John Wick 4 Nunchucks - Did They Exist in Battle ?
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- We recreate a Nunchuck from John Wick 4 as we explore the history behind this unique weapon. Thanks to Lionsgate and John Wick: Chapter 4 for sponsoring this video! Be sure to check out John Wick: Chapter 4 in theaters now! tickets.johnwick.movie/
As Matt and Ilya recreate the nunchucks used by Keanu Reeves in John Wick 4, the duo also dive into the "history" of this weapon. Their goal is try and pick apart this weapons cloudy past and try to make the case weather or not the Nunchuck was ever a battle weapon.
For the build part, they only had some cloudy images that didnt really show the detail. Ilya starts off by forging the chain from some 14" bar. He then forges the two eyelet staples that hold the chain to the wooden handles. After that he forges the sockets from a piece of pipe and then engraves the details on the caps. The images made it hard to tell what was on there, but our best guess was a Japanese style demon as he is Baba Yaga afterall.
The last part was to make the wood handles which we did out of white oak. first square then hand planed into octagon cross section with taper. After that the pieces are all antiqued with stain and a touch of the torch.
Do you think the Nunchuck is a real battle weapon? Tell us why or why not in the comments.
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Videos Shot, Produced and edited by - Matt Stagmer
Co-producer - Ilya Alekseyev
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Horus Lupercal’s World Breaker
Throwing stars!
Kriegsmesser From the first half of the sixteenth century
April 1st is coming soon, why not make a (caveman club)?
like literally, the whole building segment would be the crew walking through a forest looking for a log that would make a good club, and when you find one you pick it up, take some beauty shots, and use it on some targets.
extra points if the "weapon" breaks while trying it on some targets :P
A calvary saber, like the ones used in European field combat. Their usual two handed, one handed also works.
Your style of documentary mixed with the practical build is incredibly engrossing. This channel keeps evolving in the best ways.
Thank you very much! We wanted to bring something more to the table then just showing the simple build that a nunchuck is.
@@ThatWorks Bulat (danascus) katana old Issin (Sekiro) like?
Um..No.
The whole 'idea' is based around 'battlefield'.
Question. Was every weapon used on the 'battlefield'?
Answer. No.
Flawed premise. Flawed execution.
Great video! I tend to agree that nunchucks make an unlikely weapon for a trained military class. Maybe it was shortened for concealment as Matt says at one point, and it was used as an illegal improvised weapon. A question though: are these the actual nunchucks used in the movie? That would be way cool!
Agreed. I thoroughly enjoyed both aspects of this style. Great build.
Shad is going to have an aneurysm lol
I got recommended of that video lol after watching this
Came to the comments just too look for a shad comment lmao
I mean they were right about it probably not being a battlefield weapon and just being picked up by dojos to draw in customers. That last comment about it being an effective weapon was the big issue.
Why would you want nunchucks? YOU HAVE STICK!!
Id be happy to talk with him about it. I see both sides of the issue.
Can I just point out that watching Illya engrave metal is incredible! He never looks at his hammer and chisel, but he also never misses, even when he's changing the angle or position. Truly a master, especially when you see the outcome. Matt, you're a bad ass, don't get me wrong, but this fookin guy ova heeeuh!!!
You adjust your hammer angle at same time. Takes a lot of practice and still learning it all. Engraving is fun though.
He's been doing that for years, of course he's good!
My Shisho always treated the Nunchuck as nothing more than a training aid to help you hone your reflexes and body control.
Until you learn to control them you certainly do take some knocks.
And when you finally do learn to control them, you will be almost half as effective as if you didn't cut your big stick in half and tie the halves together. As a practical weapon they don't make any sense
@@coopercummings8370they do only as what they always were, Concealed personal self-defence tool
@@coopercummings8370 I don't think so, i definitely prefer fighting with A kungfu master over someone That has mastered Nunchucks.
@@neunzehnvierundachtzig yeah, but what about the guy who has a big stick twice the length of the nunchucks and spend two years training at beating people with a big stick?
@@coopercummings8370 What about source of that "opinion" being known scammer and neo-nazi with irrational hatred towards everything Asian?
I love this. Doing the build, while talking about history of what you're building is amazing.
I have spent an insane amount of time researching the history of martial arts in east Asia, and the Japanese weapons particularly. Ilya's point where he compared it to making a club out of a rubber tube and filling it with lead is the closest to what is most likely.
