first off i'd like to say: hey! somebody who knows what they're talking about when it comes to chaks!!
then i'd say: thanks for the compliments
and then i should point out that i live in the UK, where we have totally different laws that allow us to pop into the local army surplus store and buy nunchaku (and other lovely lovely toys) over the counter
then i might as well tell you i've been throwing chaks for nearly 15 years, (all self-taught) although, recently, not quite so much as i used to. so when i decided fire-chaks would be a good idea (which was kind of a bored-on-friday-night spur-of-the-moment kinda thing) i felt fairly confident i wasn't going to set myself on fire, even so, i did have a friend nearby ready with a wet towel just incase
and now you mention it, heavy metal poi might well be a good thing to bounce off somebody's head, i certainly don't think i'd enjoy it
care to share any tips on how to make more of a presentable performance out of the whole fire-chak thing? as i said, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing so i never had a kata/form/set/drill planned out, i just lit up and went for it..
here's some of my other toys i think you might get a kick out of
I take Tae Kwon Do classes, and am quite familiar with "chaks", though we call them by their Korrean names. I can't spell any of them though, just pronounce. The ones we use, however, are foam padded and would be really stupid to light on fire, also because they are connected by a string rather than a chain .
... unless you're sparring with them and you don't want to harm your partner, then that's ok.
but when you're just playing around with them, and you hit yourself, if you don't feel the full impact of a solid heavy blow in a sensitive area, you won't ever feel the need to adapt and perfect your technique to fit your body shape and the way you move so when it comes to picking up a 'real' pair of chaks, you'll still be making all the same mistakes that you never ironed out with the foam ones and trust me... catching yourself in the back of the head or the funny bone with a good heavy pair of wooden chaks is not a good thing.
Well for me, unless you get into this super-advanced club thing and/or are black belt or higher in rank (not sure of the exact rules), only then do you get real ones. You brobably have to buy them or make them on your own anyways, rather than the academy just providing them for you .
I am a brown belt and am not in the super-advanced club (or whatever it is). It may just be that you also need to be 18 to get real weapons of any kind.
PS: A few of the kids in my class are actually able to hurt themselves with foam ones as well .
nope, not an assassin and definately not a turtle, but i must confess, it was michaelangelo that got me started on the whole chak thing back when i were a lad and the turtles were still new (like late 80's/early 90's) and there was the whole 'who's your favourite turtle' thing goin on in the playground. mine was always the one with the chaks and then i started watchin like bruce lee movies n stuff n it all went off from there
Actually, nunchakus are used by law enforcement for holding and choking, something for which they are very good. Throwing may be splashy, but it is nearly ineffective and easily countered.
We've been feeling that a lot of fire performance is done with too little ambient light, especially when filmed. Bring out some votive candles in white bags or torches to illuminate your body, it lets people see some of the more intricate details of what you do.
Work with moving your body a lot. put the chucks above your head and below the waste, separate out your arms at times. It is really easy to stay still, and while that shows off skill, it gets old from an audience point of view. Try walking around, try exaggerated walks, say bringing your knees up really high on each step. Just screw around with them and see how things look, repeat patterns that make for cool visual effects. Try to think of things in terms of long exposure photography, paint pictures with the fire. Poi instructional video can teach you all sorts of things.
Poi moves like flowers, weaves, and isolations could really expand the scope of a performance. Remember what you can do in front of you with your right hand can be done with your left, behind your back, above your head, between your legs, all for different effects.
I've seen some people use PVC as a decent medium between heavy wood and foam chucks, they still sting, but won't knock you out. Soft practice toys are good for the first few times with any weapon, to get a feel for spinning it and knowing what is going to hurt, but I agree, not something you want to train with.
Looking at what you've got, I've seen some really cool fire sword routines, but you either need a well practiced partner, or to be a really fancy dancer to make them interesting past 30 seconds. Getting a sword balanced with a ball pommel so they can be spun definitely increases their range of interest and the cost of realism. Usually people wrap wick along the length of a blunt blade, or use tube wick. Colored fuel can look REALLY awesome on swords, giving a lightsaber effect that counters the generally bulky look of fire swords, but colored fire is pricey and toxic.
I've seen some cool club routines, adding a small length of rope and ball handles again expand their options.
You using Kevlar wicks and white gas (naptha) for fuel? If not, I highly recommend both. Kevlar takes a lot of abuse and won't fly apart mid burn, and white gas burns clean and bright, with a low risk of explosion (unlike petrol) Always check the integrity of your tools before lighting up.
Just to point out, the warning I posted, I post when ever this topic comes up. We are on an all ages, international board, and are discussing something that is dangerous and potentially illegal. We do not want some kid seeing this, getting hurt, and pointing fingers, I doubt anyone here would be able to fight a lawsuit. Local laws vary, I'm only concerned with covering our asses. I've seen people try to tie socks to ropes and dip them in gasoline thinking they could be fire spinners... One needs to instill some sense of responsibility.
Also, we really aren't talking about how to hurt people with weapons, but performing fancy stunts with them. Yes, it is much easier to strangle an opponent then to twirl your nunchucks till they pass out with fear, but we don't really plan on needing to fight with our props. If you want to learn to fight you need to join a dojo or some other martial arts school not an origami forum.
Ok, that's not true entirely but that's a deep subject for another day.
Thelemic Potter wrote:If you want to learn to fight you need to join a dojo or some other martial arts school not an origami forum.
This was funny, but so true. I learnt that weapons are dangerous when i was a kid and i was also told not to burn them and shake them around , and well I do not do it anyway. It is interesting that here (in my city) you see people jugling fire, or with some chains burning, or a staff or something which name i do not know (they are basically three small sticks, two in the guys hand and one he is moving around with the other two), well you see them very often performing when the traffic light is red, so i do not think that carrrying such thing is very restricted (at least in my country ) It looks awesome, but i would never try it.
It looks really cool madarko, but i can not see what you are doing as Thelemic Potter said. And no matter what you say, you are a ninja! do not try denying it!
k. i'm juggling a few other things ariund at the moment that are taking up a lot of time, but one of these days i'm gonna get myself good and drunk and make another vid of DRUNKEN fiery nunchaku ... watch this space \m/
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, and well I do not do it anyway. It is interesting that here (in my city) you see people jugling fire, or with some chains burning, or a staff or something which name i do not know (they are basically three small sticks, two in the guys hand and one he is moving around with the other two), well you see them very often performing when the traffic light is red, so i do not think that carrrying such thing is very restricted (at least in my country