In every martial arts movie, there’s a scene where someone breaks out the nunchucks. A very simple weapon, two sticks connected by a chain, the weapons are very useful in a situation where the other person is unarmed. They’re also useful at stopping criminals in their tracks. Even the cops are getting wise to that. Police have started using nunchucks as non-lethal alternatives to Tasers and nightsticks.
It’s a case of everything old is new again. Thanks in no small part to Bruce Lee, police started adopting nunchucks in the 1980’s to combat riots and the like. After a few lawsuits over their use, places like San Diego and Los Angeles dropped the program, while places like Denver kept it active and kept some officers trained in their use. Now, with increasing issues involving police use of force and the need for multi-purpose striking and binding weapons, nunchucks are looking like a pretty good alternative once again.
“The Taser slowed everything down,” said Kevin Orcutt, one of the only manufacturers of police-level nunchucks in the United States. “There is still a place for them.”
Tags: nunchucks, nunchucks as police weapons, police using nunchucks as weapons, anderson police department, police add nunchucks to weapons, martial arts, police weapons, kevin orcutt, bruce lee, police nunchucks, unusual weapons, law and order, police trends