They were a concealable weapon that folded so they could be hidden. The problem with a walking stick or staff is that people still knew you had it, even if it wasn't obviously a weapon. So there was still a benefit to hiding the weapon altogether.
There is a similar weapon that came about during the same period in The Philipines called Tabok Toyak, and we have evidence that it was used by criminals, gangs, and the like to be a weapon that was easy to hide, yet still had the same reach as the more common Arnis sticks and shortswords that were also in use during that time.
My hypothesis, and I want to make this clear that this is my hypothesis and it's unproven at this point, is that the nunchaku were also invented around the same time and for the same purpose. Part of my supporting evidence for this is, firstly, that it's the same time period. Either the idea made its way from one place to the other (China also has similar flail weapons from this period), or they were independently invented in both places. This would not be the first or only time in history that something was independently invented in multiple places at the same relative time.
Secondly, because of the lack of evidence of their existence or use among the elite class and military, who are notorious for keeping good records, the nunchaku were certainly not a military fighting weapon. But that doesn't mean that they were not used as self-defense weapons. Though if my hypothesis is correct, they were also probably used by muggers and gangs to attack people.
You, sir; most eloquently stated what my crayon eating behind would never be able to. Major kudos on the amount of research and (I'm sure) ridiculous time involved therein.
This has always been my thought. Like a black jack, it's something you can hide on your person, and if weighted for harm, use to hit someone quickly and surreptitiously. With the added benefit of maybe being able to entangle an enemy's weapon to disarm or disable them. It's a street weapon, likely not a main weapon, probably used to get around other weapons and strike first and fast, and then hide it quick. (European flails are said to have been possibly more used as policing weapons than battlefield ones, used to get around shields or guards and strike the head, usually with a larger handle and a shorter chain.)
Like many street weapons, it likely became popular and flashy and entered the culture and became a martial arts weapon as a form of display and skill. (I've heard from a number of people who are supposedly trained in this, who say they are from China or other Asian countries, and claim this is the case and that often the actual usage is much less flashy than the training methods. However, their claims cannot be backed up and thus are of dubious quality.)
People knowing you have a walking stick or staff isn't a disadvantage in a self defense circumstance though (as long as it is legal to carry one). If the goal is to defend yourself from muggers, you are better off carrying a weapon they know you have than one they don't, because if they see you have a staff they are going to pass you by and find someone else to mug rather than fight someone who is armed, in addition to the walking stick or staff being more effective than those concealed weapons if they attacked you anyways.
@@coopercummings8370 On the other hand, if someone has just been beaten by someone, being the guy with the stick is a bad look.
Sure, you can just toss a stick away, but if it's a good beating stick (which is the real reason you have it) then it's going to stand out unless you are in the wilderness, and if it's a cane or something, someone might have seen you with it and then not having it now. It being a concealed version of a rice flail, used for urban conflict, most likely ambush and muggings or street fights, makes the most sense to me.
this explained it so well not all weapons are war weapons when i say soldier most people think rifle not handgun modern warfare isnt won with a 9mm that doesnt mean handguns arnt weapons they just usually arnt the weapon of war
A theory my master used to teach me was in feudal Japan, there are instances where a family would be ambushed inside their household and with nothing to defend themselves with, they would use rice flails. The issue is that houses in feudal Japan had really narrow spaces, so they had to shorten their flails, hence nunchucks. Same story as to how the ninjato came to be. Since the narrow space is not ideal for most forms used for a katana, a shorter, stabbing type sword wad made for it specifically.
I had a whole section in this video on close quarters combat, but had to cut it for time. Perhaps a long form podast style video should follow.
@@ThatWorks I would love something like that...alot of good points to be made
@@ThatWorks a podcast from you guys would be FUCKIINIG AWESOME
What gets me is if you're being ambushed in your household and you needed a weapon to defend yourself wouldn't a knife be more of a go to then an altered farm implement? Presuming the peasant class can't use or own 'weapons' like swords/ polearms/ maces and the like a kitchen knife or up club would be a more logical option to turn to?
I find it unlikely a club would be forbidden in terms of a weapon for farmers to own and have but if that were the case a knife would be far more effective.
If the farmer class aren't allowed to carry weapons and need to carry something to defend themselves an altered farm implement is a weapon so I'd think just carrying a knife, concealed or not would be more sensible?
@@ThatWorksadd me to the list of people who would like longer podcast style episodes
Seeing someone using these “weird weapons” with great proficiency can be an extremely great source of intimidation.
