A quality nunchaku

[Keaton21]

I'm looking for a good pair of ball bearing nunchaku. I'd like them to be black if possible, and round, not octagonal sticks. Wood is probably best, right? Or maybe that wax stuff? My set right now is wood but it's way too heavy, I'd like something a little lighter.

Where can I find some?

edit: these look kinda good http://www.karatedepot.com/wp-nu-51.html

[Sauzin]

Those would make an excellent juggling utensil. A very poor weapon though.

[Keaton21]

Well, what would you suggest?

[Pacificshore]

http://www.murasakikobudo.com/pages/nunchaku.html

[Sauzin]

Well my suggestions are based off of combat applicability, so take them with a grain of salt.

Say you were utilizing a ball and chain, medieval style. Would you want the ball made out of pine or metal? Probably metal if you were interested in actually hurting someone. The same principle applies to nunchaku. Speedchucks are generally hallow, or made of a wood with a density similar to pine. This is counterproductive to their use as a weapon. Now metal chucks might be a bit much to control, but a good hardwood like red oak or purple heart makes for a fine striking utility.

Looking at nunchaku as a weapon is an entirely different perspective then their use as a juggling/entertainment/flash toy. First of all instead of finding new and interesting ways of spinning it as fast as you can without hitting yourself, as a weapon the idea is to hit the opponent with each swing. There's no point to swinging the nunchaku unless you're hitting something if your intent is to be effective. Likewise to do this you need to grip the nunchaku sticks at their base for the best swing. Also you need to swing in a manner that will prevent you from hitting yourself when the nuchaku bounce back, if you do hit something. The best way to get good at this is to practice hitting a target. You'll quickly learn these things if you do.

The nunchaku are also a very versatile grappling weapon. Take a look at all of the locks/disarms/and take downs being demoed by escrima praticioners and you'll begin to get an idea of the kinds of things you can do with a nunchaku, only the rope/chain provides even greater opportunities. One wrap/clinch around an arm and you will quickly see the effectiveness of this weapon as a nonleathal aid.

My suggestion, if you are really interested in a good weapon, is to find something made out of red oak or purpleheart. I would suggest going with cord instead of chain. In my experience you get better control with the swing and more fluidity. Take a look at the murasaki kobudo site for the proper measurements and then if you want to find something cheaper then what they have on that site, go ahead, but try and find something as close to those measurements as possible.

[Andrew_Patton]

I agree 100% with Sauzin, but to add to his arguement about chain vs. cord, you have no idea how many times I've seen a student do something as simple as a 45 degree strike to the head, and lose one end of his/her nunchaku because of a cheaply put together ball bearing Do Not go with ball bearing nunchaku or chains in general.

Nunchaku and most other Okinawan weapons were NOT made to be used against a sword, the key weapon in Okinawa was the Bo, not the sword (besides okinawan kobudo typically only has three 'bladed' weapons, sword and shield, kama, and the hoe)

Don't worry about chains, they don't work that great anyways, and they aren't reliable. $2 worth of para-cord on the other hand, hardly ever breaks in use and gives you PLENTY of warning before wearing out on you.