Want to see us test if nunchucks will break bones? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/kM92lcqm056VnXU.html

I was told by someone who trained with nunchucks for decades "ok, they're not bad for distracting blows and you can maybe pull of some assisted locks... but the only real practical value they have in a fight is that when someone sees you spinning nunchucks around like a master (which is WAY easier than people think) they simply don't want to fight anymore".

Shout out to the 12 year old who recommended this

lol this got recommended after watching Shadiversity

I love how often your answers or recommendations come down to “if it’s fun, if you like it, do it.” I think people overlook the importance of enjoying what you do. Thanks for reminding us of that.

I always have that feeling when someone pulls out an unusual weapon in a fight, that either this dude is a goof who just has to be different or he has spent so much time getting good at using it that maybe it's time to run away.

I never leave the house without my chucks!

"Someone can take it away from you". That's actually one of the great benefits of it being a difficult to use weapon.. even IF someone took them off you, there is no chance they will have the faintest idea how to use them against you and will probably hurt themselves. Great vid!

I'm an old lady. The shock and confusion of my pulling out a pair of chucks might give me a split second surprise advantage...

Im a little surprised you don’t have two maglites connected by a chain

Man, I wouldn’t want to take a whack with those Foam Nunchucks

Anyone here, after Shadiversity's Nunchucks are stupid video?

I think the best part of nunchucks as a self defense weapon is the intimidation factor. That whole “why do they have nunchucks, can they use them” thought process

My uncle who used to be the black sheep of the family and ran with street gangs back in the 70s once used a nunchaku in a street fight against a Balisong wielding rival gang member. He said the first few seconds were spent circling each other nervously with him trying to keep the proper distance to maximize the nunchaku's range and stay out of knife range, after a few swings, he got lucky and hit the other guy in the hand making him drop the knife and then spent the next minute chasing the guy down the street while trying to hit him in the head with the nunchaku but only managed to hit his back and shoulder a few times before he got away. He said it was not a pretty sight like in the movies and was actually quite comical. Now in his old age, he shudders to think what would've happened had he missed the hand and the other guy managed to close the distance into knife range.

I heard Chuck Norris became Catholic, joined a convent, and started wearing a habit. They now call him Nun Chuck.

It’s funny coming and seeing this after Shad’s video on them.

Mike: I'm saying that the reasons that most people will immediately say that these are no good, are not thought out. Shad: Hold my zweihander.

michelangelo to all the haters be like. “HA TOLD YA SO”

I always had the feeling most weaponry from Asia were somehow used "to harvest rice". xD

i saw the Shadiversity videos on this so the algorhythm brought me here. I still prefer a stick though

These guys vs Shad!? The KZfaq algorithm demands it!!

NY recently lifted the ban on these because the ban violates the 2nd amendment. 🤣

How many chucks could a Nunchuck Nun? Wait..

I know I am 3 years late to the party, but I was watching a tutorial on re-stringing Nunchaku today, and this video auto played. The men in the video admittedly had no idea what they were doing but proved many of the points they were trying to debunk. I have been using Nunchaku casually for about 20 years now, and i can assure you they are much more deadly and practical than they are given credit for. I stick to very basic and effective strikes and transitions, with bone if the ineffective fancy flips. I have smashed many watermelon and gourd with them, and even an oxen skull (the oxen had been dead for many decades by this point). I have struck myself with them 3 times. First was the very first time i picked them up and swang them around absent proper training. The second was when i was stupid enough to swing them at a basket ball, within the first week of owning them. The third time came many years later. I was drunkenly showing off and broke my funny bone.

I'm just amused that I got recommended this after seeing Shadiversity completely wreck them compared to a stick. Twice.

My buddy has steel ones and he's scary with them, haha. He trained and practiced alot. You put the time in and you can do real damage especially the steel ones. He can be effective while using them in the classic way actually spinning it really fast like ninja turtle shit.

Icy Mike, Sensei Seth, and the Karate Nerd all in one video is the crossover I never knew I needed

I've had my chain swivel hickory straight octagon chucks since 1982. Super hard wood. I've accidentally hit myself many times in learning. The follow-through swing is best. Thanks for the video!

Anyone else love that Jesse addressed Mike as "sensei"?

I prefer the nunchuckle for self defense. When attacked, I bring out a laughing nun to distract my opponent.