I have a theory that nunchaku were situational improvised weapons carried by local night patrols/guardsmen as noisemakers.
Before streetlights, a local Japanese night patrol would walk with a noisemaker and lantern so people could safely commute back home.
Even now people carry string wooden sticks to fireworks festivals to cheer and celebrate.
It was probably a really obscure and situational improvised weapon and didn't even have a Okinawan kata like the other Kobudo weapons. Kind of like how designing a kata and wielding a Maglite flashlight or a brass handbell primarily as a weapon seems really silly to us.
This is highly logical
It would be great to have a video explaining how to assess the quality of a blade and what to look for when buying a sword for all the rookie collectors out there, great content as always!
Ilya’ attention to detail is that of a true master! Thanks for the amazing video
I never comment on videos but I can only think of 2 reasons historically this weapon would come up. 1. A rice worker or farmer has a few broken rice flails in his home and a robber or something comes into his home and he grabs one to defend his home. Or 2. A mugger who has no money needs a weapon and their are probably broken rice flails everywhere and uses it as a weapon for that. I could be completely wrong but I loved the video and loved the parts where he was making one as they were talking. Masterpiece guys. Keep up the good work.
The mixture of the documentary narration with the built was definitely great.
Lovely video! A couple of comments from a practitioner of Ryukyu Kobudo, particularly on origin as we are taught, and some you did mention:
- We use nunchakus, we have katas and styles. Most are done with a single nunchaku; there are some styles that do 2 nunchakus, one per hand. The standard nunchaku has a rope and not a chain.
- The weapons we use were mainly the weapons of the noblemen and the "police" of the time: bo, nunchaku, tonfa, sai. There is also the kama and the ekubo (an oar). There are katas and bunkai (application) for all of them. None of these are thought as battlefield weapons, although arguably some bo techniques can be used with spears.
- As you said, training became more massive when Japan conquered the kingdom of Ryukyu and it became the province of Okinawa, prohibiting the use of standard weapons (swords, spears) to the local population. The Okinawan royalty was relegated to commoners.
I love watching the workmanship going into those huge, clumsy, ungainly, monster chucks.
Although those are far too big and clumsy to actually use for anything, they are for sure a beautiful piece of art.
If you go and watch the after show podcast on That Works Too it might make more sense
I don't think I've ever heard anyone suggest that nunchaku were actively used as a battlefield weapon, other than maybe as a last resort. Most of the things I've come across indicate use more as a street type weapon and as something concealed.
If you're not doing flashy stuff they're easy to use, and if used for sucker-punch type attacks they're decently effective (think a lead-filled sap). Where they become problematic is when you start trying to do all the flashy stuff.
My suspicion is that they've been used for a long time as a basic, easily concealable weapon that's used essentially like a lub with extra reach, or a short, heavy whip, and the martial arts aspects came along much later once martial arts took on an artistic rather than combat training aspect.
I have a couple thoughts and notes I would like to add to this discussion. 1. I do agree that this was probably not a normal weapon on the battlefield. 2. It is possible that they were secondary weapons for peasants to have in their waistbands if opponents got too close. Ilya points out that you would lose your range as a weapon, but the point of most martial arts, especially asian ones, was for up close hand to hand combat. So it is most likely that it was like a replacement for a dagger for poorer people if it was ever used in a battlefield. Could have been a rare instances where only a few had them and never really used them. 3. Ilya mentioned how most paintings and illustrations show people with sticks; the problem is that if you get pushed in a tight alley or room, the stick becomes harder to use. Nunchucks are very easy to use in a tight space. As for evidence of using shorter weapons, watch Wing Chun the movie about the founder of the martial are Wing Chun. It emphasizes the use of shorter weapons for up close. The heroine fights a gang leader who has a Glaive by using two short swords, almost like daggers. She forces him into a building where he can’t be swinging his glaive around as easily but she has full range to attack still. So the nunchucks would still be better, outside of concealing, for up close fights. 4. I personally would categorize this weapon as a flail, it’s a short one, it uses the same principles as other flails. 5. Ilya said it wouldn’t be practical for fighting with your comrades around; I agree in that it would be very difficult. I can see advantages with able to use the rope or chain to wrap around weapons or arms and trap it. I also think the damage from nunchucks would be substantial against no armored opponents, other peasants. They can break bones very easily, maiming and can stop them from able to walk. My conclusion: probably not a weapon for war but a weapon for street fights. Cities had lots of gangs or criminals attacking. Also had “cowboy” like martial artists who would challenge criminals or each other, such as Bruce Lee or samurai’s
Ilya in the yellow jumpsuit is priceless!
You guys have come so far over the last few years!
Always super impressed!
Battlefield use aside, my opinion of the nunchuku is that it is a knife defense tool.
Nunchuku take up about the same amount of space as a large knife when carried, and provide more range which allows the wielder to attack the opponent's weapon hand or other common striking points for blunt weapons.
What a great video! I've been following you two since Man At Arms, and I was super stoked to see Ilya on Forged in Fire. This format is a great fit for you guys - keep it up!
In fact, in warfare, this type of nuchanku is not used. It is used mainly for self-defense. In combat, people use "Thiết Lĩnh," a weapon that is similar to this one, but consists of two solid wooden bars, one long and one short. The two bars of Thiết Lĩnh are connected by a sturdy cord, usually made of hair to prevent it from breaking. There is an iron ring at the joint of the two bars of Thiết Lĩnh. In Vietnamese history, this weapon was used effectively against the Mongol Empire, not Japan.
They don't make sense for self defense either. If you don't want to get mugged, carry a staff or walking stick, it is more effective as a weapon, and the muggers can see it, so they are much more likely to find someone else than start a fight with someone they know is armed. Muggers might want a concealable weapon, but it isn't a great self defense tool.
@@coopercummings8370 this weapon developed from the farming tools of rice farmers. Normally it was just a farming tool that could be used in combat if needed, especially effective when dealing with weapons such as swords or light shields. Later on, it was applied in martial arts and promoted by Chinese actors in movies. However, in reality, it is very difficult for beginners to use and can easily injure themselves.
@@coopercummings8370 Eg: ua-cam.com/video/a83lcyS-U2A/v-deo.html
@@tienthanhnguyen8948 The problem is the farming implement has one long handle and one short stick connected together by some flexible connection like a rope or chain. This makes it dramatically more effective as a fighting weapon than the nunchucks, it is far, far easier to avoid harming yourself, you just need to hold it at the end of the handle and the free-swinging part won't be able to reach you in most circumstances, and it is far more effective as a weapon, because the extra reach is a huge advantage and allows it to strike with much more force.
@@coopercummings8370 yes so that i believe that it did not used on the real battle the real one " thiết lĩnh " realy effective and easy-to-use .
As a kid I constructed these out of the cardboard tube from a strut hanger. Snap the tube in half over your knee poke a hole in them at the top with a pen. Use a length of thin present ribbon for the chain and voila! You have a pair of cardboard nunchaku.
Indeed
Can be effective using the chain to block and for chokes. Hard targets likes bridge of nose, shins, wrists.. If you apply full body movement for good distancing, going 45 degrees off center back WHILE striking an incoming wrist.. Definitely a weapon to be used against muggers IMO.
A very cool video, love the amount of research and theorycrafting you guys put in this!
These are one pair of beautiful nunchucks.
I like the format of telling history over the forging. The flow is good and we don’t miss out or have a pause in the crafting.
Dude, I recently started watching your videos after stumbling upon them one night and I gotta say that I truly respect your craftsmanship. I really appreciate the attention to detail that you put into your work, and seeing the process of creating the art that you create. One day I’d really like to get into this type of artistry (for now I’m just trying to get my welding career started) because your art is truly inspiring. Keep doing what you do man, much love.
Always appreciate the work from Ilya ... always hammering the steel vs using a hydraulic press ... definitely watching a master craftsmen at work
Been watching you guys since your man at arms days and you inspired me to get into forging. I now forge miniture weapons which is very therapeutic and it makes me money. Thanks for the inspiration guys, never stop making videos. Much love from South Africa.
First time ever I hear the suggestion of it being a battlefield weapon. I must admit that I did knock myself out as a teenager with a set of those.
Most people don't realize the amount of skill and physical labor that went into everything you needed to live in those times and up until recent times
Killing it like always !!
Excellent explanation regarding the dilema of the origin of the nunchaku also that set of nunchucks look really cool specially the engravings on the metal sections that hold the chain 😎🤙
"To defeat a moron with a stick"
Delivery of that line was perfect.
