1
Stage 1 of 3
nunchaku
Okinawan · 17th-18th century
"a two-stick weapon joined by a cord or chain"
developed on Okinawa, possibly from a rice-threshing flail, as a concealed farmer's weapon
2
Stage 2 of 3
nunchaku
Japanese · 20th century
"a martial-arts flail weapon"
absorbed into mainland Japanese as Okinawan karate spread nationally
3
Stage 3 of 3
nunchaku
English · 1970s
"a martial-arts weapon of two sticks linked by a cord"
popularized worldwide by martial-arts films, especially Bruce Lee's
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