Karate 54
by Administrator ~ August 5th, 2008. Filed under: Karate, Training Notes.In karate we used nunchaka for the first time. Guess what? I discovered I had muscles I never knew about. We were taught a kata and some moves. It puts a lot of torsion on my arm bones and so they are pretty sore. But with use I will be depositing more calcium in the required areas. That’s the great thing about karate. You use every part of your body and so it all gets stronger, muscles and bones included. The movements are coordinated and dynamic so the stretching and flexibility is based on the full range of movement of all your body parts. Throw in running, and I can’t think of a better all-round exercise routine.
Nunchaka are basically two sticks linked by a rope. Originally they were used as a horse’s bridal. You held onto a stick in each hand, and putting the rope part in the horse’s mouth you could steer the horse. At least that is one theory. Another theory is that they were used to thresh grain. As my sensei says, though, why would anyone thresh grain into the field? You would have to put down a blanket, or use a threshing room where you could recover the grain. Maybe it was a versatile tool that performed many functions. Whatever the origin, it was developed into a lethal weapon by Okinawan farmers who were not allowed real weapons.
In use, they, like other weapons developed from farming tools, became an extension of your body. Nunchakas are swung with full extension of the arms and never twirled around in a fancy choreography like what you see in movies. The weapons work in movies is a complete sham and simply would not work in a real fight, although it looks impressive and pretty.