But don't ever underestimate a moron with a stick.
twas a cool scene for sure. cool video here, as always guys. good job. oss
Great video as always. I really like and appreciate your work and in depth dedication to the topic.
I would really love to see you make a carnyx (that weird looking celtic horn of some kind)
Keep up the great work guys!!
I studied Shao Lin karate in the 60s and 70s as a teen and young adult.
We trained on Sai and the nunchaku stick and both are very dangerous for the opponent as well as the one wielding them.
Bo and tonfa were my weapons of choice and at 70 years old I can do quite a bit of damage with either.
Very nice. Thank you!
beautiful work
Very interesting format, of not just the typical weapon build, but also the historical analysis and modern mythos.
Another great episode . . . one of the best f,ing channels by far.
Thank you very much!
Loved the nunchuck scene in John Wick 4! Was John Wick style rather than a Bruce Lee imitation like a lot of films do if using this weapon!
Forging the chain was really neat to see.
For the next build it would be cool to see a Polish Koncerz.
these nunchaku are so awesome,i love them
Thoughtfully made. Well done! 👊🏻🇺🇸
Thank you Rob!
Very interesting.
My sensei once said: originally there are no Kata for Kobujutsu weapons, there was only one exception: the Kun (okinawan for Bo). The Kun was the only martial arts weapon to have Kata. All others did not have. Kata for Sai, Nunchaku, Rochin & Tinbe, etc are inventions of the 20th century.
Also he said he highly doubts that peasants like farmers would have been able to develope and practise any kind of martial art. They were busy tilling the fields so they could pay their taxes and feed their family. They did neither have the time nor the knowledge to develope such elaborate things like a martial art. Just as Ilya said: highly unlikely.
The story given to me by my sensei was very similar and aligns with a weapon of the peasantry, a daily tool adapted for defense rather than an offensive mainstream weapon. The story diverged where it was a daily household tool used to beat the dirt out of rugs. Common or not I dont know. But it's always interesting to hear deeper dives into the martial arts. As you explained the peasantry was prohibited traditional weaponry and couldnt afford them. Awesome!🤝
As a student of Goju Ryu, I was taught nunchaku was a peasant farm tool. Peasants in Okinawa were not allowed to have weapons. Daily use in the fields constituted the “training”. It was not a military weapon.
Loved watching the build and the reference to the reptiles that we all love. Suggestion for a future build is the Rumpelstiltskin dagger from once upon a time.
Very nice work
Yes they existed on the battlefield, it was one of the main "weapons" of the okinawan's during the sengoku and boshin war, also assuming the issue of training is a bit daft, in that time period of japan everyone had some form of training from peasants to samurai the nunchuck was created off a rice flail they where more than trained to use them as it was part of their job to know how to use a rice flail.
This is fricken awesome. We’ll done
I've always believed the nunchaku were originally used as ricing flails, the string or chain holding them together in case one was dropped so they wouldn't end up in the water or muck. In the video it shows them being used to wrap a bundle of something, interesting. As far as controlling a horse, people do use twitches wrapped around a horses lip to better handle them but usually makes them behave worse. The nunchaku do resemble a twitch. Interesting video allround.
I could see this weapon being helpful against mounted opponents for dismounting in close quarters. And, as far as I know, there is a warrior class that usually didn't fight on the battlefield but behind the enemies lines, invisible (disguised) and in need of easy to conceal weapons.
This was an excellent video, both in craftsmanship, but moreso analysis.
GUNCHUCKS! Suddenly, a certain Boxing-Gloved Luchador comes to mind.
I have trained in Okinawan Matayoshi Kobudo which included Nunchaku. Though technically I was not at the correct belt level to formally train in them, however when the higher belts were training we were permitted to train in these weapons. They are not too hard to learn basic whipping them around... but they are very hard to master and not smack yourself in the head or elsewhere( we had padded foam training ones that were not allowed to leave the dojo as per Australian laws ). Super fun once you know the basics. I also trained with a Bo, Tonfa, Sai, Kama and Tinbe-rochin (sword and shield).
OMG I LOVE THIS NUNCHAKU
nice work
It would be really interesting every time you craft a weapon to put the number of hours spent on it (and maybe the number of people that worked on it too) in the description. For people like me that don't know anything about crafting weapon or tools in general it have an understanding of the difficulty. For example I know that making a nunchuks isn't very hard but is it 4 hours hard? 10 hours hard?
