When I first got into martial arts as a kid the nunchucks (or nunchaku to give them the proper name) were the first weapon that I learned to use. I remember making a set out of metal in my friends garage - something I don't recommend not only because they weren't very good, but also because metal handles really hurt when you hit yourself with them, which is something that happens quite regularly when you are first beginning to learn new techniques. Perhaps it was the iconic images of Bruce Lee, the unparalleled martial arts hero of the day, that drew me to want to learn this weapon, or perhaps it is just that they lend themselves so well to performing fancy tricks, which is good fun.

The history of the nunchaku as a weapon is also fascinating. They were originally used purely as an agricultural tool for threshing crops such as rice or soybeans, but then when the Satsuma Daimyo invaded Okinawa in the 17th century he made it illegal for the ordinary people to carry weapons - presumably to help quell rebellion against his rule - and as always neccesity is the mother of invention and farmers soon learned to use this apparently innocent tool as a lethal weapon.

Today many systems of oriental martial arts, both from Japan and China, use nunchucks as a part of their arsenal. Bruce Lee would have learned to use them as part of his training in Wing Chun, before going on to make them a part of his own unique system of Jeet Kune Do.

The first thing which is absolutely essential for any beginner is that you must get yourself a padded practice set of nunchaku to use. Their are lots of moves were you wil have the weapon swinging around your head, sometimes coming from behind where you can't see exactly the path it is following, and I can absolutely guarantee that you will hit yourself over the head (and other painful places) literally hundreds of times while you are getting the hang of new techniques. This can be very painful and could actually lead to serious injury if you were using a regular wooden set (or a metal set like my friend and me made as kids). Foam practice weapons are not expensive, as you can see from the amazon links to the right of this text, and the only alternative is to wear a helmet - although even then you can still easily hurt yourself.

Once you have got the hang of the main techniques and drill, and can perform them at a decent speed without making mistakes, then you can progress to the more difficult skill of double nunchucks - meaning that you have one in each hand. Many students who master this next level, paricularly in Chinese kung fu schools, like to move on from this on to the use of the three section staff, a weapon which Bruce Lee demonstrated the formidable power of in his martial arts movies. I've included a video of each of these more advanced skills being demonstrated below: