Sunday, February 16, 2014

New weapon, kind of.

I have been working with and practicing with nunchucks for the past three years.  I started out with a single foam chuck then progressed to a foam covered wooden stick chuck then to a live wooden chuck then ultimately two live wooden chucks.  My progression has been good and I have come accustom to using nunchucks with chains and ball bearing swivels.  However I have never found a pair of nunchucks that I was totally happy with.  Some had handles that I felt where too thick some where too heavy, some felt unbalanced etc.  I also didn't like how the chain wrapped around my hand and torqued my wrist at times.

Then I stumbled across Master Lee Barden and his Prochux.  Master Barden hand makes each set of chucks and the craftsmanship is outstanding.  However these Prochux are very different in that they don't have chain and ball bearing swivels.  They have a one inch length of cord attaching the two sticks.  As a result the balance of the Prochux is very very different that what I'm used to.  In fact they feel like a brand new weapon that I have to learn how to use all over agin.  What I love about them is how they feel in my hand.  The sticks are octagon in shape, they are the perfect diameter for my hand.  They also feel incredibly balanced (once I learned where the balancing point was) and a sheer joy to use.  What I like about them also is that because there are no chain and ball bearing swivel that the weapon is connected from one stick to the other.  This means that when I spin and roll them I feel the other end more than I ever have.

It is going to take some time to get them where I was with the other chux's, but this is a pair of chux that I am going to base all of my forms and learning around.


Ian Repay

Student of Silent River Kung Fu
ianrepay.blogspot.com
www.silentriverkungfu.com

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