The Origin of Nunchaku

[Jock Armstrong]

Boobed again- the Taborites were Czech, not Hungarian. If you are interested Prince, punch Jan Zizka into your google search. You'll get a lot of hits come up. Start with the "readers companion to mil history". There are a shedload of hits for Zizka, the taborite general.

[Prince Loeffler]

Boobed again- the Taborites were Czech, not Hungarian. If you are interested Prince, punch Jan Zizka into your google search. You'll get a lot of hits come up. Start with the "readers companion to mil history". There are a shedload of hits for Zizka, the taborite general.

Thanks Mr. Armstrong for the info. I really want to know a lot more than you could imagine on the origin of the flail.

[Prince Loeffler]

While googling I came across these:

One is a horse flail of unknown origin and the other is an egyptian flail.

[Jock Armstrong]

The top one is, I believe, an Okinawan horsehair bit. [cringes into corner to avoid flogging...]

[Prince Loeffler]

The top one is, I believe, an Okinawan horsehair bit. [cringes into corner to avoid flogging...]

Mr Armstrong...

[Prince Loeffler]

I seached thru the WORLD wide web in hope to get the answer. I just reliazed how futile as most websites do not have definitive and realiable sources.

Then it hits me ! I may have asked the wrong question. So I'll back up a little bit and asked: What was the first earliest known records of ( Insert country of origin) warriors that used the flail ( Nunchaku) as primary weapon in battle and in training ?

Mr. Kemlo and Mr. Armstrong has provided me a great lead, but still cannot find the difinite source. I'll keep trying. No I am not becoming obsesive with this little piece. Its like trying to find the title of the song you like but don't know where or who recorded it.

[ScottUK]

I say China ('cos this website does...):

http://www.rkagb.com/weapons/_nunchaku.htm

[Prince Loeffler]

I say China ('cos this website does...):

http://www.rkagb.com/weapons/_nunchaku.htm

well we know the Chinese started a lot of stuff.... But seriously, is there a records that indicated the emergence of the flail as batlle weapons.

[TimJurgens]

First there is not much rice grown in Okinawa. The local crop is Uji in the local language, Satokibi in Japanese, and Sugar Cane in English. That combined with sweet potatoes, or Beniimo, mangos, goya, and some cirtus fruits cover most of the crops. Rice is less significant in the local cooking than it is in mainland. That means that a "rice flail" is most likely not an origin to the nunchaku.

In fact I have never seen rice flailed anywhere but then I am not a rice farmer.

As for weapons many people presume that all of the tools came to be weaponized in Okinawa. The Sai was not. It came from China as a weapon or so I have been told by my teachers. The nunchaku however at least seems to have been turned into a weapon independently in Okinawa. That of course does not mean it did so first or only in Okinawa. Here is some info on weapons that we have posted on our site. http://ryukyu-kobudo.com/buki/buki.htm

[JasonW]

>In fact I have never seen rice flailed anywhere but then I am not a rice farmer.

Good point. I believe the Japanese used a threshing machine called a "senbakoki", http://www.ina-ngn.ed.jp/%7Enewyama/.../senbakoki.JPG

where bundles of rice stalks were dragged through the teeth, breaking off the husks from the stem.

Perhaps on Okinawa they did it differently.

Chinese martial arts have a weapon called a 3 sectional staff (like a nunckaku but with three handles), my feeling is that nunchaku was originally a Chinese weapon that made it's way to Okinawa, and was used firstly as a weapon, then when Japanese authorities questioned an Okinawan about "that thing" they would say, "Oh this? Its um, a rice-flail sir..." in order to save their head from being lopped off...

cheers,

Jason Wotherspoon

[Prince Loeffler]

Chinese martial arts have a weapon called a 3 sectional staff (like a nunckaku but with three handles), my feeling is that nunchaku was originally a Chinese weapon that made it's way to Okinawa, and was used firstly as a weapon, then when Japanese authorities questioned an Okinawan about "that thing" they would say, "Oh this? Its um, a rice-flail sir..." in order to save their head from being lopped off...

cheers,

Jason Wotherspoon

Jason, now this is an interesting theory. I mean there are some truth to this statement. after all the Okinawans were forbidden to carry weapons. I just wish we could find some source that can validate this theory. But its an interesting theory nonetheless. Thanks for sharing that link too by the way !

[Brian Owens]

...Chinese martial arts have a weapon called a 3 sectional staff (like a nunckaku but with three handles)...

Yes, and there is also a three-sectioned nunchaku, as well as one with one long and one short section.

...my feeling is that nunchaku was originally a Chinese weapon that made it's way to Okinawa, and was used firstly as a weapon, then when Japanese authorities questioned an Okinawan about "that thing" they would say, "Oh this? Its um, a rice-flail sir..." in order to save their head from being lopped off...

Intriguing thought. And very plausible.

In the film Budo the narrator says it was originally a device for "pounding beans." That seems even more arcane than flailing rice, but then...I've never pounded beans. (With apologies to JasonW.)

[Brian Owens]

...How did the Okinawan get all the credit?

Popularized in Japan, Europe, and America in recent times by karate teachers incorporating it (and other Ryukyu weapons) into their curricula.

If Chinese or Egyptian arts had been more popular in the '60s and '70s, we might have had a different view.

[RobertRousselot]

Jason, now this is an interesting theory. I mean there are some truth to this statement. after all the Okinawans were forbidden to carry weapons. I just wish we could find some source that can validate this theory. But its an interesting theory nonetheless. Thanks for sharing that link too by the way !

Actually only certain kinds of weapons.....bladed ones specifically.

[RobertRousselot]

The horse thingy/"numchucks" has been used as a bridal/bit in Okinawa. Therefore I would think it could have been of "pure" Okinawan invention since Japan and China used different types of bridals/bits.

The flail thingy I have seen in actual use while traveling in the boondocks of China. I have never seen one with 2 short handles, only 1 long and 1 short.