The nunchaku, as we know it, comes from Okinawa.

Many think that the nunchaku has descended from the rice flail to level rice fields.

After several studies, this belief was found to be erroneous.

The actual Okinawan flail, like the European flail, has a handle as long as a man's height to make the threshing process easier.

So the belief that the nunchaku descended from the Okinawan rice flail must be baseless.

A possible reason for this error in belief, besides its resemblance to the nunchaku, may be the existence of the a combat flail, which really is a modified rice flail, among the weapons of Okinawan kobujutsu.

There are several possible theories regarding the origin of nunchaku.

1. One is that it may have derived from an instrument used for crushing beans.

2. A second theory is that it was adapted from the instrument carried by the village night watch, which is made of two blocks of wood joined by cord.