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Legality
Possession of nunchaku is illegal in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom (anti-nunchaku laws in the U.K. were loosened somewhat in 1991). Legality in the United States of America varies at state level, e.g. personal possession of nunchaku is illegal in New York, California and Massachusetts, but in other states possession is not criminalized.

History
The nunchaku was originally a short flail used to thresh rice (separate the grain from the husk). Its development as a weapon supposedly grew out of the moratorium on edged weaponry under the Satsuma shoguns due to their restrictive policy of weapons control after invading Okinawa in the 17th century. (Some maintain that the weapon was most likely conceived and used exclusively for that end, as the configuration of actual flails and bits are unwieldy for weapons use, not to mention the fact that peasant farmers were unlikely to train for 'improvised' combat against professional warriors.) The modern nunchaku has been modified for its use as a weapon and would make a relatively ineffective rice flail.

The nunchaku as a weapon has surged in popularity since Bruce Lee used it in his movies in the 1970s. It is generally considered by martial artists to be a limited weapon: complex and difficult to wield, it lacks either the range of the bo (quarterstaff) or the edged advantage of a sword or sai, and is prone to inflicting self-injury on the user. Nevertheless, its impressive motion in use and perceived lethality contributed to its increasing popularity, peaking in the 1980s, perhaps due to its (unfounded) association with ninjas during the 1980s ninja craze.

Formal nunchaku styles
The most common martial arts to use nunchaku are the Japanese and Okinawan martial arts such as some forms of karate/kobudo, but some Eskrima systems also teach practitioners to use nunchaku. Songahm Taekwondo, a Korean style patterned after karate, 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.

In the late 60's and early 70's, Roy Williams, was the first World Champion of the nunchaku, he developed the (tempo-ratio-art)-Temporado & Lissajous Do Ryu, Logic Systems. In 1990 his "Art of the Singing Flames" thesis earned Williams a Ph.D.. as a Bio Mechanical Physics. As the pioneer of the original nunchaku system, Williams founded Lissajous Do Ryu International - (contact) RhythmArts.com. Williams created the Halo Aura Arts and the performing competitive divisions, the U.V.A. (Ultra Violet Arts) ~ UV Masters Association.

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 one earns colour stripes on the belt instead of using the full colour belts. In competition, one opponent turns over the belt, as one side is yellow and the other black.

There is also a complete system of ranking in the nunchaku called the North American Nunchaku Association based in California, USA. They offer a complete system of the nunchaku teaching traditional and free-style techniques, from white to black belt. They have students in many countries including England, France, Netherlands, Canada, South Africa, and Denmark. The entire system is based on the DVD's where you study at home and send your tests to their school in California.

Anatomy of the traditional nunchakuTraditional Nunchaku ModelA 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, or rocket-powered) 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 is made from a strong, flexible hardwood such as oak, loquat or pasania. Originally, the wood would be submerged in mud for several years, where lack of oxygen and optimal acidity prevent rotting. The end result is a hardened wood. The rope is made from horsehair, and was traditionally claimed to be able to block a sword. Finally, the wood is very finely sanded and rubbed with an oil or stain for preservation. Today, such nunchaku are often varnished or painted for display purposes. This practice tends to reduce the grip and make the weapon harder to handle, and so is not advised in a combat weapon.

There are various traditional alternative forms such as the 3-sectional and 4-sectional staff (nunchaku with 2 and 3 interconnecting pieces).

Anatomy of the modern nunchaku - (penchaku)
The modern nunchaku can be made from any suitable material: from wood as well as from almost any plastic or fiberglass material. Modern equivalents of the rope are nylon cord or metal chains on ball bearing joints.
Halo Aura-Glow-Chucks - made with fluorescent taping around the sticks penchaku-.
Penchakus: RoyChuxs available for artistic performances. These are more colorful and sometimes fluorescent with a modified anatomy which favors both control and power; they have longer length sticks and extremely short ropes. The idea is based on a mathematical model, the lissajous rojous patterns, which allows the user to keep a continuous flowing form. For further information see RhythmArts.com

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. Practitioners of the flashier styles contend that 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 original Okinawan techniques involve holding the weapon in a variety of preparatory postures. Once an opponent has moved their weapon or body into close range, the nunchaku is used to strike vital spots, and apply joint locks, chokes and other control techniques.