A friend of mine who trained in Okinawa as a live-in student told me that nunchaku were not supposed to be used in the flashy manner, but were more like an assisted grappling tool. Lots of binding up opponents' arms, and digging the points into pressure points etc. All at very close range. I have a strong suspicion that their origins/inspirations and uses were probably multiple. Similar weapons are used in some of the older systems in China, and it would make sense that they made their way to Okinawa via cultural exchange and trade. As an unprovable theory, I wonder if they were an educational weapon designed to teach people that even a broken spear shaft (or similar) could be used as an improvised weapon. A lot of the older bushido ryuha have strange "weapons" that look like wooden cart wheels attached to axels, logs etc. I very much doubt that anyone ever deliberately walked into battle carrying one of those things, but if you had been taught to be open-minded about what constituted a weapon, and had some experience moving such weird objects around offensively, then you stood more of a chance if you found yourself cornered and without a proper weapon.
after trashing the weapon for 20 minutes straight, I've never been less excited about the end result of one of these builds till now.
There is an old chinese battlefield martial art called bajiquan which does use erjiegun metal capped ends longer chain than nunchaku. On the battlefield individuals needed only to get their opponent on the ground and spears would mop them up. Thats at least true in china.
Re: Origins of nunchucks:
What I learned, it came from when Okinawa was the Ryukyu kingdom. At some point during the latter part of being a tributary to the Ming Chinese, it started certain military cutbacks. If I recall correctly, the Chinese were unable to send any kind of military support to the kingdom at the time (probably fighting its own wars on the mainland), which asked for assistance when the Japanese eventually started making moves. Anyway, some time between the the domestic military reduction and Japanese takeover, nunchucks were developed and formalized as a self defense weapon for commoners due to a variety of bans in place.
I don't remember if the bans were a result of Ryukyu's policies or Japan, post invasion, but they both had restrictive policies. If it's the former, then it's possible they were used on the battlefield in the short span during the Japanese conquest as commoners would likely have been levied to make up the rank and file of the army, but that's just speculation.
15:25 : I don't think it's a 0 or 1 here because people can teach others the fine points of usage and begin codifying it into a system. Also, in the case of Okinawa/Ryukyu, they've had a fairly long standing tradition of formalized martial forms.
Good video guys 👊🏻
I love the opening about “Bruce Lee” and with the prolific amount of video available…. He uses some random guy in a yellow jumpsuit as “Bruce Lee”
To the point of training… a few minutes here and there can build proficiency… it also builds muscle mass in forearms and wrist strength… adding to dexterity for hand striking and blocking… to the point of bouncing back when striking is mostly a matter of short chain and lack of experience.
I Have Studied Various Martial Arts for Over 40 Years ,and after Seeing Master Lee Use them I Had to Have and Learn them , I am Self Taught , There is a Long and Painful Learning Curve ,But Once You Get the Physics and Muscle Memory Down , They are Very Effective ,In a Fight Again Multiple Attackers , a Knife , Battle Stick or Cane , Attack , and Concealable!
And there Are Versions With No Metal that Will Pass Through Metal Detectors and that is a Big Deal!
Good job man 👏👏👏
Assassin weapon. They generally come in a blister pack labeled "Ninja Warrior", with wrist dart gun and rubber throwing stars.😂
One area you never talked about but it has been a common way of thinking about the Nunchuck is with monks. This I think holds the best ground as plausible because as you said the Nunchuck is less effective at maiming or fatally wounding someone which most monks are considered to be pacifists in nature. They would not want to mortally wound anyone and just defend themselves. They also have years that they could easily spend learning to use it which you also said was needed to use them. I'd say in a proper battlefield or more military style martial arts usage were likely never a thing. However in a more pacifist style of martial arts which would be common among monks in China and Japan I could see them using it as a means of non-lethal self defense. Much like mace or pepper spray is used today.
I think the expectation here is that if the monks did do this, there would be evidence of martial arts using the nunchaku earlier on. Per google the first known kata for nunchaku was developed in the 1960s. If Japanese monks, warrior monks or otherwise, were defending themselves with this tool they likely would have developed kata and ritualized practices. It is possible it went undocumented, but that seems weird considering how much documentation we have of other fighting styles and techniques from Japan's history.
When I so John wick do nunchuck I was surprised during that fight scene don’t know how long that was but it really glued my eyes. Watching how’ he do it because it’s not easy ,
My eyes and jaw drop hehehe
Didn’t realize the part 4 Included a nunchuck fight scene… wow
Good job Keanu bravo!
