Help with chain length

[Kentaro]

Hello everybody,

I'm newbie at this forum, and I'd like some tips about my chucks. I made a pair 5 months ago and I've been practicing all this time to get some cool moves and tricks. I think I now know the basics, and I want to reach the next level. I also want to build a new pair that goes with what I spect. These are mine:




Metal tube, tennis racket tape (I love its taste) and a 11cms chain length. (Sorry for my poor grammar, I'm spanish )

I've found some things I don't like. For example, the chain is too thick and sometimes it hurts me when my skin gets trapped between the chain and the stick. I have no workbench, so I had to find the best and cheapest way to make my own, and changing the design is not a choice. I wonder if a thinner chain would fix this problem, but mantaining the durability of my chucks. Could it be?

I also have another problem with them: I can't do thumb spins! Tired about this, I once tried to reduce the length of the chain (by simply adding a provisional padlock) and I found I obtained a lot of speed and control. I really loved it. It worked fine to picture how could it be with a short chain. But I found a problem: wrist spins didn't work. With a long chain, the move the stick does it's like an U, so you can catch the other stick after the movement. But if the chain is short, there's a V movement, so the other stick just hit you in your forearm and you can't catch it. Is there any way to fix it? I don't know, maybe holding them a bit further from the chain or something. Is there any length that works with both, thumb spins and wrist spins?

Anyway, the more I practice with chucks, the more I realize it's all fisics, and the way you understand those fisics determines your mastery. So it's just a matter of time and constance. Thanks for the tips, I'm staying here some time to read the answers and seeing what I find here. Bye

[TuKongChucks]

Easiest way to explain this to you is: Preference.  The size and length is something we cant really help with, you have to experiment with chain or cord lengths/thickness.  And once you find the one you like, you then adjust and practice with the size you chose.  And eventually once you practice enough   you will get your digit spins and wrist rolls.  You can do digits and wrist rolls with 1" chain/cord length and 11" cord/chain lengths, its all about practice and learning what you need to adjust to get your tricks done.  I can do 1-3 rotations in a digit spin(Thumb, Index, Middle, Ring finger) with a 2 1/2"-3"
cord/chain, and 1 to 1-1/2 rotations with a 1" cord/chain.  The longer, the more you can learn to add more rotation.  I can do double wrist rolls with 2 1/2"-3" cord and single spins with a 1".  I make sure I have a 1" to 5" chain/cord length chucks handy so I can keep up with practice on multiple lengths, but I have found my favorite length is 2 1/2"-3" connection after many D.I.Y. experiments.  Thanks all it takes is experimenting and practice, and youll have what you love in no time, and for cheap. 

I dont have anywhere to work either so I make my stuff on the ground in the backyard or in the living room

[jmvicuna]

Chain trapping the skin: I think that with a thiner chain, the skin will be trapped more than with a wider chain, because there is more space were you can get trapped. That used to happen a lot to me, but not anymore... maybe is because I learn not to put the skin in that precise place, or something more   A good solution is to put silicon at the top of the tube, where the chain meets the tube, so there wont be any space where you can trap your skin.

Thumb spins: They can be done with almost any length, is just practice, so keep on.

Wrist rolls: Yes, when you change the length of the chain or cord, you have to change the way you do the technique,

Usually:
wristroll + long chain: you hold the nunchaku near the top
wristroll + short chain: you hold the nunchaku near the middle of the stick, so the stick act as a chain, and it moves in your arm/wrist.
With practice, and when you change often your nunchaku, this is a natural process, but for the first time, it may take some time to get use from long to short, or from short to long.

But remember, most of rolls have been done with almost all size of connectors, so is just practice till you get the results you want, but of course, it is easier with a specific length to do certain moves, so you will be more comfortable using long chain when doing wrist rolls.

[Kentaro]

Thank you so much!

I'll try what you say, let's see if it works for me.

Bye!

[Kentaro]

Hello again ^^


I've been thinking about the problem of being hurt in my skin because the chain trapping. I've done some neck spins today and I got hurt again. I'm really tired of this, so I've prepared an schematic so you can tell me what kind of connector is the best for this purpose:





My current chucks are similar to type A, and that's where I think the problem is. I wonder if type B could be better, but I'm afraid it could be worse for moving the chucks (the rotation center gets farther from the stick).



PD: I feel a little stupid asking these kind of things, but I also think that asking is for free, and if it helps my new chucks to be the best they can, why not?

[TuKongChucks]

First off, dont think any question is stupid.  This forum is all about help and having fun, so ask as many questions as you want til you get the answers you need.

Any type of connections whether it be cord or chain will pinch you, and usually it doesnt matter how they are attatched.  Tension pin, nut and bolt, swivel(which would normally provide you with best protection cause its farther away from the chuck itself).  Most of the time it matters because of technique.  If you dont spin quite at the right speed or dont have quite the right technique the chucks can bunch up on you and pinch between connection and chuck.  Adjust where you hold the chuck at, adjust speeds of certain moves or trim up you technique to work around the possibility to get hurt.  You said you did neck spins and got pinched correct?  How exactly are you releasing the chucks?  Are you rolling it around your neck starting with the chain?  Or are you releasing the top of the stick your holding on your neck?  If its the latter it shouldnt be a problem because it works as the same principal of a hand or wristroll, and visa-versa.  If you release the chain against your neck it will normally not hit the right point to make it spin correctly, and instead the stick catches on your neck and the other stick keeps going, therefore pinching or grabbing your neck.  Its all about practice and tweaking what you do normally until you find the right positions, speeds, and technique to execute exactly what you want with as minimal of damage as possible.  Hope this helps.

[Kentaro]

Damn, you were absolutely right!! 

I was releasing the chain around my neck, not the stick. I've just tested it now and it works fine. I'm realizing it's a matter of bad habits. I used to hold the chucks too closer from the chain because it was easier to me to do certain moves (maybe the chain is too long for me, my hands are small), wich led me to that bad habit. I hope I can make a new chucks I feel comfortable with, so I avoid these kind of mistakes.

Thanks a lot!

[jmvicuna]

hehehe, it was a great answer from Alex. 

Also, to avoid the pain until you catch the right technique, put some glue in the top of the stick, where it mets the chain, so the chances of pinching will decrease 

[TuKongChucks]

Im really glad my answer helped you, and hopefully we can see your first vid soon!

My hands are a little large, but I usually hold my chucks 1"-1 1/2" from the top about 90% of the time, it just depends on which move or combo your setting yourself up for.  Going for wide arced kind of acted strikes?  Throw an aerial and catch it near the bottom or more to the middle.  Going for a digit spin?  Give a handroll then go for it.  Setup is key to landing combinations, but dont think to hard on it or your brain will overwhelm and you will either get farther behind or ahead of yourself whilst trying to keep a random but well connected flow together.  Practice practice practice....No pain no gain....Practice makes 'nearly' perfect   Keep up the good work and aggresive training and dont give up and you will be spinning like a madman in no time 

[Kentaro]

You know what? I started to play chucks when I was finishing my career. Try to picture this: no class, but 14 hours of study each day. No parties, no drinking, nothing. I had to find something just to keep myself sane. It was 5 months of constant practicing and I'm amazed of how much I've learn. I can do 1-2-3, shoulder to shoulder, back, neck, waist, wrist spins (both directions), some cool spins around my neck, reversals, back grips, figure 8, black star, etc. I know it's just the basics, but I can perfectly see the difference between before and now. And that's great, I mean, seeing the process, seeing you growing better each day. How beautiful is to learn!!