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). When hitting hard objects the wood may splinter. If this happens you can get splinters in your hands. To avoid this simply take an office-type sellotape (as it is wide, light, thin profiled, transparent and very tough when surface mounted) and carefully wrap it round the shaft in a slightly overlapping spiral; this takes a bit of practice to perfect as air bubbles and folds should be avoided. No need for oiling or washing and no chance of splintering. To prevent wear of the nylon ropes candle wax can be coated at the tips where the most friction occurs.

To extend the life of the rope start with a piece of nylon which has a few inches of excess. This will hang outside the knot. When the nylon gets worn untie the knot and pull the rope through the nunchuck holes by an inch so that the worn section has moved round. Then retie the knot. The position of the knot is not important, it does not need to be centered between the sticks. Ensure that the two lengths of cord are even by pulling the nunchaku apart quickly and repeatedly. 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 varieties can also be oiled up to prevent wear and squeaking. With prolonged or intensive use the bearing casing can become warped (every time one swings the metal case may expand due to the kinetic forces). Eventually this can lead to a sudden failure which often results in the swinging end of the nunchaku flying off at high speed.

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, physical representation and in limited writing, suggesting that the Nunchaku was a less formalized tradition, and training methods did not reach the level of sophistication as the other kobudo weapons.

A list of noted nunchaku masters with their respective publications:

Bruce Lee - Jeet Kune Do
Roy Williams - Lissajous Do Ryu
Tadashi Yamashita - Dynamic Nunchaku
Jiro Shiroma - Nunchaku, the Complete Training Guide
Fumio Demura - Nunchaku, Karate Weapon of Self Defense

Nunchaku Trivia
Bruce Lee's movies brought nunchaku into mainstream America as an oriental weapon. The only movie that he didn't use any weapon or nunchaku was in The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury). This led to the misconception that nunchaku are a Chinese weapon.
Roy Williams the first PKA Weapons World Champion -1974-75-76. Bring in the new era of martial of arts weaponry and the first (physics~system) of weaponry named (Temporado)-Lissajous Do Ryu; he also created the first modern nunchaku, the pendulous balanced nunchaku he named, the "penchaku", it is, the fastest hand held weapon in the world today. Both the system and nunchaku-(penchaku) were created by Master Williams.
In United Kingdom all movies or media that depict a scene of Nunchaku usage were censored heavily until year 2000 when they finally released a full DVD version of Enter the Dragon without censoring the nunchaku scene.
Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles uses two kobu nunchaku.
Brothers Sakon and Ukon are characters in the anime/manga series Naruto bearing the names of the two connected sticks of a nunchaku.
Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou has a popular song named "Shuang Jie Gun" (nunchucks) in which he sings about using the weapon.
Panthro from Thundercats uses a weapon very similar to the nunchaku.
The nunchaku is also the weapon of choice for Selphie Tilmitt in the popular video game, Final Fantasy VIII.
Nunchakus are weapons for the ninja Ryu Hayabusa in the popular Xbox video game, Ninja Gaiden.
Nunchaku cannot legally be owned in New York, Massachusetts, California and in Canada because of its dangers.
In the webcomic 8-Bit Theater, Fighter attempts to master his combination nunchaku with swords: "sword-chucks". The other characters think it's a dumb idea because the swords would cut your hands.
Maxi, a character from the video game series Soul Calibur, uses nunchaku as his weapon and developed his own style of fighting called Shissen Karihadi. His appearance and battle cries also pays homage to legendary nunchaku master
Bruce Lee.
Hon Fu, a character from the Fatal Fury series, is a Hong Kong cop uses a nunchaku. His trademark attack translates, Sky of Fire
Nunchaku literally means "twin (or identical) sections" - a "chaku" being a unit of measurement, roughly equal to one section of bamboo.