If you were interested in nunchaku and...

[AdamKralic]

Your school didn't have any programs that taught nunchaku; would you go to another school to pick up the knowledge?

What type/"genre" of schools tend to have quality nunchaku training?

[mal103]

I would guess not many, I would also go and train with anyone else to try something that interests you.

I generally say to train to Black Belt level and at least a year after before thinking about branching out.

As always speak with your Sensei and see what he thinks or if he knows anywhere. Most should be happy for you to try out other stuff, just ensure you don't end up chasing too many rabbits.

[andym]

I do too an extent. I travel over to Leeds (in GB) every month to study Matayoshi Kobudo. My sensei has given me a good grounding in the basics of Kobudo, but I decided I wanted to study a system.

[AikiGuy]

I agree with mal103. Definitely share your goals with your current instructor before proceeding. He may have some basic knowledge you can use to get started even if your dojo does not teach weaponry. Or he may be able to recommend a good school. But mostly, let him/her know out of respect. It looks sneaky and sometimes disrespectful to sign up at a second dojo without the approval of your first one, depending on the instructor/dojo.

Karate schools sometimes teach traditional weaponry (Kobudo) including the nunchaku so you might check there for lessons. Another option is to get a book or instructional video to learn the basics before going too far into the training. You may decide you would prefer another weapon more, especially since the nunchaku is a very difficult weapon to wield properly. After learning and teaching nunchaku, I think it's definitely one of the hardest hand-held weapons to use.

Good luck in your training. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[Harkon72]

The Nunchaku is my Kobudo weapon of choice. I started training with it under a Shorin Kobudo Sensei over 10 years ago. It is difficult, any one can twirl it and make fast repetitive arcs with it. The true art is in the Kata and the Applied Bunkai to those Kata. I was taught 3 of them

Haku Nami Shodan

Kai Za Minori Sho

Kai Za Minori Dai

Good Luck!

[AdamKralic]

Thanks for all the good advice.

[chrisw08]

harkon72 I would love to see a youtube video of those 3 kata you know.

[Harkon72]

This Kata is close to the Kai Za Minori series of Kata.

It is also one of the best videos on Nunchaku practice on Youtube.

http://youtu.be/APTur6EEqaY

Enjoy.