Nunchaku?

[TimeChaser]

So, a large group of friends and I are working on a massive cosplay project (cosplay = "costume play", dressing up as characters from anime, manga, scifi, fantasy, or, in our case, video games, at conventions or otherwise). Since the character one of my friends is cosplaying uses nunchaku, we thought we'd make our own out of foam. Sadly, her mother's forbidding it saying "they're illegal and she doesn't want her daughter to go to jail".

I thought this was ridiculus, so I did a google search. Turns out nunchaku are illegal in NY and CA, even though it's perfectly legal to have a rifles, shotguns, swords etc. :wtf:

[bryant69]

1. Haven't you ever heard of the Yellow Menace?

Or seen an old Fu Manchu movie?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[MisterP]

8. in fact, "Asian weapons" were banned under the Yellow Scare

in Calif., which was often quite racist at the time
"I can't fit my numchuks in my locker."

[JHB]

9. Actually, it was Bruce Lee who ppopularized them...

...muggers who got them made illegal.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Nunchaku? Is she the Mother Superior?

[TimeChaser]

5. Selphie from Final Fantasy VIII, actually

:)

[aden_nak]

3. If they are made out of foam, there is nothing illegal about them.

Or even out of hollow plastic. They would be no more illegal than a foam knife. Or foam bullets, really. You can walk through NYC and buy "fake" nunchaku from cheap toy stores on every corner. The only inherent danger there is someone not realizing that they are a prop, so on that note, you have to be careful. But if you are going to a Cosplay, I can't imagine that will come up.

I don't know how they first became illegal, to be honest. Though they are incredibly dangerous (far more dangerous than a sword if someone actually intends on using them). Even a rank amateur can generate over ten times the amount of psi required to break a human bone with one. . . and usually ends up breaking one of his own.

[TimeChaser]

7. Like anyother weapon, naturally they'd be dangerous

But when you have people who fought the assault weapons ban tooth and nail until it was allowed to expire, and then a martial arts weapon is banned, it just doesn't make any sense to me...

[aden_nak]

13. I agree with you on that point, believe me.

They were probably banned by some local dipweed politician who wanted some face time in the daily papers, which is usually how things like this get through. I mean, there's no National Nunchaku Association now, is there? Maybe you should start hunting deer with them!

[whistle]

4. What is a "nunchaku" and why are representations of these illegal?

[ReadTomPaine]

6. Photos

The poster above is correct in pointing out these self-injure neophytes constantly. Skull injuries particularly.

[whistle]

15. Oh, okay, I'm glad they are illegal, best left on the farm.....

[TimeChaser]

16. Farm? They're martial arts weapons, actuallly

[whistle]

18. Originally and I believe these were a manual farm tool used to...

...chop wheat stocks in the fields in Japan. The farm tool had a long handle like and a flat stick sharpened on one edge ans attached with a rope to the bottom of the handle. The farmers could also use them and very often did as weapons against bandits and intruders. I believe that ninja warriors eventually adapted the farm instrument as a martial arts weapon, perhaps after centuries of being clobbered by peasant farmers with the original versions.

[RaleighNCDUer]

25. They originated as flails, for threshing wheat. When the Japanese

overlords of Okinawa banned the local use of bladed weapons, the flails were adapted into martial arts weapons.

[ReadTomPaine]

17. Bingo - they were originally derived from grain flails

although there is some debate over this, apparently:

The most controversial of the weapons of the Ryukyu but in essence the least properly explored. Made preferably of red or white oak, or a heavy wood, the sections are tapered from the chord end (2.5cm) to the predominant strike end (3.3cm). The shafts vary from octagonal to round in shape and the weight is dependent on the strength of the user. Again too light and there is no power, and too heavy and the movement is slow and ponderous. Traditionally this weapon is not used in pairs, as the actions of the one should be sufficient. Nunchaku belongs to the family of Bo and is known as the “portable Bo”.

History has not endowed this weapon with traditional kata as shown by the content of those handed down. They are by design training kata to enable better handling and combination work. The essence of the weapon is the kumite, exploring distance, angles and footwork. Impact should be on the tip of the weapon or it will bounce back on the user. For a long period, the nunchaku was said to have been derived from a rice flail, or grain flail. However the grain flail was a much larger tool. Its development on Okinawa is not wholly clear, since a direct precursor to the modern Okinawan nunchaku seems to have been a wooden horse-bridle, or muge.

http://www.msisshinryu.com/weapons/nunchaku.shtml

[whistle]

19. Grain flails, I could not think of that term, thanks.....

..."flail" pretty much sums it up!

[TimeChaser]

20. Thanks for the history

I learn something new on DU everyday.

Well, now I have to make a pair that look realistic enough for cosplaying, but not so realistic that they'll get us in trouble...

[Stirk]

10. You should probably come get your stuff outta my locker. I can't fit my

numchucks in there.

[Richard Steele]

11. Welcome to the world of "Feelgood Legislation"

Nunchaku are illegal in alot of states, and even more counties and townships. Carrying a three-foot piece of 2x4 with a grip carved into one end is still OK tho...

Most of the nunchaku laws are so broadly written that even fakes are illegal (foam or hollow plastic halloween-store props)

Many similar laws outlaw "switchblades"...
It's perfectly legal to have a 3 foot machete under your car seat, but the 3-inch "Parachute Knife" my dad brought home from the US Navy will get you dragged off in handcuffs!

Many of the "switchblade laws" are so vague that my Leatherman Multi-tool is actually illegal in many states where it has the highest sales!(CA for one)

[Cleita]

21. My kitchen is full of deadly weapons including a nice

cleaver, which I would probably reach for first if attacked. My chef's knives would be a close second, and there is nothing like a nice cast iron frying pan to brain someone with.

[whistle]

23. What is a three-foot piece of 2x4 with a grip carved into one end...

...a baseball bat?

As for a 3 foot machete, that is illegal in just about all states as far as I can determine.

However, by God, you can own handguns and automatic assault weapons anywhere in America thanks to the National Rifle Association (aka: Mass Murderers Inc.). And, it is perfectly legal to own the 50 caliber armor piercing automatic assault machine gun anywhere in the U.S. as a target practice weapon.

<snip>

Freedom Rings at the Big Gun Shoot
by Ari Armstrong, May 17, 2005

My wife, a friend, and I drove out to Cheyenne Wells in eastern Colorado to attend a big-gun shoot organized by the Rocky Mountain Fifty Caliber Shooting Association. The event ran from May 13-15; we went on Saturday. The event raised several thousand dollars for the local fire department. Bob McBride, who organized the event, said this year's shoot featured over 200 shooters (who must register for the event in advance) and over 2,000 attendees.

"It's better than watching the history channel," said one shooter whose group featured a WWI British 4.5 inch Howitzer.

<more>
<link> http://www.freecolorado.com/2005/05/50.html

Go get'em tigers!:wtf:

[ReadTomPaine]

24. Hmmm.. sounds more like a cricket bat, actually!

[trackfan]

12. We used to call them "chako sticks"

I find, via google, under various spellings, that that term barely survives.

[Dr.Phool]

14. I call them "dumb-chucks"

Because the average ass-hole carrying them has no idea how to use them. And the have a tendency to injure themselves with them.

[immoderate]

22. Wear a hat when practicing.

--IMM