Learning to swing nunchaku like Bruce Lee is the fantasy of many children. Training with karate weapons requires qualified teachers, a solid understanding of safety and discipline. After all, weapons are designed to harm people. According to martial arts historian Dave Coffman, traditional karate weapons include kama, bo staff, nunte, sai, naginata, katana, jo stick, tonfa, yari and nunchaku.
Step 1
Establish a home training space large enough to swing your weapon with force and commitment. If you have children in your home, mark off this space and keep children out of it even when you're not training.
Step 2
Find a qualified instructor in the weapon you want to learn. In many cases, you will need to sign up for a general course in karate, which includes weapons training, rather than simply signing up to learn your weapon of choice.
Step 3
Learn the basic anatomy, courtesy and safety protocols for your weapon before you take your first swing. Understanding how your weapon works is the best way to keep your practice safe.
Step 4
Focus on a single technique during your first lesson. Although your lesson will probably involve more than once concept, strive to learn one move well enough to take it home and practice.
Step 5
Practice your technique at least 100 times before your next lesson. Use your practice weapon for this. A practice weapon is a mock weapon built to be less dangerous, such as a wooden sword or padded nunchaku.
Step 6
Review your weapon technique with your instructor when you come in for your next lesson. Once your instructor says you've learned the basics, focus on a new technique to take home.
Step 7
Continue to practice techniques at home even after you've moved on to a new technique. Martial arts master teacher Phil Porter says that you must practice a technique 5,000 times in order to become proficient.
Step 8
Practice with a live weapon once you've logged 5,000 repetitions in a given technique. Using an actual sharp blade or swinging a combat staff at full speed develops the confidence and focus you need to truly master a weapon.
Things You'll Need
- Practice weapon
- Live weapon
- Training space
- Access to training
References
- "The Tao of Jeet Kun Do"; Bruce Lee; 1975
- Dave Coffman; Martial Arts Instructor; Hillsboro, Oregon
- Phil Porter; US Olympic Judo Coach (ret); Sacramento, CA
- MartialArm.com: Types of Karate Weapons
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