Im sure the Diaz brothers have used them in a street fight atleast once lol

Holding nunchaku at the end like that, limits their effectiveness. You lose range, power and flexibility of use. Hold in the middle and it’s a different ball game. Sure, they aren’t great up close, but the point is to stay at a distance that inhibits your opponent’s ability to strike you. As for an opponent that is rapidly moving in on you, staying mobile and able to step back rapidly while delivering a powerful swing will stop just about anyone.

Shadiversity has two videos about how crap they are. Would like to see a collaboration vid.

Awesome video and cameo from Jesse. The martial arts community on KZfaq is really a community, it's great.

Favorite movie with nunchucks: “Once Upon A Time in High School”. Korean movie about bullying with a brutal fight scene.

Hey Mike, can you please highlight how to use belts as defensive weapons? Most of us guys wear it and this knowledge could be very beneficial. Thanks man

I agree to an extent. I used to have nunchuks my mate's brother made which were shorter but were aluminium shafts stuffed full of lead sinkers (fishing sinkers) and they hit HARD due to the weight. If you get a heavier harder wood or use those epoxy resin ones you are going to hit a lot harder with them than a lot of the standard shitty wooden ones or the foam wrap handle varieties. Make some out of heavy gauge rebar then try smacking stuff with them.

what a timing, my friend got in a street fight 2 or 3 days ago, he was a amateur muay thai fighter a few years ago here in brazil, 4 guys entered the fight to help the other guy, and his dad, started to swing his nunchunks in everybody, now he and my friend are responding in the justice, crazy mofos XD

Now Mr. Mike, I love this video. I have by chance alone defended myself against three attackers with nunchucks. I was living with a mexican friend who sold weed at the time, and he owed people money. I was currently in the process of moving in to a mexican trailer good. My biggest saving grace (even though I did train for a respectable time with nunchucks) was that they were unarmed. Had they been armed with anything it would be a different story. I was in the process of picking up my martial Arts gear from my truck when I was punched in the back of the head, and coincidentally had rattan nunchucks in my grasp. I swung them like a stick or sword (which I've also trained) and all the regular nunchucks bs went to the wayside. I knocked out two of them by just fuckin bludgeoning them, the third ran away. I hid in the trailer with my shotgun and waited for them to come back. My window was open as we had no air conditioning. They came to my window and took a .12 gauge deepthroating class. Cleaned tooth fragments out of my barrel after that night. He stuck his head up next to my screen, I used the gun like a spear and rammed the barrel into his mouth, and racked the slide. Never heard faster footsteps in my life

7:02 "And this is not terrible. I mean like... This sucks for you..." I died there 😆

Comedy hour with Hard2hurt! I’m here for it

...If someone smashes me full power in my forearm with a stick, I think its going to hurt more than just an "ouch" level. Certainly if it hit my hand.

What if I tie two flashlights together - does that improve the efficacy?

Just saw your podcast with Hayden, then checked this out. It's so awesome that you held up to you're word Icy Mike. You're now my favorite KZfaq. If I find myself in your area I would love to train with you guys. Fucking awesome man!!! Keep it up!!!!

Back in 1978, Mike Hess was the self defense instructor for the Broward Sheriff's office in Florida. He was teaching nunchucks and tonfa for police use and for a few years the BSO actually carried chucks on their belt instead of batons. That year I attended a seminar of his at the BSO academy (was open to civilians) and after the initial introductions he broke the class into two groups to work with each weapon in depth. I was already doing nunchaku katas (why my sensei recommended Hess having trained under him before) so I took that class. It was taught as a two handed weapon and at no time did we actually swing them (as for a cop that could lead to a lawsuit that a jury would probably convict on). It was used for trapping and control. We did blocking and disarming of sticks as well as various takedowns and pain compliance moves. We struck with the but ends of the sticks but always while holding both. Always used the octagonal tapered wood (easier to retain than round and hurts more when striking or pressing hard-as I can attest to!). Likewise he only used corded (quieter and less likely to bind) and not more than about two inches (better to control and essential for a tight pressure when used around someones wrist as a come along). He said the longer cords were great for showing off and doing tricky round the body catches but were totally useless in the street as you couldn't do locks and they would bounce around more in actual confrontation (when swung single handed). Was very enlightening but those kindof technique takes a high level of mastery to pull off with consistency. The tonfa however was much simpler to use (no recovery or reverberation issues) and I probably should have taken that instead! In fact the BSO would drop the chucks when the epoxy resin version of the tonfa was created (not sure if by him) that was basically a round nightstick with a side handle and they were among the first to try it out. Now the Monadnock PR-24 (24", also in longer sizes for riot use) is used by practically every police force in the world! I am glad I had a brief connection with the guy who had the foresight to replace the centuries old nightstick for cops everywhere!

