Nunchaku
ヌンチャク · nunchaku
Also known as: nunchucks
Two short wooden sticks joined by a cord or chain; it was popularised worldwide in the twentieth century by Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
The nunchaku consists of two short sticks joined by a cord or chain. The Ryūkyūan word nunchaku probably comes from the Min Chinese expression nng chat kun. The first written mention of a similar weapon appears in the Chinese military compendium Wujing Zongyao from the Northern Song period. Two unconfirmed theories circulate about its Okinawan origin: that it developed from the horse bridle mūgē, which the nobility hid as a concealed weapon, or from a tool for threshing grain. Old Okinawan nunchaku were small, at most about 30 cm. Today's have sticks usually 25 to 45 cm long, with a total length of 70 to 100 cm. The sticks were made of hard wood, such as oak, and the cord of adan roots, palm fibres, horsehair or human hair. The cord is called himo, the lower end of the stick kontei. The nunchaku is used mainly in Okinawan kobudō and karate, and also in Korean hapkido and Filipino eskrima. A widely known traditional kata did not exist earlier, because the weapon served as a concealed one. Taira Shinken created the kata Maezato no Nunchaku, taught in Ryūkyū Kobudō; in Matayoshi kobudō the Nunchaku no Kata is practised. The weapon was popularised by Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto. Lee fought with it in several scenes of Fist of Fury (1972), and while filming Enter the Dragon (1973) Tadashi Yamashita further developed its use with him. It is also the signature weapon of Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Parts of the weapon
- Chain or rope — himo
- Butt — kontei
Related weapons
- Equivalent in another culture: Tabak-toyok
Katas using this weapon
People
- Bruce Lee — Popularizer
Films
- Fist of Fury (1972)
- Enter the Dragon (1973)