Like a lot of new members of this forum probably do (or at least should) I spend a fair amount of time browsing through the archives. Being a member of the Dutch Nunchaku Foundation (and therefore the World Nunchaku Association) I take a particular interest in what’s being said and thought about the sport or art known as nunchaku-do. Most of the discussions I’ve read happened around 2007, when the current official website aired and I first heard about this forum. I actually briefly partook in a discussion back then, without really ever having thought about the place of the WNA in the nunchaku world, it being all I knew.
Now it’s 2011, and I recently “rejoined” the forum as a four year older and hopefully wiser and open minded individual. Rather then viewing nunchaku-do as the “only” pure nunchaku sport, I’ve come to see it as one of several systems in which one can measure their skill with the nunchaku with others.
In this thread I don’t want to go into the rules for kumite, the kata’s or our criteria for freestyle performances, as they are, in my opinion, mostly arbitrary: just something you can be good at and in no way representing a “right” way to handle a nunchaku. Rather, I want to summarize the history of the WNA for everyone who’s interested. It may put some things into perspective, right a few misconceptions and hopefully raise a meaningful discussion about the one thing everyone on this forum has got in common: a love for that weird and wonderful object.
Lastly I want to point out that no one as asked me to do this. This is my own initiative. My primary sources are the books written by my instructor and friend of 12 years, Milco Lambrecht and my conversations with him about the subject.
A brief history of the world nunchaku association
It all started with an especially talented Chinese-American young man. You may have heard of him: his name was Lee Jun Fan (李小龍) who became famous under the name Bruce Lee. Lee not only took the entire world by storm with his flashy kicks, lighting fast punches and revolutionary fighting choreography, but a tiny country known as the Netherlands as well.
The Netherlands, or Holland, is what some people might call a small country with a huge history. It used to be the primary power in the world during the majority of the 17th century, partially because of their willingness to set aside ideological differences in favor of commercial gain. As an effect, The Netherlands where heavily influenced by cultural impulses throughout the ages. It gained the reputation of a “tolerant” and “open” nation, characteristics that are attributed to the Dutch as a people, (though ironically not as individuals per se) today.
Perhaps it was this mentality that opened up certain Dutch minds to the spectacular weapon that Lee wielded in his movie “Big Boss” in 1971. It didn’t take long for martial arts practitioners and laymen alike to create their own version of Bruce’s magical sticks, often by crudely connecting two pieces of random wood with a chain or cord. Before long the nunchaku craze had swept the youth of the nation. One of these youths was a man called Milco Lambrecht (my trainer). Originally trained in Judo (already a major sport in the Netherlands because of the accomplishments of Anton Geesink in 1961), Mr. Lambrecht started developing his skills with the nunchaku like most people today: in his own living room, by trial and error.
Lambrecht sought the contact of other nunchaku enthusiasts (who were not hard to find) who he began to exchange ideas with. One idea they all agreed on was the need to create a sport based on the nunchaku, which at that time did not yet exist in Holland. Lambrecht contacted a man named Pacall Verhille from France (who I’m sure is well known to French fnf members). Verhille had already created a system called “Nunchaku de combat” but it failed to catch on for reasons unknown or at least unnamed. Mr Lambrecht set out to create a completely new system, with categorized techniques, rules and equipment that made fighting possible. This system was quickly given the name “Nunchaku-do”. “Do” Meaning “The way of”
Before the system could be fully developed however, an issue arose. In a number of violent incidents involving both hotheaded young individuals and the nunchaku, one quickly became associated with the other.
This permanently damaged the image of Lee’s tool and the nunchaku was outlawed, along with weapons such as the stiletto and knuckleduster. Milco Lambrecht had already developed a prototype of what most people know as the “WNA Nunchaku” or “Safety Nunchaku”, but the law did not make exceptions. The article concerning the issue can be translated as:
“Two staves or sticks, connected by chain or other method of flexible connection”
This meant that any variety on the weapon (in theory even two baguettes, connected by a shoelace) had just become completely illegal. Even owning a safety nunchaku had become punishable by law before the seventies were over. Nunchaku-enthusiasts where once again confined to their attics and living rooms until the issue could be resolved.
In the meantime Zendokan, a well known Dutch martial arts magazine, organized the first “World Nunchaku Tournament” in Amsterdam (1984) even though it was illegal.
It was at this tournament, where nunchaku-ka’s from all over Europa gathered to showcase their personal skills with the weapon, that Mr. Lambrecht came into contact with people like Bruce Sattler and Raphael The. At a different event he met Rene de Jong (whose son was a participant in the
www.freestyleforum.net world cup 2011) These people, with their different martial arts backgrounds, individual talents and connections would prove vital to creating the material that is now taught in every nunchaku-do school.
The sport and the legalization still had a long way to go, but at least Mr. Lambrecht was no longer alone.
After a long and expensive series of trials the group of nunchaku enthusiasts, backed up with an advise of the forensic laboratory that tested the qualities of the instrument, finally got their wish in ’87. The first order of business was to create a foundation to protect the image of the nunchaku and promote the young art. The Dutch Nunchaku Foundation or Stichting Nunchaku Nederland (SNN) was founded the same year. Ambitions to globalize nunchaku-do resulted in the World Nunchaku Association in ’96. The WNA would become the mother organization for all national nunchaku groups that other countries would produce.
Another priority was to keep the sport quantifiable and uniform so that nunchaku-do would have a clear identity and stay “teachable” The combination of colors: black and yellow, referring to the night (dark = night) and the day (yellow = sun) were chosen. Rulebooks, training manuals and protocols for international expansion were written.
Kyu and Dan requirements were developed, written down and taught to a growing number of students. The creators and the first teachers they trained, from their experience in Japanese martial arts, gave the sport its “Japanese flavour” resulting in the use of terms such as “Sensei” and a point system for kumite that is very similar to that of Judo (Waza-ari, Ippon, chui, etc)
The last great step to be taken was that of legitimacy. Combative sports like Judo and Tae Kwon Do were already recognized by the state as “official” sports and affiliated with national budo organizations. This status offers certain benefits (for example renting space or organizing events.) In 1990 the SNN reached this milestone when it became affiliated with the Dutch Olympic committee through the (national) Federation of Martial Arts. Now nunchaku-do was now a completely legitimate sport: just like Judo and Karate.
The sport reached its peak in ’97, when the WNA World Championships were held and broadcasted on the “Eurosport” Channel. Rene de Jong became one of the first nunchaku-do World champions (in the +1,85 class)
Since then, the loss of certain contacts and public interest caused nunchaku-do to gradually shrink in size and celebrity. The craze around Bruce Lee had long since been over, and the weapon did no longer enjoy the spotlight it once did. As this is being written, the registered number of nunchaku-ka’s in the Netherlands is between five and six hundred people. It is unknown how many people practice it without having a SNN passport, but it’s roughly estimated to be the same number. This amount has been more or less stable for the last ten years.
The first attempt by the WNA to manifest itself in America has failed, due to disagreements between the would be representative in the States and Mr. Lambrecht. A second attempt has yet to be made.
However, thanks to the efforts of certain prominent nunchaku-ka’s the sport is internationally expanding in Europe, though not at an extremely high rate. I’m afraid that my data on that particular subject is currently lacking, but I will update as I learn more.
Kasper van Heerden