It's a lesser charge to carry around a concealed unregistered gun here in California.

I heard these were named because a dude named Charlie was attacked by someone he knew. He pulled these out and started swinging them around and said "how much of this do you want?" His attacker said, "None, Chuck."

I LOVE the collaboration this channel has. Love KarateNerd and this channel.

They really are not, someone with a knife can just rush you, take a hit*, and stab you You end up in a hospital or dead. Opponent leaves slightly bruised *(that is if you manage to hit your opponent with the 1/4th of the weapon that can actually do some sort of damage)

A lot of people forget about that’s straight snapping technique, similar to whipping a towel. Imagine that to the bridge of your nose. And since it’s going straight it’s harder to perceive the range.

4:00 I like how dramatically Seth flies backward 😂

I was so into nunchucks like 10 years ago (honestly, my flashy chuck video bullshit was all I ever uploaded in youtube haha). One simple and great attack with no flash is just to hold both sticks in one hand, and with a jab like strike thrust them into your opponents sternum. These are also a great cardio exercise, and just damn fun if you get good with them.

Nunchuks are great because they hit twice: first they strike the opponent, then the rebound makes it strike yourself.

I keep my EDC nunchucks strapped to my forearm in case someone tries to catch me lackin

I swear to god, one of his future videos are gonna tell us “Here’s why using weapons in a street fight is impractical”

Man these collabs are just so much fun. You, Jesse, Seth and Ramsey have build a nice community by now :) By the way, ironically around 4:50 while showing how it can be useless you hit Seth on the back of his head showing a great strenght: going AROUND the guard to strike high priority targets like the head.

I've seen nunchucks used in two street fights twice, once effectively and once complete ineffectively. The ineffective time was when I was about 14 and another kid I had been having troubles with attacked me with a set. He opened with a ridiculously slow overhand swing that I was actually able to catch because it was so slow and things went downhill for him from there. The effective time was at a party years later when two guys got into a fight and a third person, who was doing security for the party, blindsided the instigator and cracked him in the back of the head. Dude never even saw it coming, and it ended them fight instantly. Add far as I know there was no permanent injury, though the guy hit by the nunchucks did take a trip to the emergency room with a likely concussion and possibly needing a couple stitches.

@IcyMikeP You should do ALL the TMNT weapons aka.. Sai, Staff, Sword. That would make a great set of videos I think at least for the kids that watch.

In a lot of places it is banned for being a strangulation tool, but padded nunchakes with the same chain/rope of the same length are not strangulation tools, but hey people who make weapon laws don't know things about weapons.

LPD used them in Michigan...like 25 years ago. They were square, made of some thermo plastic and had a really short cord. The community officer that showed them to me in "the hood" called them comealongs and used a nonlethal grip on my wrist. Not only did the joint manipulation he was doing hurt, but if he squeezed "nutcracker" style my limp had pain too.

I love Icy Mike, always a great mixture of practical, modern, and silly self defense info. With a hint of traditional.

Actually used a pair in a street fight in self defense when I was in my teens, it was effective

Ever seen the blooper reel of Bruce Lee whacking himself with them while filming Game Of Death? He looked like it hurt, but didn't want to let on.

Sticks and stones are may break my bones, but a nunchuck won't. But damm they hurt

My dad taught me this trick of concealing the nunchucks using the sleeves of a shirt/jacket. This trick is used in the Yakuza (not the game) for the defensive purpose.

So i found this channel today and what i learned so far is that a expandable baton is not self defense tool but a weapon. And that the best self defense tool is a gun. Got it.

Ever since I heard about lock in a sock I have thought differently about nunchucks. If people legit use the thing it must have some merit.

I personally know a guy who had a pair of these and some guy came at him, he swung the chucks down low hitting the side of his knee. His knee bended in and folded, dropped like a stone and the fight was over.

