What is Nunchaku?

A nunchaku (Chinese: 雙節棍 shuāng jié gùn, 兩節棍 liǎng jié gùn, or 三節棍 sān jié gùn), also called nunchucks or nunchuks (sometimes hyphenated as nun-chucks or nun-chuks or spaced as nun chucks or nun chuks), is a martial arts weapon of the kobudo weapons set and consists of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope. The other Kobudo weapons are the Sai, Tonfa, Bo and Kama.

Nunchaku in popular culture

The nunchaku were made popular in the West mostly due to their use by Bruce Lee in a scene from his film Enter the Dragon (though he had actually first used nunchaku in Fist of Fury), in which he demonstrates Eskrima flail techniques. Michaelangelo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was also known for using nunchaku. In the U.K. version of the 1987 cartoon series, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, the nunchaku was censored out. Also, the weapon that Selphie Tilmitt of Final Fantasy VIII wields is called nunchaku in the NTSC versions of Final Fantasy VIII, and shinobou in the PAL version.

Formal nunchaku styles

The most common martial arts to use nunchaku are the Japanese martial arts such as some forms of karate, but some Eskrima systems also teach practitioners to use nunchaku. Songahm Taekwondo, a Korean martial arts style, also teaches how to use one and two Nunchakus, though in Korean, they are known as Sahng Jeol Bahngs, or sometimes Sahng Jeol Bongs. The styles of these three arts are rather different; the traditional Okinawan arts would have used the sticks primarily to grip and lock, while the Filipino arts would have used the sticks primarily for striking, while Songahm Taekwondo teaches a combination of both.

An interesting thing to note is that while most Martial Arts Styles that teach Nunchaku do not start teaching until after Black Belt, Songahm Taekwondo starts teaching Nunchaku techniques at Orange Belt, the second belt in Songahm Taekwondo.

In the early 80’s, Kevin D. Orcutt, an American police sergeant, holder of a black belt in Jukado, developed the OPN (Orcutt Police Nunchaku) system. Since then some American Law Enforcement Agencies employ the Nunchaku as a control weapon instead of the Tonfa, also known as the common police baton, which also finds its origin in the Kobudo weapons family. This system emphasises only a small subset of the nunchaku techniques, for speedier training.

There is now a dedicated World Nunchaku Association, based in the Netherlands, which teaches Nunchaku-Do as a contact sport. They use yellow and black plastic weight balanced training chucks and protective headgear. They have their own belt colour system where you earn colour stripes on the belt instead of using the full colour belts. In competition, one opponent turns over the belt, as one side is white and the other black.

Anatomy of the traditional nunchaku

A nunchaku is two sections of wood (or metal in modern incarnations) connected by a cord or chain. Chinese nunchaku tend to be rounded, whereas Japanese are octagonal. The ideal length of each piece should be the length of the users forearm; the bone between elbow and wrist. Traditionally both ends are of equal length (although asymmetrical nunchakus exist). The ideal length for the connecting rope/chain can be calibrated for each individual by letting the rope hang over the wrist, with the sticks hanging comfortably pointing straight to the ground, but without giving more rope than is necessary for it to do so. Weight balance is extremely important, cheaper or gimmicky nunchakus (such as glow-in-the-dark ones) are often not properly balanced, which prevent the artist from doing the more advanced and flashier ‘low-grip’ moves, such as overhand twirls. The weight should be balanced towards the outer edges of the sticks for maximum ease and control of the swing arcs.

The traditional nunchaku must be made from a hardwood that is strong yet flexible, such as oak, loquat or pasania. Originally, the wood would be submersed in mud for several years, where lack of oxygen and optimal acidity prevent rotting. The end result is a hardened wood. The rope was made from horsehair, said to be able to block a sword. (Although likely, there is no recorded confirmation of this.) Finally, the wood is painted and varnished to keep colour.

There are various traditional alternative forms such as the 3-sectional and 4-sectional staff, these are nunchaku with 3 and 4 interconnecting pieces.

Anatomy of the modern nunchaku

The modern nunchaku can be made from any material: from wood as well as from almost any plastic or fiberglass material. Modern equivalents of the rope are nylon or metal chains on ball bearing joints.

The Nunchaku-Do sport, governed by the World Nunchaku Association, promotes black and yellow Styrofoam chucks. The difference with readily available plastic training chucks is that these are properly balanced.

There are some alternate nunchakus such as:

• Telescopic Nunchakus: which are metal retractable chucks, available in 2 sizes.
• Glow-Chucks – made either with fibreglass and a coloured light fitted in the ball bearing or some kind of fluorescent taping around the sticks.
• Penchakus: There are flashier Lissajous-do sticks available for artistic performances. These are more colourful and sometimes fluorescent with a modified anatomy which favors control in expense of power; they have longer length sticks and extremely short ropes. The idea is based on a mathematical model, the Lissajous, which allows the user to keep a continuous flowing form.

