Type: Aluminium Octagonal nunchaku (see general info for more)
Dimensions: 30cm (12 “) with a 13cm (5”) chain (7 link)
Weight: 555 grams (1 lb , 3.75 oz)
Materials: Aluminium
Bought from: icon martial artsPrice: £12.95
General info: These chucks are made in china and constructed from a standard ball-race/chain assembly and two apparently hollow aluminium batons, capped by contrastingly coloured caps, reportedly made of "metal". My guess is that this metal is the same as the hollow batons. They appear well made, although the ball race caps and chain are held in place by rather roughly finished rivets which you may be advised to file smooth. The batons, though hexagonal at the striking ends, are round in cross section in the 4 inches nearest the ball-bearing caps. For freestylers, who do a lot of near-bearing gripping, this will come as a great relief (genuine hexagonal chucks can be harder on the hands).
Use: On holding these 555g chucks they seem only modestly heavier than your average chuck ( for instance,
these are 390g ). It isn't until you start to spin them that you fully appreciate the extra weight. Just how heavy you will find them depends :
a ) on how strong your arms / hands / wrists are;
b ) what you are used to.
Personally, I found them heavy and I speak as one who has, in the dim, distant past, taken free weights pretty seriously. My usual chuck weight is ~400g and I was taken aback by how much difference the 150g made to speed. My guess is it slowed me down at first by as much as 50% on transitions. Furthermore, moves such as horizontal wrist-rolling at head height became an altogether more scary affair: you just knew if things went wrong you'd lose teeth. Then there was the noise they made when dropped on the lawn: a dull thud with virtually no bounce. Right from the first spin it was clear I was dealing with a very different animal from my wood chucks.
Minutes later the extra weight was beginning to fatigue my shoulders on certain moves. Aerials, where a certain about of lifting is inevitable, took their toll on my biceps after double figure repetitions. After about 15 mins some parts of my arms had become completely numb and only muscle memory and grim determination kept the chuck going.
I eventually dropped the chuck from exhaustion (rather than pure error).
This may all sound like very bad news for somebody intending to use these for freestyle, but wait up: I haven't finished my tale.
At this point I decided to revert to my wood chucks to get a real feel for the contrast. It was only then that I realised the aluminium chucks would, from that point on, be an integral part of my nunchaku workout. The wooden chucks I once thought heavy, suddenly felt as light as air and moves where I was once conscious of the possibility of striking my head no longer held any fear for me. It sounds corny, but I felt liberated. The consequence of zero fear and apparently zero weight seemed to supercharge my chucking speed and for the first time in weeks I was noticeably quicker: result!
Another obvious benefit which would in time make itself evident was an increase in wrist / shoulder and arm strength. Indeed, although there are many exercises and pieces of kit for training wrists and arms, as a nunchakuist, you won't do better than a pair of heavy chucks.
And there is another benefit for those of you who want to instruct. The extra weight means you can perform complex techniques much more slowly without losing momentum. That has to be a great advantage in a sport where all too often, the student ends up bamboozled by a blur of twirling.
Of course for every upside there is a downside. Like all heavy chucks, moves can be performed more slowly without loss of control. This means moves become MUCH easier technically. Indeed, I'd guess that somebody who trained from the off on these chucks would simply be unable to control a normal practice chuck (which weigh in at around 240g). They just would not develop the subtlety of touch. So while these are great for strength and speeding up with lighter chucks, they won't help your technique.
Pros: Well made
increases strength
increases speed with lighter chucks
good instructional aid
Cons: too heavy for demonstration purposes
will break your teeth if you hit them
bearings may not last very long
won't help your technique
Conclusion: These are excellent strength training chucks, suitable for increasing strength and speed once you have reasonable technique. I would not recommend them to beginners, simply because they will not develop subtlety of touch and could be dangerous in inexperienced hands.
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