Hi from Shad too, just wanna put it out there... Don't think anyone ever said they were used to harvest rice. :'D How do you harvest anything with beating it with whatever? :D Flails were used to peel the grains, not harvest the crops... And yes, asians did peel rice with nunchucks, also used it as a "noise making device" and as "headgear for horses". In desperate situation you can even use your tv remote as a weapon, so i guess we can safely say that a chair had been used as a weapon in most cultures and ages in history? If you "graze" your target with nunchucks as shown here it won't bounce back and hit you but nobody can prove to me that you will always strike perfectly in actual fight. It's bound to bite you back sooner or later. Sure it works as a weapon but it shouldn't be anyone's first choice.

I've always kept my nunchucks in the car, just in case. I know enough to look like I know what im actually doing and not hit myself in the nuts, plus I figure if i had to twirl them around a bit that would intimidate the hell outta someone! They are a fun tool to train with though for sure.

I'm pretty sure they were effective coz its pretty discombobulating to face a dude who really knows how to use those. at the height of the whole kung fu craze in 70's Manila, fraternity and gang wars saw more than a few rumbles with these in their arsenal. lots of broken bones out there according to my dad.

I have several and the thin ones, although not ideal for swinging because they are lighter, mine anyway, are for closing your hand around both and using it as a single stick in very close quarters.

If I'm going to use a weapon for self defense that has its origin as an agricultural tool, then my weapon will be the English Bill Hook.

the government: hes got a point... also the government: from now on every policeman and policewoman carries two sets of nunchucks

You’re welcome... HAYDEN

They are a great training tool. If you do a half hour of full speed nunchuck drills a few times a week you will be shredded, they work your muscles at angles a lot of people don't always get to at the gym. As far as grappling with them, don't underestimate that stuff, it's not just the leverage it's the pressure applied by the entanglement. If someone catches you right it feels like your limb or neck is caught in an industrial clamp or vice. Instead of a scenario of fighting someone that only practiced katas all day, think of fighting someone that already is a well rounded fighter but also decent with 'chuks, that fight would be over quickly and painfully.

The cool thing they do, is they dont transfer energy back to gour arm. A stick does when you strike and you lose some of the energy. The chain stops that. So you can hit harder with them.

Great video and agree with you. I have a metal 5 inch long self defence flash light that is 1.5 inch diameter thick that I attached a thick long sling for a lanyard. The flashlight with the sling is almost the length of my arm but just short enough so I can not hit myself in the head when my arm is fully extended. It is a great less then leathal weapon I call my half a nunchuck. I can whip it out of my back pocket fast as nunchucks and can hold the flashlight and hit with it or just the bright light in their eyes or hold at different lengths for speed or for power or let it hang with hands free for grappling or rap the sling to choke and control. I know it works in a fight as I fought off a big guy with my flashlight half nunchucks who tried strong arm me and attempted to car jack me. He gave up and ran off after I literally whipped him progressively harder till he wanted no more of that flashlight beat down. If he had a weapon I would not have held back and he would have gone down as I was trying not to hit to hard so as not to hurt him bad. I have carried my flashlight with a knife and sometimes pepper spray for 35 years and think you can never be to prepared. I believe in only using the least force as nessisary starting with leaving a fight before it happens up to using my knife or my gun if needed in a last resort. Situational awareness is the most important self-defense tool you can have.

I'm an expert with these things and in my view they are pretty inadequate as a weapon but great for fitness if you use them for any length of time (its a bit like skipping but focused on the upper body). Using two at a time is great for co ordination too (don't try using two until you are expert unless you like a sore head).

I wasn’t expecting Icy Mike, Seth, and Jessie all in the same video…what I treat.

Where I'm from in NY, I used too train in TKD and for me since I was on the demo team, I was on the demo team for my gifts of adherence to the craft. The weapon I was trained with was the nun chucks. I can verify from a self defense stand point that this weapon in the right person's hands can drop a dumbest aggro attacker

I've seen them used in a street fight. It was brutal. Guy ended up with a knot on his head and a broken finger. I will say that he was offset by the fast movement of the chucks. He walked away wanting nothing more do to with it.

Nunchucks fall into the "just because they did it doesn't mean it was a good idea" I have seen a ton of testing done and you are generally better off with a good solid stick. The biggest problem with nunchucks vs a stick is it doesn't have the weight or length to take advantage of centrifugal force in a meaningful way and to use nunchucks effectively requires I high level of skill to get the same results as someone with a small amount of skill and a stick. Shadiversity recently did testing with nunchucks and he could knock down a training dummy with the stick but couldn't knock down the same dummy with nunchucks because the cord absorbs a lot of force. TLDR nunchucks look cool but are a shit weapon.