Nunchaku in combat

When used in combat, the nunchaku provide the obvious advantage of an increase in the reach of one’s strike. Although somewhat difficult to control, the rope or chain joint of the nunchaku adds the benefit of striking from unexpected angles. The motion of the nunchaku is often found distracting by opponents, who may have trouble keeping up with the nunchaku’s rapid motion. In addition, the reach of the nunchaku is often underestimated, even by those experienced with its use.

The wooden or metal sections of the nunchaku are used to strike, while the joint is used to apply locks or chokes.

Care of the nunchaku

For wooden nunchaku it is advisable (although not strictly necessary) to clean the nunchaku with a cloth moistened in olive oil, camellia oil or any other plant oil for easier grip and this also prevents fading of the original color (because it puts a coating layer where the varnish disappeared). To prevent wear of the nylon ropes candle wax can be coated at the tips where the most friction occurs. For true aficionados, you should learn to tie the traditional knots that bind the pieces. There is even an annual knot tying contest in Japan.

Metal chain and ball bearing chucks can also be oiled up to prevent wear and squeaking.

Nunchaku masters

Unlike other kobudo weapons of the same period such as the Bo and Sai, there are no surviving Katas for the Nunchaku. Practice movements were transmitted by word of mouth and in limited writing, suggesting that the Nunchaku was a less formalized style, and training did not reach the level of sophistication as the other Budo weapons.

Luckily there are some internationally recognized grand masters, extremely talented people in the world, here listed with their respective publications:

• Tadashi Yamashita – Dynamic Nunchaku
• Jiro Shiroma – Nunchaku, the Complete Training Guide
• Fumio Demura – Nunchaku, Karate Weapon of Self Defense

Kyūdō- the japanese form of archery

A full draw, called “kai“.

Kyūdō (弓道:きゅうどう, Kyūdō^?), literally meaning “way of the bow“, is the Japanese art of archery. It is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō).

It is estimated that there are approximately half a million practitioners of kyūdō today. Kyūdō is a rare sport in the sense that it is not dependent on age or sex. If the practitioner is dedicated, male or female, they can learn at any age. It’s never too early or too late to learn Kyūdō. Although one could learn Kyūdō at any point in their life, it can take a lifetime to perfect.

In its most pure form, kyūdō is practiced as an art and as a means of moral and spiritual development. Many archers practice kyūdō as a sport, with marksmanship being paramount. However, the goal most devotees of kyūdō seek is seisha seichu, “correct shooting is correct hitting”. In kyūdō the unique action of expansion (nobiai) that results in a natural release, is strived for. When the spirit and balance of the shooting is correct the result will be for the arrow to arrive in the target. To give oneself completely to the shooting is the spiritual goal. In this respect, many kyūdō practitioners believe that competition, examination, and any opportunity that places the archer in this uncompromising situation is important, while other practitioners will avoid competitions or examinations of any kind.

Practice

Kyudo is practised in different schools and styles and even between dojos of the same style the form of practice can vary. For joint practice, competition and graduation between different styles a standard form was prepared in 1953 by the Japanese Kyūdō federation as (kyūdō kyūhōn). Here however is an example of a practice session with a form different from kyūdō kyūhōn.

A practitioner will begin with seiza (traditional sitting position) followed by mokuso (meditation).

The practitioner may shoot at a specially designed straw target called makiwara (not to be confused with makiwara used in karate). The makiwara is shot at from a very close range (about seven feet, or the length of the archer’s strung yumi when held horizontally from the centerline of his body). Because the target is so close and the shot most certainly will hit, the archer can concentrate on refining his technique rather than on worrying about where the arrow will go.

After warming up, the archer may then move on to shooting at a target called a mato. Mato sizes and shooting distances vary, but most mato typically measure thirty-six centimeters (or 12 sun, a traditional Japanese measurement equivalent to approximately 3.03 cm) in diameter and are shot at from a distance of twenty-eight meters. However, depending on the practitioners skill level, they may be asked to shoot from half or three-quarters distance.

Typically the first round of shooters will fire two arrows in seated practice (zasha) before shooting from the standing position (risha)

Equipment

The yumi (Japanese bow) is exceptionally tall (standing over two meters), surpassing the height of the archer (kyūdōka). Yumi are traditionally made of bamboo, wood and leather using techniques which have not changed for centuries, although some archers (particularly, those new to the art) may use synthetic (i.e. laminated wood coated with glassfiber or carbon fiber) yumi. Even advanced kyūdōka may own non-bamboo yumi and ya due to the vulnerability of bamboo equipment to extreme climates. The suitable height for yumi depends from the length of archers draw (yatsuka) which is usually about half the archers height.

