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| Nun Chucks. Geddit? |
Flailing weapons sacrifice accuracy, control and are mostly ineffective at close quarters. The joint allows the weapon to bounce off it's target after contact, preventing any follow-through which might help cause more damage. They're also more difficult to use in formation than a sword or spear.
Because nunchaku handles are both the same length, it makes own-goals much more likely. Don't be surprised if you end up hitting yourself.
Flails need to have an extremely heavy striking end to make them worthwhile. Then the extra speed generated by the joint can actually be useful. For example:
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| An actual European military flail. |
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| Flails are more useful as agricultural tools (shown here threshing wheat in 1270). |
But it can come in handy if your opponent has a shield. It can wrap around the shield, striking the defender even if the handle is blocked. Other than that, I really can't think of a good reason to use a flail/nunchaku. Which is probably why they weren't actually very popular weapons historically.
Typical modern nunchaku are both difficult to use and cause little damage. Instead of cutting a stick in half and tying the ends together, leave it in one piece and you'll have a much more effective weapon.
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EDIT:
Wow. This giant dildo is a more effective weapon than any nunchaku I've ever seen. I'm totally serious. I've watched as many videos of people fighting with 'chucks as I can find on the internet (google "nunchuck felony fights"), and I've never seen anyone get dropped like this.
this guy seems pretty good with chucks--
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMMCki2V3ZU
Oh shit I take everything back!
Deleteseems like chucks would an effective weapons with these guys too--
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGIBaMLzAT0
Right, I thought you were joking. No, I think it actually shows how little force is generated with this weapon. More damage would be done if they were fighting with solid sticks, or much heavier 'chucks.
DeleteWell the nunchaku is probably better used as a training weapon. It takes skill and grace to operate and gives you it's own corrections along the way. A real heavy pair or some re-engineering with new materials could make it a decent weapon.
DeleteThe guys fighting in the ring aren't even using actual wooden nunchaku lol those are rubber.
ReplyDeleteDaniel, go buy yourself a nunchak, do practice a few basic strokes for a week and you will change your mind. Am not saying the nunchak is perfect, every weapon has advantages and disadvantages. But it's no way a useless weapon. I know an old man (60+) who took guard of a warehouse and with a nunchak one night he beat 3 robbers armed with knifes.
ReplyDeleteI've done some practising with them in the past, but this doesn't demonstrate the effectiveness of 'chucks at all. It feels pretty cool though.
DeleteI find the story about an old man who beat 3 robbers armed with knives very hard to believe.
I trained with chucks extensively for about 3 years several hours a day and I would not rate them highly as a weapon, when the the chain is short they don't generate enough power and when the chain is long they are too slow. I could believe that an old man could beat 3 knife wielding robbers with nunchaku but more because the fear people have around them or that the guy had practiced with his weapon alot and the robbers hadn't practiced with theirs, also robbers are often high and there are 7 billion people in the world so wierd shit is bound to happen, but I digress.
DeleteFlails should look like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rngul46pJQY
Reasonable comment :)
DeleteActually, you have to think of them as a much more versatile baton. If you see the okinawan moves, not freestyle, but actual fighting techniques, you will see they are not useless. But, it is, as all weapons from the orient, in need of training to do some kind of damage. With normal weapons, you can take for examploe a knife and be effective with it without much training, as with a lot of oriental weapons, you need training to be anywhere near dangerous with them. For example, the so glorified katana, if someone doesn't have extensive training with them, that person is more likely to hurt himself in a real fight than his opponent. There are only a few people in the world who would be effective in a fight with them. It's not so extreme with nunchakus, but it's definitely somewhere along those lines. If you strike someone with them, it can bounce back, and in kobudo there are katas for nunchaku, and the movements are meant to keep that from happening. But of course the average idiot with nunchaku in his hands won't know kobudo moves.So what i'm trying to say is that the original nunchaku fighting style with wooden solid nunchakus coul easily kill you, there are choking moves, moves to disarm an armed opponent who possesses a knife (and i've seen it work, it is effective), and there are striking moves. It is not, as any weapon, without disadvantages, but don't say it's useless. And then, there is of course the cool factor ;)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for the calm response. It has surprised me that there haven't been been many angry responses with a title like "Nunchucks are fucking useless".
DeleteBut I have to disagree with you. Spears, swords, knives, bow and arrow were far more common on the battlefield because they are effective and in fact relatively simple to use. The katana is a sword, and it works much the same as any other sword - you swing it at people and it causes serious damage. You swing a 'chuck at people and it bounces off, and might hurt a bit.
You could use it to strangle people, sure. But you can use anything to strangle people. Sticks, rope, cable, your arms, your legs, their clothing, your clothing.
It's a matter of how you see them... No weapon is the ultimate weapon, but no weapon other than the japanese sai is useless. I'm not saying there aren't better weapons out there, I'm just saying it's worth it once you're confortable with them...
DeleteOh and what i said about the katana doesn't apply if you use it in a western fighting style, but if you try to do those kobudo moves, without EXTENSIVE, so so so much training, you'll probably chop a leg off in real combat. That's what the so called "masters" say, and it kind of makes sense when you see the amount of accidents with them on youtube...
