Using Nunchucks or Nunchaku

 Ah, I found this on the "Questions" on how to properly use nunchucks (or nunchaku.) I have to say, not to be rude, but the two people who answered were either wrong, or too advanced for a beginner.

First of all, if you're careful, and you take things slowly and learn with ease, you are NOT going to beat yourself up. I actually learned a few moves without ever hitting myself once.

While yes, I have witnessed people using them, hit themselves, it was because they didn't have the patience to take it slow, and wanted to jump from beginner to advanced to quickly.

First of all, if you begin by holding one end, gripping it tightly and extending your arm out far as you can from your body. Swing them gently in a circle. Once you feel comfortable with a simple circle, (I'm talking a few days, maybe weeks, just get it down before advancing) then you can take it to a figure 8. SLOWLY, as slow and far from your body.

Move your whole arm in a figure 8, and practice this A LOT. Yes, a beginner would like to use maybe some rubber covered ones, but if you're careful, that's not really necessary. I've never owned ANY rubber coated ones or "safety" type nunchaka. I went straight for some home made ones that were just wooden, put together with nylon thread, and shaved rounded on the ends so that the wood would not eventually cut through the nylon.

Practice that figure 8, like I said, far from your body, and slow. DO NOT attempt to get feisty and go faster until you are 100% ready. That's how people get hurt.

A lot of people think these are for hitting, when in actuality they work better, I find as a weapon to keep you from harm, or to CUT. As hitting makes it bounce back, and can either hit YOU or something to throw you off.

Now that you've practiced the figure 8, and you feel confident, you can speed up, and go a bit faster, just do that for awhile. Go a bit faster. Get it down pat before moving on. You can use your own body to bounce them off of, but since you're using your own body, you know how much pressure you can use to hit. Not much. Unless you have a plan on where they are going to bounce back and keep you from harm, and keep your enemy at bay.

Ok, so you got your figure 8 down, you can move with them ease. The first place I recommend trying is over your shoulder. Do your figure 8 slowly, and when you feel confident you can slowly swing it over your shoulder, holding your elbow outward, you can reach under your arm with your other hand and make sure you grab it. If you don't, you're not moving fast, so it might swing back, and you lost the grip. That's ok, it's practice. With practice, you'll eventually work from the figure 8, until you can swing it under your arm, and when you can grab it with your other hand with ease, you're ready to let go with your other hand, and bring it to your left (or right) out, and do more figure 8's.

It is important to USE BOTH HANDS EQUALLY TO MASTER THE FIGURES. NEITHER HAND IS DOMINATE OVER THE OTHER. YOU'VE GOT TO BE EQUAL, that is why I am not saying use your left or right hand. Begin how you are comfortable, just make sure you use both hands with comfort, and EQUALLY.

Now you can grab it under your arm, and begin to swing it the same as you did with one arm, and bring it under and grab it with the opposite hand. When you can do this, with both hands equally, still, do not increase your speed. Keep it slow until you can move them from one hand to the other under both arms equally.

You can use an impressive move to friends by learning to bounce it then off of your inner leg. It doesn't really serve a purpose, but it does look impressive as I said, and it WILL keep an enemy at bay. But an experienced user can snag them from your hand with a single swipe, and you're OUT. But just for fun, for learning and to appear impressive, then you do your figure 8, swing when you're comfortable with it, and bounce it off your inner thigh, and back into the figure 8.

Do this equally with both hands and legs. Always stand with your legs apart so you have plenty of room. Once you get this down pat, and are moving sort of slow, you do a routine, first your fiture 8, then over your shoulder, grab it, slowly swing it back to one figure 8, then bounce it off of your inner thigh.

DO THIS EQUALLY WITH BOTH RIGHT AND LEFT HANDS AND LEGS. It's the only way to make sure you're evenly moving them as to not hurt yourself, and PLEASE make sure you practice either alone, in a yard or place where you will not hit something or someone.

You can learn your own routine by doing this repetitively, and slowly until you work up to going faster. NEVER EVER think you can master this within a week or so, because if you have never used them, you cannot possibly practice them long enough to show off your talent effectively without hurting yourself or someone around you.

Also, in my opinion, I would NEVER buy any with connecting chains. I do own them, but they hang for nothing, and are never used. Not even when I play around with them. The chain makes them move uneven when you're going slowly. Only the most experienced of Martial Arts artists can make one with chains move with ease. That is because they have practiced them for years, not just weeks or days.

I saw this question was only answered by two people, and so I sort of jumped into this without video at hand of myself trying to show you a slow motion use for learning, but I will add to this page myself using them as a demonstration on how to just "be impressive" not really to teach you how to use them professionally, as I am NOT a professional. But I can be impressive... for a girl! :) lol. Be patient, and when I update this hub with my video, I hope to see some of you ladies out there know you can do this just as well as men, and know you have at least one other form of protection, because if the opponet does not know how to use them, they will keep distance from you, and they will not be able to take them from you.

Beware tho, yes, an experienced Martial Arts artist will be able to take them and use them against you. But that would be hard to find in a regular setting or, well, in this country America. :) We tend to fight with out fist, or other weapon of choice. I highly doubt you'll ever enounter an Asian man who you would want to use them against. If anything make friends with them, so they can teach you more! :)

Well, I hope someone found this helpful, it is possible to learn without hurting yourself, if you just remember, EVERYTHING GOES VERY SLOW UNTIL YOU HAVE EVERY MOVE DOWN, AND YOU, AND YOU ONLY ARE THE ONE TO DECIDE WHEN YOU CAN INCREASE SPEED!

Good luck, and really, just have fun, learn to impress, and not just to fight. There's plenty of fighting going on in the world, and I believe with all my heart, although it's a fighting tool, it's also called "Arts" for a reason. It's a beautiful movement of Art, such as dance or any other form of body movement. It's just more protective. I will post video as soon as possible. Thanks for reading, and remember SLOW is the key to learning.