assembly it would be a great buy rather than a questionable quality (questionable quality swivel) cheapie. It's redeeming traits are durable steel tubes with size, weight ,and balance favorable for freestyle spinning at an economical price. The fact that these nunchaku jingle every time you swing them makes practice so much fun.

I have to say I really enjoy swinging these around and despite everything I don't regret buying them.

Now for some pictures. The finish on this does not photograph very well with my cheap computer camera and lousy photography environment so please excuse the bad quality.

nunchaku.jpg

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I just took another look at a Silver Fire Nunchaku video and I feel I must add that although similar in design Silver Fire Nunchakus are worlds apart from this pair as far as quality and looks are concerned. The Silver Fire chain as well as the Swivel hardware is noticeably thicker and overall the build is much better. Even their light duty build H swivel version looks a lot more sturdy and well put together than these but for now it's a moot point since I don't know how to get my hands on a pair of Silver Fire Nunchaku.
 
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Update the chain swivel assembly on my Chinese made ringing bell metal nunchaku is getting smoother and smoother with use. I do see the type of metal dust similar to what you see when you sharpen a knife creeping out of the sides of the hole where the swivel loop is mounted.

Lets just hope it doesn't break in so much that one end of the nunchaku fly across the room during a practice session. I am optimistic however because if this is a T Swivel design, which I think it is, even with cheap quality steel it should last a long time.

I did a little detective work with a clip magnet that I had sticking on my refrigerator. It mildly sticks to the tubes, chain, and swivel which may suggest they are stainless. When I put the magnet anywhere near the bigger round loop ring (chain connector) that is between the chain and swivel the ring virtually jumps towards the magnet which suggests to me that the round loop chain connectors are made of plain steel rather than stainless.

Portions of the black finish is starting to scrape off the round rings revealing rough steel underneath but that is a high stress area so I don't think that indicates a weak black finish.

The black finish remains strong on the chucks and it did not chip when I slammed a wood plank so hard with the end that it left a crescent shaped indent in the wood. The chuck did not dent either. The black finish also remains strong on the chain which surprises me. Overall for now I am leaning toward this black shiny finish as being pretty durable despite it's imperfect application.

These are still fun and although it may not be the highest quality example they are still a later traditional Chinese design speed chuck that uses steel tubes, longer chain, and ringing bells which I have not seen anyone in the US making. I have not to date been able to find a high quality version of these for sale in the US anywhere. Furthermore these being a traditional Chinese product I have no problems about buying them from China.

If these smooth out without wearing out they may be good enough.
 
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I owned a martial arts school for many years and, of course, it was filled with all kinds of martial arts weapons including numerous pairs of chucks. I practiced, taught and demonstrated with all kinds of weapons and could work two pairs of chucks, one in each hand. I've been retired for years, now, and have sold my school and don't do much with traditional weaponry. Legal or not, most of the old weapons are not practical or even handy. There are other, more subtle, weapons that are far, far more effective.

I've never - I was a LEO for 9 years - seen or heard of an attack in which chucks or any or these other weapons were used. Nor have I heard of them being used in a s-d situation. They are basically a way to experience an ancient culture by studying and learning their weapons. And many martial artists still practice and incorporate chucks into their training.
 
Fun with Boiled Linseed Chains Rings and Hardware Store Things.

Well lately I have been in a green mood and decided to try my hand at making a few nunchaku with well used, old worn out. weathered mystery wood. Hard and strong industrial mop sticks that have withstood the test of time found in the garbage.

I don't like to use Brazilian woods in general and will continue to avoid them until Brazil gets their stuff (using nice words) together and controls their logging businesses in a legitimate way. The leaders appear to be figure head puppets own by the highest bidder. I will be glad to buy their fantastic wood when they learn how to responsibly source it. I For now I am better than that. I know there are more important things than buying the best wood for the least amount of dollars.

(edited rest of rant away) ok end of rant back on topic.

Finding the proper swivels for the Dolan inspired swivel was not much of a success so I had to get creative. The chain is not common locally but I did find the twisted version at a close enough hardware store in Williamsburg. As for the standard link chain (#2 straight link machine chain) that I had to order. They were inexpensive.
For the swivels I used ronstan stainless steel double swivel shackles (5/32 pin at about $16.00 each. This is not cheap.) I had to drill the connecting rivet to take them apart.. They are thin but rated at 700 lbs. It should be good enough. The swivels are small but work fine.

The sticks are topped with 1 inch galvanized fender washers (home depot) and 2 small phosphorous bronze washers (tricky to get and I will use steel when I run out.) The swivel goes on top of it and is held in place by a 2 1/2 inch wood screw. I used a number 10 stainless nut drilled out to allow the unthreaded top of the wood screw to freely rotate. The drilled out nut fits perfectly into a little recess on top of the swivel. The wood screw is passed through it, the washers under, the fender washer and into the predrilled hole in the nunchuck holding the entire assembly together. The reason for the nut is to give the swivel a little more metal for wear with all the spinning that will nunchaku will do.

I used a 5/32 stainless D screw pin shackle which has to be bent into shape to fit properly between the improvised swivel. The threaded hole in the D shackle has to be drilled out to allow for free swinging. A 4-0.7 x 18mm metric screw (phillips pan head) and nut is used to connect the D shackle (which the chain goes in) to the swivel. Blue loctite is used to keep things from flying apart.

Belive it or not the corded one was the hardest to make. My first and only pair has blatant errors (a hole drilled in the wrong place and holes drilled wrong) but the errors were not catastrophic and uncorrectable. I managed to make it work both in function and aesthetics.

50 graduated to 400 grit sandpaper and carefully applied boiled linseed oil (multiple coats over a lot of time) made them look and feel nice.

How do my homemade nunchaku (4 pairs in all) compare to the ones from Chukworx and USANunchaku ? In function with practice, probably the same or almost but as far as balance, general feel, overall durability (hey I cant' find the same high quality hardware that they use) and aesthetics the ones manufactured by the experts are obviously superior without a doubt.

Since these babies are my creation I can overlook the fact that in relative terms they don't equal the better ones. I like them and practice with them a lot.. They work fine regardless and the ones made by the pros will be less likely to get dinged up.

The USANunchaku 13.5 inch corded hex hickory nunchaku is still my favorite pair. They have excellent feel and balance. The ratio of weight to durability is great from what I feel when using them (heavy enough for defense but light enough for decent speed) and what I learned regarding the properties of hickory wood.

Hickory has the uncommon property of being both very hard and able to flex a lot before breaking. More so than other woods in general again in general.

Thats it for now. I intend to talk about the 2 rings that slide up and down the chain on a couple of my homemade jobs later.
 
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They really don't rebound that much off of arms and body parts. Here is my old collection. The top two are store bought; I made the bottom three. The bottom two are welded steel.

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They really don't rebound that much off of arms and body parts. Here is my old collection. The top two are store bought; I made the bottom three. The bottom two are welded steel. I have always called the bottom one a Manriki Kusari would be the lower one, I didn't want to go into too much detail. I have made many of all of these over the years. Back in the late 1960's when people were first discovering these in the US they were hard to find commercially and my father had a lot of woodworking tools so I started making them to order for other students at my martial arts school. Later in the mid 70's I learned to weld so I made quite a few metal sets.
 
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