The most impractical weapon?

[armanox]

I think the question was least practical, right?

I'd vote for the zanbatou being discussed in another thread. Great for an anime series, but too dang heavy and awkward for real situations.

Depends on what you like. Aside from no historical evidence that such a weapon was actually used.

On a side note, it would be made in real life similar to a Zweihänder, would it not?

[AikiGuy]

Limited blocking ability? Sorry, but you're wrong. The nunchauku has excellent blocking abilities against empty handed attacks, as well as against weapons. You just need to know how to use them. As for reach...typically, the nunchauku gives you an added 2 FEET of reach over yoru normal hand length. That's considerable better than a knife, sai, tonfa and many other weapons.

I would have to disagree with this. I do actually know how to use Nunchaku very well. I consider it my specialty weapon as well as my personal favorite. But I still notice that you can only give a solid block with the handle you are holding, but not with the loose handle. If someone swings a bat/staff/sword at your mid section from the side and you do a block, what happens? His weapon will just bounce the loose handle out of the way and smack into you. Of course, the nunchaku will still slow or deflect the attack a bit, but that's not enough to stop a totally committed strike. Also, 2 feet of reach over your hand is still pretty limited. You only compared this to empty hands (not really the topic here) and other limited reach weapons (knife, sai, tonfa). At best, I would call it a mid-range striking weapon (similar to Escrima or Short Swords) counting the loose handle. But what about longer weapons (bo staff, long sword, 3-sectioned staff, chain whip, etc)? The nunchaku is not going to do well against those because you could never get close enough without being hit first unless your opponent is not very skilled at his weapon. But that's the exception, not the rule.

In most "real" fight scenerios, one sai is out while the other is in. Both can block, both can strike...keep the closed sai out front, the extendede on as the power weapon.

I cannot claim the same level of proficiency with Sais as I do with Nunchaku. So you may have a point here. I did not think of keeping one in and one out at all times. Sais are still short reach weapons which is bad. But at least you have solved the "re-gripping" problem. I think your method could be used the same way as a sword and shield combo. I will have to try that.

[AikiGuy]

tonfa are used by a lot of modern police forces

Are you referring to the modified billy clubs that aren't really tonfa, but resemble them? If not, I'll just add that piece in as well.

I think he talking more about a PR-54 or something like that.

I think you're all referring to the same weapon. I have heard all of these terms used before. Bushido, I think yours is the official name for it. Although I thought it was PR-24 because it is 24 inches long. Not sure though. Are there different lengths for the police models?

[armanox]

I would have to disagree with this. I do actually know how to use Nunchaku very well. I consider it my specialty weapon as well as my personal favorite. But I still notice that you can only give a solid block with the handle you are holding, but not with the loose handle. If someone swings a bat/staff/sword at your mid section from the side and you do a block, what happens? His weapon will just bounce the loose handle out of the way and smack into you. Of course, the nunchaku will still slow or deflect the attack a bit, but that's not enough to stop a totally committed strike. Also, 2 feet of reach over your hand is still pretty limited. You only compared this to empty hands (not really the topic here) and other limited reach weapons (knife, sai, tonfa). At best, I would call it a mid-range striking weapon (similar to Escrima or Short Swords) counting the loose handle. But what about longer weapons (bo staff, long sword, 3-sectioned staff, chain whip, etc)? The nunchaku is not going to do well against those because you could never get close enough without being hit first unless your opponent is not very skilled at his weapon. But that's the exception, not the rule.

Who said that a nunchaku was just a one handed weapon?

[bushido_man96]

I think you're all referring to the same weapon. I have heard all of these terms used before. Bushido, I think yours is the official name for it. Although I thought it was PR-24 because it is 24 inches long. Not sure though. Are there different lengths for the police models?

Yeah, you may be right, PR-24. There may be some that are longer, but I am not sure. In my area, everyone carrys the ASP.

[SBN Doug]

If someone swings a bat/staff/sword at your mid section from the side and you do a block, what happens? His weapon will just bounce the loose handle out of the way and smack into you.

I am by no means a master of this weapon, but why are you trying to make a hard block only grasping one end? I've pracitced blocking a strike with the chain while grasping both ends, then releasing one end for the counter strike. Your points about distance are well taken, but I don't necessarily agree with your blocking strategy.

[AikiGuy]

Armanox and PSBN Doug, you both are suggesting holding a single nunchaku with both ends when you block. Yes that would make it a stronger block against most weapons so you have a point if you are using it that way.

However, if I were in an armed battle, I would prefer to have one in each hand so my comments are based on that. (I should have pointed that out earlier.) I realize having two weapons is causing part of the limitation on blocking, but I make up for it by having the element of surprise since I can strike from either side (or even both at once) so my opponent cannot predict my moves as easily. I have actually tried single and double nunchakus against longer reach weapons and double has more advantages as long as you are half decent at moving and evading.

Also, back to the single nunchaku situation. Even though you can now block hard strikes, it will be slower. After striking, you now have to re-catch the loose handle before doing a two handed block. If you have the time (or some distance), this may work well. If not, you get smacked a lot before you can even block. Compare this to Escrimas: A strike/block sequence is two steps. With Nunchaku it's three steps (strike/catch/block) if you need a solid block. That is a serious disadvantage considering most practitioners with even a little training can go from a block to a strike in about half of a second.

There is a second disadvantage to a single nunchaku: low blocks. Imagine a sword/bat swinging at your thigh/knee area. If you do a hard (two handed) block, you have to bend down so one handle is below the intended target. You cannot do this without bending down. So you are forced to compromise your defensive posture. An opponent may even be able to bluff you into bending down and offering the top of your head on a platter. Comparing to a solid weapon (escrima, sword, etc), you can simply do a low block on one side without even moving anything other than the arm holding that one weapon. This is the single biggest problem I have with nunchaku as a combat weapon.

As I stated before, this is my favorite weapon and I have trained with it more than any other weapon, so I would never put it down if it were not legitimate. But there are just too many disadvantages to it to be a "choice" weapon against an equally skilled person with a better weapon.

[SBN Doug]

Ahh, double.

No doubt, there are many weapons I'd prefer to have over the nunchaku. I just wanted to be sure we were depicting its capabilities accurately.

[dete]

using a bazooka to stop a pickpocket in the mall would be pretty crazy and dumb.

hand grenade is very useful in war but in a jail cell...

I loved the scene in Pulp Fiction when Bruce Wilis grabs the baseball bat,

then sees the chainsaw, but then he knows he found even better, a sword!

it all depends in context no?

[Athena]

*reads dete's comment*....*blink* Right well...

Even though all these good points are made about the nunchaku and how it might or might not be a good wepaon >.> have any of you tried fighting with a rope dart? It's no good to you in a fight unless you know how to use it. period. There's a very slim chance of compromising, though I'm sure there are still those that could..somehow.

Need to put this. Some of you say how impractical a metal fan would be..well at least it's metal and there's some room for compromising..just you might not be able to see it. rope dart = very hard to master and probably harder to fight with. I never realy cared to try as I'd probably be hitting myself more then the opponent XD I DID learn some neat tricks though

Edit:

Good point of rope dart: once you're mastered using and fighting with it..it's easily portable