At class last Thursday Adam showed us how to figure out the approximate length of rope or chain you should have between the handles of your nunchaku. Mine was a little too long, so I knew that before the next class I sat down to adjust them. The pinching on my hands that I got when I reversed grips confirmed it.

I’d done some research and found the Sei Shin Kan guide to traditional nunchaku tying. That’s not how mine were tied.

The SSK method has one piece of cord looped once between the handles, giving you two strands. When I looked at mine, I saw three strands. Rather than a knot on one handle, I saw a coil of cord in each handle.

I resolved to consider the issue so that I could make sure I wouldn’t untie my chucks and foul the binding without being able to fix it again. I’ve done crap like that in the past. “I’m sure I can put this printer back together!” Watching Shana’s difficulties in adjusting hers made me wary.

When I gave it a little thought, I realized immediately how the cord had to be tied. A quick look at the ropes showed me that there was a simple looping method used.

As you can see in my crappy png, it’s just a loop with an extra turn. The blue areas represent where the cord is coiled around itself to bind it tight. No knotting necessary, easy to adjust.

With that said, I’m considering getting a set of chucks with a chain and ball-bearing swivels. I borrowed a set of those to see how I liked them and the action is really smooth.

Oh, and I managed to make it through class without bashing myself with the chucks. I’m a little less frantic about getting some foam practice ones. A little.