By the way I’m also a nunchuck practitioner ❤
Honestly I feel like people overstimate how difficult Nunchucks are. I don't know how it fare against baseball bat and other weapons nor it's true origin, but not hitting yourself is super easy part at least and people who call it dangerous probably never tried it themselves.
Also even ACTUAL slaves had enough time to train in martial arts (Capoeira is famous in that regard) and while notions that peasants had actually more free time then current us is almost certainly bs, saying there was none is equally bad.
Great video. No clue if the history is there but I do know several Okinawan style martial arts feature Nunchucks as part of their 'traditional" weapons forms Chitō-ryū Karate & Yoshukai Karate for example.
Shorin-ryu Karate also had Nunchucks so it's possible that they originated in China and then made their way to Japan and Okinawa although they could have developed independently based on certain rice flails farmers used in each area.
This video made me get up and go to the nearest cinema to watch John Wick 4 without even finishing the video
Now I'm back and finished it
It was funny that from Japan. The weapon was in the military category book in Song Dynasty, China. And it was much earlier before Mongolian invading
Damn, those chains look heavy but cool 🫵👹👍
Def a bit heavy duty
I love history mixed with your awesome builds! I've never been a fan of nunchaku, mostly because I sucked at them. Lol But that said it's interesting to think about. I think the sai have a similar dilemma as nunchaku. The weapon as we know it is likely very evolved from what it was originally and a fancy martial art was formed around it.
This is a cool format. Congrats on the sponsorship
we're not even sure if chain flails were used in battles in Europe. I think they too were only developed to look cool for example in tournaments.
I like the combination of Documentary and build. That is a lovely pair of chucks too.
I've had self-defense classes, and flexible weapons where pointed out as a vary difficult class of weapon to master for what you get out of them. Modern expanding batons exist, and those are plenty capable of cracking a skull. However, *Learning* a flexible weapon (Nunchucks, 3-section-staff, poi/rope-dart, meteor hammer, etc) was good for the hand-eye coordination of any student of said instructor that chose to learn one. if you can use a flexible stick to beat someone's ass, you're going to have that much easier of a time with a not-so-flexible stick.
The closest thing to a modern nunchuck is probably the Billard-ball and paracord Monkey's paw, and I understand those to be fairly effective.
I've always viewed the Nunchaku as a personal defence weapon not a battle ready weapon, I teach Kobudo (traditional weapons) and tell my students that while the katas look cool the practicality of the weapon is entirely situational..... wanna keep some assholes at a distance? have something that can swing hard and fast if they get too close! lose your main weapon due to breakage or lost grip? a handy back up that allows some distance as well as trapping and potential to disarm your opponent is there too and they aren't a cumbersome back up to have on you either. I love teaching and using them cause you know.... cool factor but practicality is a different matter.
Nunchaku are a weapon from the Ryukyu kingdom, which was annexed by Japan. They, as most non-sword weapons did, started as a farming implement. They're really good at threshing rice.
Yea, we went over that theory.
I feel like one thing that would have been nice to touch on in this video are potential scenarios in which a self defense or espionage weapon would need to be more concealed than a walking stick as well as non lethal... it really feels like a narrow band of scenarios, and as you said it take a lot more training to accomplish.
Nunchucks occupy the same amount of space as two daggers
The Filipino version of the "nunchuck" is called tabak-toyok, and is sometimes referred to as "chako", which would explain why the Okinawans called their version the "nunchaku" - a similar sounding name. Dan Inosanto, Bruce Lee's friend and student, introduced Bruce Lee to the tabak-toyok. The tabak-toyok is a longer-ranged melee weapon, as the chain was usually longer, and the handles shorter, in order to conceal the weapon better in Filipino street fights. To make a long story short, Escrima/Arnis/Kali was the martial arts of the Philippines. When the Spanish occupied the Philippines, they banned the martial arts, and outlawed bladed weapons carried by the Filipinos. Thus, the focus went from swords, to sticks and knives. Sticks, since it wasn't a bladed weapon, and knives since they could be more easily concealed (like the tabak-toyok). One of the main tactics for Escrima/Arnis/Kali, is to target the closest part of the enemy (which Bruce Lee utilized in JKD), and that's the enemy's hand, or their knee (with the preference for the hand, especially if it's holding a weapon). The tabak-toyok would come into play as a long-ranged melee weapon to aim for such targets, where the key wasn't for power-strikes, but precision ones. Also, with a longer chain, the tabak-toyok could be wielded much like two normal (albeit short) sticks, and not just swung (unlike the Okinawan "nunchucks").