The relevant question is, would you ever deliberately pick nunchuks over other weapons? It's clearly better than unarmed. But the question is, if we compare it to something that's equally innocuous, equally large, equally expensive, would you ever actually choose the nunchuks while foregoing that thing?

Thx for the lesson is very help full for upgrade my nunchuck skill

Having practiced with nunchucks, I can confirm that they are very fun to play with :D. That's the main reason that I practiced with them. That said, I thought that they would be more practical than most people give them credit for because they are surprisingly long, especially when you consider how small of a package they fold over into. You could conceivably carry nunchucks around with you for self defense, and they wouldn't be overly bulky or long, but they give you a lot of extra reach.

Yay for Hayden! I agree that they are not as bad as people often picture them, and I also agree that you have to have wrestling and empty hand training to back the nunchaku up in case the oponent gets too close. But, part of being good with a nunchaku is having good footwork, you want to keep moving sideways and backwards if someone is rushing you, while you unleash as much damage as you can to his arms/hands and head I posible. If by the time you get to wrestle you hit his hands, arms and or head at least two or three times you got good use out of it. Wooden or metal nunchuks mess shit up, we spar with homemade PVC pipes covered with soft material and they can't be bigger than 20mm or else you are hurting people. I don't agree that you can tank more than a few hits without taking significant damage.

I just got some foam ones for me and my 2 y/o i think they are great and really fun to learn my kid loves swinging them around

Exactly on point. I have no idea how people can see it differently. Once the distance is overcome, it's useless. Also while you're holding the thing, you have no guard. The cost of wielding and controlling it comes with the cost of not being able to do anything else with that hand. Regarding the wooden stick, Miyamoto Musashi did use a wooden sword very effectively so it seems and he is legendary.

Shad: I'm about to end this man's whole career.

We need polearms for self defence after this and the shield video. Or at least home defence, I don’t see myself carrying a halberd around

I trained with nunchucks for years...and I used them for self defense once, granted they were hand made and not too heavy, and the result was not pretty...I got arrested as a result! The other guy had significant bruises and welts... I was not charged thanks to five things: 1) The other guy had been harrasing my mom for a bit, 2) mom got briefly in the middle when the fight started and got kicked in the shin by the other guy, 3) the other guy had a record (I did not) and a warrant, 4) when I handed the nunchucks to the officer I actually give them a pair of different home made ones made out of an old broomstick, and 5) the arresting officer spoke on my favor to his supervisor especially because I was 17 at the time and the other guy was in his late 20s... But yeah he was super hurt...he actually begged me from the floor to stop hitting him...which I did. I dind't brake any bones (thank God) but they are effective and can cause significant damage especially in the hands of someone who has seriously trained (not flashy hollywood bs). Here in California it's a felony just to have them, same as brass knuckles and shuriken...you can carry knives open or concealed (restrictions depending) and even a gun with CCW...there is no way to carry nunchucks, brass knuckles or shuriken...no permits exists. I count my blessings I didn't get charged...especially thanks to the arresting officer...I didn't know the law back then as I do now.

Carried them (Orcut Police Nunchaku) for several years and used them in a couple street fights. I concluded they had limited situational use and went back to a side handle baton. Still one fight was 7 on 2 and I was able to keep 2 attackers at distance until more of them showed up.

I never know if you’re trolling or serious 😂

If you’re using nunchucks as a self defense weapon then just carry a knife

i’m about 6 minutes in and i agree with all of the points you guys made so far a dedicated attacker could probably power through the chucks but probably 9/10 attackers aren’t dedicated after getting whacked in the elbow or jaw once reeeeaal hard with em and seeing that you’re ready too get em again

I have two sets. One is normal sized and one has shorter handles and longer chain making it the same overall length but easier to fit in a pocket. Before I got my pistol license, I carried the small set and a knife.

It's so illegal, you might as well carry a machete. A good quality bowie will go through the arm. A good quality kerambit will cut in a much more controllable way, and it's hard to even see it.

I think I'll just use a stick...

I would use a shocker, a stick. Knives are OK too. Also you could pick a scissor with pointed tip.