What is Nunchaku-Do?

Nunchaku-do is a semi-contact martial art based on the Japanese Karate weapon, the nunchaku. The weapon has been around for thousands of years, but its international reputation only grew immensely after Bruce Lee used the nunchaku in his films.

In the 1980s Milco Lambrecht developed a special safety nunchaku, allowing enthusiasts from all over the world to safely improve their skills, even in countries where the original nunchaku is legally banned. Competition on semi-contact basis became possible for the very first time, and with it, the sport Nunchaku-do was born.

The Nunchaku-do system offers training courses, competitions and graduations (black belt and further). As such, the sport grew immensely the first years, so it wasn’t until long before the World Nunchaku Association (WNA) was founded. The WNA promotes nunchaku practice all over the world, and has made a clear system available to everyone: from early age to seniors, wherever they are from. We are honored to be the nunchaku organization with the most members worldwide, and we will continue to promote the practice of nunchaku in any way we can.

Nunchaku-Do consists of 4 distinct disciplines:

Kumite (sparring)

Kata (forms)

Freestyle

Jutsu (self-defense)

Kumite

Kumite is a fight between two contestants, who are protected by a special safety helmet. Because of the safety nunchaku designed by and for the WNA, it is possible to score points by striking the opponent. There are strict regulations that clearly specify the requirements needed to get a valid score. In this semi-contact form the participants will be divided according to their height, not by weight. This is because the height of the participant has a direct influence on the reach of the nunchaku, which is of crucial value to the outcome of the match.

Kata

A kata is a set pattern of techniques in motion with the nunchaku. This pattern should be executed perfectly in front of a jury. To master a kata one must practice it thoughts of times during many years. In Nunchaku-Do there are many different katas, which increase in difficulty as one progresses through the different belts. For competitions there are two specific katas one fore participants brown belt and under and one for black belts and above.

Freestyle

Freestyle is a musical form, where the participant shows his/her skills in front of a jury. During this form, techniques must be used wit ha single nunchaku as well as techniques using two nunchaku. as the name implies, this form is mostly free format, but there is still an official set of rules for freestyle.
Technical knowledge, creativity, musicality and budo spirit are key skills for freestyle.

Jutsu

Nunchaku-jutsu includes a variety of self defense forms with the nunchaku. realistic settings are used where a nunchaku could be used as a defensive weapon. The higher the grading, the more difficult the jutsu forms will be. Also for nunchaku-jutsu there are strict regulations.

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