History Main / FightingWithChucks

* In ''Film/{{Fearless}}'', Huo uses a three-section staff in his fight with Tanaka, who uses a katana. During the fight, they end up switching weapons with each other and keep going until Tanaka [[WhatTheFuAreYouDoing accidentally whaps himself in the back of the head]]. Huo graciously stops to allow them to swap weapons again (he was having no problems using the katana) before continuing the match.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'''s Dante generally fights with [[PowerFist fists]], [[TheMusketeer swords or guns]], but one of the more exotic weapons he owns is a three-piece nunchaku, consisting of three bars that are chained to a central ring, made from the collar of a [[{{Hellhound}} Cerberus]] that he defeated.

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* ''Film/TheyCallMeBruce?''. Bruce carries one but doesn't know how to use it properly so has to talk his way out when confronted by some gang punks. When two police officers see the chucks and threaten to arrest Bruce, pretends they're his chopsticks. And during a BarBrawl, an FBI ActionGirl transforms into a gal wielding a three-stick flail version.

It should also be noted that ninja never actually used nunchucks. Since they were spies more than warriors, when they had to fight someone, they normally had to kill their opponent quickly and effectively, and nunchuks were definitely not up for that kind of job. It was more a weapon used by farmers and peasants to defend themselves from attackers, since they were easy to make, they could be mistaken by farmers' tools at first glance (specifically threshing sticks used to loosen grains from plants), and don't require such a high level of skill to use effectively. Or at least to use without hurting oneself permanently. Furthermore, the purpose of the weapon is not to strike your enemy (common physics decrees that in most situations, the weapon would just smack your own body right back afterward,) but to force them to submit by cutting off circulation to their limbs by using them as a tourniquet. All in all, not a bad ImprovisedWeapon.

* The hideously-beweaponed Special Constable Andy "Two Swords" Hancock, in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels ''Discworld/{{Thud}}'' and ''Discworld/{{Snuff}}'', carries an [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Agatean]] weapon that he calls "numknuts", and that Commander Vimes thinks of as two truncheons fastened together. In untrained hands the most likely effect is to hit your own ear.

* ''{{series/Bones}}'' has them as a possible murder weapon in one episode. Intern Arastoo warns Jack Hodgins that they can be difficult to use properly and Hodgins clocks himself in the face and is badly stunned. Arastoo then wields them flawlessly, to Hodgins’ awe.

** [[LittleBitBeastly Sun]] [[MischiefMakingMonkey Wu]][[LovableRogue kong]] wields a pair of ''[[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotgun-nunchaku]]'', which also functions as a SimpleStaff. And he doesn't kid around: he unloads ''[[MoreDakka 40 blasts in 5 seconds]]''.

* Fighter of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' combines these with swords to form SwordChucks. Before that, Black Belt used regular nunchucks.

* Shinjiro from ''Manga/{{Gamaran}}'' wields Nunchaku in battle.

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* Michelangelo of the ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' uses nunchaku as his WeaponOfChoice. In fact, given that the drawing that inspired the comic was of a turtle wielding nunchaku, he might be the "original" Ninja Turtle.
** Additionally, the nunchaku is a meaningful weapon when compared to the rest of his brothers. Out of all the weapons given to the four turtles, it was the most complicated weapon to wield (compared to swords, sai and staff) and yet it was given to the one with seemingly the least motivation to train seriously, which highlights Michelangelo's BrilliantButLazy tendencies.

* During the battle for Valhalla and to rescue Minerva in the fourth arc of ''Comicbook/TheWickedAndTheDivine'', Dionysus wielded nunchaku [[RuleOfCool made out of glowsticks]].
* Post ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} nunchakus quickly became [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]]'s weapon of choice.

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* In ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'', a skinny nerd ''dies'' after hitting himself in the head with a nunchaku. [[TooDumbToLive Thing is]], he had tried {{brick break}}ing [[UseYourHead with his head]] before fooling with the chucks...
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "The Talons of Weng Chiang", one member of the Black Dragon Tong uses nunchucks ... as a garrotte. Even the guy from [[MediaWatchdog the BBFC]] objecting to the scene (and calling them "chainsticks") pointed out this was wrong.

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* Nunchaku can be used as weapons in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' but there's no real advantage to them other than RuleOfCool- as exotic weapons only monks have the natural proficiency to use them and most monks will prefer to be [[BareFistedMonk fighting with their bare hands anyway.]] At least the ''other'' exotic monk weapons such as the kama or siangham do slashing or piercing damage.
** ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' inherits the nunchaku. It also has the sansetsukon, which is better in quite a few ways: martial instead of exotic, and with a 19-20 crit range with decent (d10) damage. Not a bad two-handed bludgeoning weapon.

* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja''

* ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'''s Dante generally fights with [[PowerFist fists]], [[TheMusketeer swords or guns]], but one of the more exotic weapons he owns is a three-piece nunchaku, consisting of three bars that are chained to a central ring, made from the collar of a [[{{Hellhound}} Cerberus]] that he defeated.

* Bruno of the Kanto Elite Four in ''Manga/PokemonSpecial'' uses chucks.

* TheChosenOne in ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'' uses improvised nunchuks made out of gophers.

* In ''Film/EnterTheDragon'', Creator/BruceLee takes them from a clueless Mook and demonstrates how to ''really'' use the nunchaku. Which, like the Ninja thing, is not how one really uses the nunchaku; it was just [[BoringButPractical used to either strangle an enemy or go upside their head with it, like a western flail]]. All the fancy spinning and twirling was popularized by none other than Bruce Lee himself, who did it [[RuleOfCool so spectacularly]] that everyone just assumed that's how you were supposed to use nunchaku.

* In ''Series/OnethousandWaysToDie'', a skinny nerd ''dies'' after hitting himself in the head with a nunchaku. [[TooDumbToLive Thing is]], he had tried {{brick break}}ing [[UseYourHead with his head]] before fooling with the chucks...

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' shows [[LittleBitBeastly Sun]] [[MischiefMakingMonkey Wu]][[LovableRogue kong]] wielding a pair of ''[[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotgun-nunchaku]]'', which also functions as a SimpleStaff. And he doesn't kid around: he unloads ''[[MoreDakka 40 blasts in 5 seconds]]''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', Rex himself can create a pair weapons called the [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2a33cb9a363cd7a5138f42ef93dfce3f.png Funchucks]] that are giant-sized versions of normal nunchucks that project an energy blast when spun too fast. [[MundaneUtility Because they glow, they can also be used as and improvised flashlight.]]

* Maxi of the ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'' series uses chucks, as did his predecessor and mentor Li Long from ''Soul Edge''. In games and versions where nunchaku are banned, these are replaced by a sansetsukon. The third stick apparently makes it a-ok by the law.

* Ling Tong of ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' also uses nunchucks. He later switches to a ''san jie gun'' by the time of ''Dynasty Warriors 8.''
** Guan Suo gets the nunchucks as of 7.

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' - [[BruceLeeClone Liu Kang]] and [[JerkAss Johnny Cage]].
* ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'''s Dante generally fights with [[PowerFist fists,]] [[TheMusketeer swords or guns]], but one of the more exotic weapons he owns is a three-piece nunchaku, consisting of three bars that are chained to a central ring, made from the collar of a [[HellHound Cerberus]] that he defeated.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' can get her hands on a pair of nunchucks called Sai Fung, and true to form, she busts out the FunnyBruceLeeNoises when laying into angels with them. In fact, they're not just nunchucks. They're [[ImpossiblyCoolWeapon gunchucks.]]

* There's a scene in ''[[VideoGame/DeadOrAlive Dead or Alive 4]]'' where [[BruceLeeClone Jann Lee]] & [[HighlyVisibleNinja Ryu Hayabusa]] both show off with a set of nunchucks before they fight. The former has also defeat a group of thugs with his nunchucks in his ending in ''DOA 3''.
* [[BruceLeeClone Fei Long]] in ''Super VideoGame/StreetFighter 2'' and onwards plays with a set in one of his victory poses. Must be something that comes with being a BruceLeeClone?
* In ''Videogame/{{Tekken}} 5'', nunchuks are a costume item for [[BruceLeeClone Marshall Law]]. He gets to finally use one during a fight in ''Tekken 6'' and ''Tag 2''. When his son Forest tries to use the nunchuck, [[EpicFail he accidently throws them out of a window and causes a chain of car accidents]].
* Jon Talbain /[[DubNameChange Gallon]] from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' pulls some nunchucks straght out of {{Hammerspace}} in some special attacks, probably to emphasize his training in the martial arts.

* Shows up in ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'' as a weapon type (called [[EpicFlail Flails]] by the game, but all combat animations depict nunchaku, not to mention all of their techs having wuxia-inspired names.) Although weak weapons, they are great tools for comboing, and their techs do high damage against single opponents at short range.

Nunchucks, like the katana, are the Japanese weaponization of the RuleOfCool. All ninjas that don't use swords use chucks and anyone that knows karate knows how to use them. They are even so easy to make that you can just chain two things together and make InstantChucks. Unfortunately, nunchucks are to katana as Luigi is to Mario, badass on its own but is never given the lime light.

* These were Wrestling/AjaKong's weapon of choice, and she could lay a surprising number of strikes with them behind the back of a distracted referee.