DeleteYep, definitely easy to injure yourself with a sword if you accidentally hit yourself.
DeleteI would say the sai is actually more effective than the nunchaku. If you asked me to kill someone and I had to choose between those weapons, I would definitely pick the sai.
You know what, if I had to pick between 'chucks and a garden gnome, I would strongly consider the garden gnome.
I was taken by an incontrolable laughter with that last part, but I refered to the sai because their original usage was to throw at enemies feet... Oh, and that picture with the "nun chucks" seriously cracked me ;)
DeleteThrow at their feet? Wow.
DeleteGlad I could be of service in making you laugh at least!
I didn't say exclusively, but i watch a youtube channel called hempev and it has an okinawan teacher saying that the sais, as many other okinawan weapons, were originally farming tools, and they were meant to be thrown at your enemy's feet. Of course it's not exclusive, but I was just illustrating that i actually wouldn't trust a sai that much...
DeleteWell, if you hate nunchaku, then you must despise a sansetsukon...
ReplyDeleteWell it's a piece of shit as well.
DeleteThe European Military Flail was successfully used in battle by the peasant Hussite armies against mounted knights in 1410s. I'm not sure how they used it, but I once held a replica halberd and, while it was maneuverable, seemed to be unsuitable for individual fighting. I was told that it was more of a mass formation weapon, deadly when you were fighting a massed team of soldiers, less so when one on one. I would think the flail was the same. The Hussites often fought behind great armored wagons, so a team of flail swingers apparently did tremendous damaged to armored knights.
ReplyDeleteGood point, there are many weapons which only make sense in a mass formation. It doesn't make sense to take them outside the context they were originally designed for.
Deletee.g. nunchucks are great for flailing rice, terrible for flailing heads.
If your criticism is that you don't like Nunchaku, that is one thing. But if you are criticising flails generally you don't know what the hell you are talking about. Seriously, give me a 5ft staff with a 2 or 3ft swingle made of a good piece of oak/ash etc and I will have you in bits. It's a fearsome weapon underestimated only by those who have never faced one in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.
DeleteOh and for what it is worth English flails (Threshals) weren't designed for formation.
Daniel you're a closed minded idiot. I'll beat your ass with chucks or without chucks Gi or No Gi. why? because I'm open minded enough to do anything that I need to in my practice or in the moment to win a fight. you probably tried Nunchakudo for 10 minutes hit yourself in the head couldn't take the hit and got butt hurt because you're an insecure little bitch who doesn't have the perseverance to do shit in life besides blog.
ReplyDeleteShow me some evidence why nunchaku is better than a stick and I might listen to you. Got a video of a fight where the chucks were effective? show me.
Deletelol. Ineffective at close quarters combat. You actually said that. Niiice.
ReplyDeleteYou've just pointed out something I said and left it there. Care to explain what you're actually thinking?
Deleteyou are wrong nunchuks are great weapon and easy to carry and hide they can cause hard dmg to any1 unarmed man or man with knife or brassknuckles dont stand chance aginst nunchaku
ReplyDeleteAnothern modern day martial art hero here - ha ha ha - what a pathetic ass!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI would rather have the following in a fight rather than nunchaku: a 3 section staff, an asp, a pocket knife, brass knuckles, a bat, a shard of glass, a metal pipe, a yoyo, a banana, etc.
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteWould anyone who's claiming these are effective care to explain why no one actually uses them on a large scale? Security, military, law enforcement etc aren't walking around with nunchucks. They can't afford to carry around bulky paper weights.
ReplyDeleteYOU'RE WRONG, DUDE!!
ReplyDeleteI practice with many weapons,(sai, bo, nunchaku,katana,chain whip) and once i had a fight with another dude in the streets, he had an iron bate, but he didn't knew how to use it lol,I left her head, believe me, these weapons can easily crack the skin and break bones, now ask him how his face and head looks!! what i'm tryin' to say is if you take a nunchaku but you don't know how to use it, then it will be useless and maybe your enemy will grab those chux and hurt you or worst you will hit yourself, i think you said that because you failed tryin' to use a nunchaku, "those weapons aren't for all the people you need to have discipline because that's a weapon if you use it as well.
Every thing can be used as a weapon at the moment when you hit someone, so what you sayin' is not true at all, i would like to show ya some proofs, but i don't have videos of that last fight, also it was very wrong cuz is dangerous and you can go to jail, i had some legal problems with the law after that accident
Finally i just want to give a tip, if someone want to use a nunchaku in a fight you should to be sure that you really have the right training in another case as you said it will be useless (to use any martial arts weapon you need to have the right training, don't just grab the chux and try to get into a fight, and obvyusly as any weapon you can hurt you, that's why is a weapon in another case if you don't like to hit by yourselt then just don't grab them, those weapons are for people that likes sports and martial arts, and they know there are a risk when in training like hit or cut, nunchaku aren't for joking guys)
greetings!!!