You forgot to mention that Karate and Kobudo use the Nunchaku as a training tool, to develop coordination, balance, flow and control. All these qualities are necessary to use the nunchaku without injuring oneself. They all translate to the empty hand and also the use of other weapons like the staff or sword, or other training tools like the bokuto.
I wouldn't think a nun-chuck would be a battlefield weapon. If you're going to a battle-battle you would use different weapons even if you were a commoner. A shorter nun-chuck would be more as a personal defense weapon to keep on your person and concealed as you said (in the case of not being allowed to own weapon at all). Getting attacked in cities and on the road im sure was common and this would be needed. None of this to say it wasn't a weapon, just it probably wasn't used in wide scale battles. At most for personal defense and probably mostly just as a martial artform, which isn't always about fighting but as an art.
Keanu is just built differently. Trains like a machine, runs a course like a devil is on his ass, and remains polite and humble.
I was taught that in feudal Japan commoners could not carry weapons and farmers were attacked many times by horsemen. Nunchaku were used to flail the grain and break a horses leg.
If you neglect the fancy/flashing handling, it’s basically a wooden and/or metal mace. It will crack skulls and break bones.
There is a third reason for shortening a weapon...close quarters combat...using in a confined space, hence why there are instances where a knife is a better choice than a sword, or an escrima stick better than a Bo staff. You had mentioned the Rice flail with the long and short ends. In China, that item was used as a weapon, there are still those that teach it as part various systems of Kung Fu.
Also there is an origin for the Nunchaku that you didn't mention, again myth, legend, or fact who knows but it goes something like this. In Chine there is a weapon known as a 3-section staff, which is basically three sticks, just over two feet in length (usually about 26 inches) joined by a chain. The legend is that in a fight, someone using one of these had the center stick either broken, or cut with an edged weapon, and began using them together. Over time they discovered that making the sticks of equal length worked better for adapting the already existing techniques with the 3 section staff to the new 2 section weapon. Again, I don't know if this is any more plausible than the other ideas for origins (personally I have always favored the Okinawan rice flail origin story) but it would explain how the skill of using it could have been learned, being adapted from the similar 3 section weapon, and even in Japan today there is a weapon known as San-Setsu-Kan, which is a 3-section nubchaku, with the sections being the usual length of a regular nunchaku.
If it DID exist historically, it was probably a fairly rare novelty, owned for the cool/quirky value BACK THEN, just like in the modern era.
Even as a concealed self-defence weapon, for one-on-one fights, there are a billion more practical options (like a knife).
But no way it was ever a common (or even UNcommon) battlefield weapon. I don't think I ever heard anyone SUGGEST it was a battlefield weapon, before this video.
When I look at the nunchuck the weapon it most reminds me of is not a stick, but a whip. It is solid in parts like a long stick, but the motion you use to generate the most force is most similar to a whip, because you engage the wrist more. I suppose the other similarity between them is that they both work at a specific range and don't do much outside of that range. So maybe they're meant to be used with a specific style of movement that has the user close distance, strike, and then quickly back off?
so good
Nunchucks are a great weapon to use against someone who doesn't have a weapon themselves. That's it's true niche and where it shines.
It's a weapon of a shinobi. Shinobi used common farm tools and modified them to be more dangerous while maintaining the tool aspect. Another famous shinobi weapon the Kunai hails from a dirt digging tool
Found you guys again! 🔥🤙😁
I have a pair that use rope instead of chain and was told the Ninjas used the rope because it was silent. They are really sharp octagon that gets larger at the ends. Solid hard wood with sharp corners to crack bones and a silent lightweight rope make these pretty sweet. The chain looks cool though.
the nunchucks have three biggest downfalls, an untrained person can't pick them up and figure out basics of using them, they can't drive the force in them into the opponent's body and they have no real defensive utility
these features alone wouldn't be that problematic for a weapon, because neither knives nor firearms have real defensive utility, but knives are small and concealable, and firearms are ranged weapons
firearms also can't drive the force of their projectile into an opponent, but it has so much momentum that it isn't an issue, so while they share two downfalls, one is mitigated by sheer momentum of projectile, and other is mitigated by range advantage which, in right conditions, can be massive