Ya (arrow) shafts were traditionally made of bamboo, with either eagle or hawk feathers. Most ya shafts today are still made of bamboo (although some archers will use shafts made of aluminum or carbon fibers), and ya feathers are now obtained from non-endangered birds such as turkeys or swans. The length of an arrow is the archers yatsuka plus between 6 to 10 centimeters. Every ya has a gender (male ya are called haya; female ya, otoya); being made from feathers from alternate sides of the bird, the haya spins clockwise upon release while the otoya spins counter-clockwise. Kyūdō archers usually shoot two ya per round, with the haya being shot first. It is often claimed that the alternate spinning direction of the arrows would prevent two consecutive identically shot arrows from flying identically and thus colliding.

The kyūdō archer wears a glove on the right hand called a yugake. There are many varieties of yugake, they are typically made of deerskin. Practitioners can choose between a hard glove (with a hardened thumb) or a soft glove (without a hardened thumb), there are different advantages to both.

With a hard glove, the thumb area is not very flexible and has a pre-made groove used to pull the string (tsuru). With a soft glove, the thumb area is very flexible and is without a pre-made groove, allowing the practitioner to create their own, based on their own shooting habits.

Typically a yugake will be of the three or four finger variety. The amount of fingers on the glove is dependent on the school of kyudo and the weight of the bow being pulled. Three finger yugake are usually used with bows below 20 kilo, while four finger yugake are used with bows above 20 kilo. Though rare, it is not unheard of for archers to use one finger or five finger gloves. Some schools, such as Heki-ryū Insai-ha only use the three fingered glove, even with bows above 40 kilo. A practitioner’s nock and grip of the arrow can be dictated by the glove and bow they are using. It is not uncommon for practitioners who have upgraded or downgraded bow weight to continue to use the same glove and not change.

Technique

Yumi draw type is the right of image (Fig.3).

All kyūdō archers hold the bow in their left hand and draw the string with their right, so that all archers face the higher position (kamiza) while shooting.

Unlike occidental archers (who, with some exceptions, draw the bow never further than the cheek bone), kyūdō archers draw the bow so that the drawing hand is held behind the ear. If done improperly, upon release the string may strike the archer’s ear or side of the face.

Resulting from the technique to release the shot, the bow will (for a practised archer) spin in the hand so that the string stops in front of the archer’s outer forearm. This action of “yugaeri” is a combination of technique and the natural working of the bow. It is unique to kyūdō.

Kyūdō technique is meticulously prescribed. The All Nippon Kyudo Federation (ANKF), the main governing body of kyūdō in Japan, has codified the hassetsu (or “eight stages of shooting”) in the Kyudo Kyohon (Kyudo Manual). The hassetsu consists of the following steps:

1. Ashibumi, placing the footing. The archer steps on to the line from where arrows are fired (known as the shai) and turns to face the kamiza, so that the left side of his body faces the target. He then sights from the target to his feet and sets his feet apart so that the distance between them is equal to his yatsuka, approximately half his body height. A line drawn between the archer’s toes should pass through the target after the completion of the ashibumi.
2. Dozukuri, forming the body. The archer verifies his balance and that his pelvis and the line between his shoulders are parallel to the line set up during ashibumi.
3. Yugamae, readying the bow. Yugamae consists of three phases:
   1. Torikake, gripping of the bowstring with the right hand.
   2. Tenouchi, the left hand is positioned for shooting on the bow’s grip.
   3. Monomi, the archer turns his head to gaze at the target.
4. Uchiokoshi, raising the bow. The archer raises the bow above his head to prepare for the draw.
5. Hikiwake, drawing apart. The archer starts bringing down the bow while spreading his arms, simultaneously pushing the bow with his left hand and drawing the string with the right, until the arrow is level with his eyebrows.
6. Kai, the full draw. The archer continues the movement started in the previous phase, until he reaches full draw with the arrow placed slightly below his cheekbone. The arrow points along the line set up during ashibumi.
7. Hanare, the release. The bowstring is released from the right hand.
8. Zanshin, “the remaining body or mind” or “the continuation of the shot”. The archer remains in the position reached after hanare while returning from the state of concentration associated with the shot.

While other schools’ shooting also conforms to the hassetsu outlined above, the naming of some steps and some details of the execution of the shot may differ.

Rankings

Using a system which is common to modern budō (martial art) practices, most kyūdō schools periodically hold examinations, which, if the archer passes, results in the conveying of a grade, which can be kyū or dan level. Traditional schools, however, often rank students as a recognition of attaining instructor status using the older menkyo (license) system of koryū budō.

While kyūdō’s kyū and dan levels are similar to those of other budō practices, colored belts or similar external symbols of one’s level are not worn by kyūdō practitioners.

taken from here