If you are a person who never heard of Nunchucks and have literally no idea of what they are, then you must be confused to see this rod like thing - well, that’s what you will call them if you don’t know about them. Nunchucks are actually two sticks connected to each other with a metal chain. They were originated in feudal Japan and are used extensively in martial arts. Let us have a look at the history and origins of Nunchucks.


History of Nunchucks

Nunchucks, as we all know, is a very renowned and popular Japanese artifact. But when we trace its history and origins, we get to know that Nunchucks were actually originated in China and were used as a farming tool. However, back then it was constructed of two wheat like sticks instead of wood and metal. Later, they became famous all over the world and people from Korea, Japan and Russia started using them as well. 

Are you wondering that how did the Nunchucks turn into a weapon from an agricultural tool? Well, the story is pretty interesting. The tale goes back to the time when a Mongolian emperor took over Jiu Hong Jun, who was the first emperor of the Chinese Sung dynasty. Jiu Hong Jun was then forced to leave his estate and him along with his army took refuge in a nearby village. 

As he was the emperor, so the villagers took great care of Jiu Hong Jun and his army. The emperor then asked his soldiers to help the villagers in their everyday tasks. The tasks of these villagers were mostly related to farming and the soldiers started helping the villagers to grow rice, wheat etc. 

Jiu Hong Jun, daily visited his soldiers to check on their work and that is how one day his eyes fell upon the agricultural tool the villagers used. It was made up of two hay sticks which were connected to each other with horse hair. It clicked his mind that he could use a weapon like this tool to take down his opponent. He borrowed one of them and started his work to develop the weapon. 

Soon, he had it made and even came up with tricks and techniques to use the weapon in a fight. He then trained his army and they fought with this weapon, known as dai-so-dji at that time, to take down the Mongolian army. Mongolian army was defeated and Jiu Hong Jun got his land back. Later, some changes were made in the weapon and new tricks were developed to use it. It is also said that those techniques and tricks are similar to the current usage of Nunchucks. 

Well, that was history but in a modern era, Nunchucks are also known as karate sticks and chuka sticks. They are used widely in karate. Wooden Nunchucks is the most common type of Nunchucks as they are safe to use and many people use them for training purposes. However, metal Nunchucks and foam Nunchucks are also available. Practicing with Nunchucks is not only fun but is also good for your health and physical fitness too. It improves your concentration and overall fitness level and helps you channel your body’s energy properly. 

Nunchucks are bound to inspire all martial arts lovers and fans of Bruce Lee. And do you want to learn those amazing and fantastic moves of Bruce Lee? Well, let us get started with that. 

Nunchaku Tricks and Techniques

1- The Blocking Technique

Blocking is one of the basic things which you should learn if you choose to fight with Nunchucks. Actually, blocking is the essence of every fight and combat. You should know how to block your opponent’s attack as much as you should know how to attack. This helps you to avoid injuries and keep your body strength. So, if you choose to fight with Nunchucks, then there are different blocking techniques which you can adapt. Let us have a detailed look at each one of them.

    • The Overhead Block 

The overhead block saves your head and face from attacks. And that is why the overhead block is also known as a high block. This one is pretty simple to pull off as all you have to do is place the Nunchucks above your head which will block the attacks aimed for your head. 

    • The Rear Block

The Rear block is similar to the overhead block but the only difference between both of them is that a rear block blocks the attacks aimed for your lower body whereas an overhead block blocks the attacks aimed for your upper body. 

    • The Side Block

This one is pretty simple too and this block saves your body from the attacks that are aimed for the sides of your body. For this one, place your hand holding the Nunchaku on the side of your body and it’s done. 

2- Striking

Striking is as important as blocking. You need to protect yourself from your opponent’s attacks but you also need to strike back too in order to take him/her down. When it comes to Nunchucks, there are four types of striking techniques which you can practice. 

    • The Horizontal Strike

In a horizontal strike, you have to strike your opponent by striking it in a sideways manner across the body of your opponent. 

    • The Vertical Strike

In a vertical strike, you have to strike your opponent by bringing the Nunchucks vertically down over him/her. This is the reason that the vertical strike mostly causes head injuries and is lethal too. 

    • The Vertical Up Strike

The Vertical Up Strike is similar to the vertical down strike but in this case, you strike the Nunchucks in the upward direction. You can easily attack your opponent’s face with this technique. 

    • The Diagonal Strike

In the diagonal strike, you can strike in any direction you want as far as you are striking diagonally. 

3- Hand Roll

The Hand Roll technique is a bit complex than the above two techniques which we discussed, as they were quite basic and this one requires more practice and skill to pull off. At first, hold one end of the Nunchaku in your hand and then flip it over. Consequently, the chain of the Nunchaku will go across your hand. Now, let go of one side of the Nunchaku and get hold of the other end to flip it. And if you want to take it back to the initial position then you can reverse the hand roll technique. 

4- Figure Eight

Figure Eight is another popular and widely practiced Nunchucks technique. Let us have a look at how you can perform it. The basic concept is to draw a figure eight from one end of the Nunchucks by holding the other side in your hand. The faster you go, the more confuse your opponent will get and the more momentum it will gain to hit with brute force and strength. 


Nunchucks are quite fun to play with but you should be careful when you play around with them as they are known to cause severe injuries and damage if things go awry. To be on the safe side, just practice the basic techniques properly and most preferably on foam Nunchucks or wooden Nunchucks and then move up to metal Nunchucks and try more complex techniques.