Nunchucks are used virtually every day in a martial arts class somewhere in California by students. Many of the students fall in the category of “young men” that state lawmakers feared would use what Newsweek called 'killing sticks” for mayhem so they moved to make them illegal in 1974.

When were nunchucks outlawed?

A month later, the California attorney general cited the Newsweek article when explaining that nunchaku can “generate 1,600 pounds of pressure at the point of impact, whereas the human bone breaks at about 8 1/2 pounds.” In 1974, the state banned their possession.

What states is it illegal to have nunchucks?

Most states, however, allow them. Up until 2019, four states had laws banning personal nunchuck usage, including Arizona, California, New York, and Massachusetts. However, the bans in Arizona and New York were overturned, and now only California and Massachusetts have laws limiting their use.