Can I keep nunchakus in my back pack for self defence?

>>I live in California and I've been training with nunchakus for about 6 months, I'm mostly proficient with them.<<

No, you are not close to being proficient with anything training for 6 months.

>>Lets say hypothetically I get jumped by guys and use the nunchakus for self defense. Will the law really be that harsh on me since nunchakus are illegal in California?<<

Illegal is illegal. Just because you use it in self-defense does not make it legal. California law does not care whether you defended yourself - it just cares that you broke the law and by carrying AND using an illegal weapon the state can make a case in court that you did so deliberately with intent which makes it even worse for you. So you better believe the government is going to be very harsh on you. Did it ever occur to you that a state that is as anti-gun and anti-self-defense as California would not be friendly towards someone using any kind of weapon include an illegal one?

It's just a question I'm really curious of.

You should be more careful in choosing your self defense weapon if you decide to carry one. First is the legality of the carry. Can you carry it? Most states allows for the conventional(what is concidered normal) self defense weapons like pepper spray, taser, and firearms(albit most likely with licence). Knives tends to be a grey area. You should google the state and county law and speak to an officer if really confused by the law(Obviously ask them as theoritically. Don't carry a weapon to them). In general though, you get no points for novelty in self defense and stranger the weapon more illegal it probably is.

Second is legality of the use. Most states only allows the use of weapon to balance the field in self defense and does not let you use a weapon that completely over powers a person. There are grey areas to that but essentially you have to match the lethality. So you can't shoot a gun at a guy coming at you with a baton because it would be seen as using a lethal weapon against non-lethal(or perceived to be one by the society) weapon. Where does your Nunchuku land in this scale? probably higher than most weapons people can grab but lower than a knife and gun. So pretty much the only time you could use that weapon is if the other guy has a knife or a gun. I really would not try your chance against knife or a gun with a nunchuku.

Third is the draw. As others have pointed out if you can't draw your weapon it's useless. A gun man's biggest weakness is the 1+ second they spend drawing their gun. Within this time a knife man can cover 21 feet of distance. So even with near 1 second draw people have trouble, and if you can't hope to match that speed the weapon is near useless. Only time you can use it is if the threat is too far away, but you know they are coming. But if you know they are coming then by logic and law you have to run away from the situation. (btw, this also means that pepper spray that ladies keep in their purse is near useless as well)

So there's the three points to think about before choosing a self defense weapon.

No you can't carry them in you backpack for self defense. You can''t carry them at all in Californai. They are illegal. If I'm not mistaken I can't bring mine to compete in a tournament in Cal.

Aside from interesting legal issues other raised. There's a saying or something like, if you've got a 'weapon, you need timely deployment. A good weapon you can't reach, is good as no weapons.'

If you are confronted in a truely dangerous situation and have so much time to drop you bag, while the other person wait, take it out and swing it around while the other gun makes no effort. Why don't you just run? Why? What's the point of defending yourself, when you're not in danger at all but waiting to beat up this helpless dude with your crazy one hit kill weapon?

Or maybe.....he doesn't need to intercept your deployment. By the time he sees you pull it out....he's head is like 'Wow, this cool dude has this stick. Take my gun for my safety or call more dudes to grab him and get the weapon away.'

By letting someone see you taking the weapon, they're going to respond. They're not just going to still use the same strategy of just using nothing but hands. They have fear as human beings. Reduce the time taken to actually deploy it.

Though do take the legal issues into account.

AND Train!

Don't think you can just use a weapon without training, you could easily hit yourself.

first off its nunchaku there is no s it is an okinawan word and is already plural,

one of my teaches lives in califorina, his student was arrested for carrying foam nunchaku, and you want to carry real one's.

so yes the laws will be that harsh on you. nunchaku are not a toy they are considered a lethal weapon, and with a properly trained person they can be.

besides johns scenario, you wont have time to take them out of your backpack. what are you going to do tell the guy to wait as you get them out. besides i doubt you learned enough to use them in self defense in 6 months

Ok, walk me through this scenario in your head? Someone jumps you and you say "Guys just a sec so I can take out my nunchaks out of my backpack". Then you swing them around like Bruce Lee, beat the bad guys, a hot girl rushes into your arms and as you walk away a building explodes behind you? And you don't look back as the explosion goes on. Did I get that right?

If you truly needed to defend yourself and pulled out nunchucks, you'd wake up in the ER with nunchucks in your rectum.

Nunchaku looooooool dude who do you think you are?? Bruce Lee?

I have no doubt that if you own a baseball bat -- because you have played baseball ,no matter how naively -- you could use it to "defend" yourself , using reasonable force etc etc, in the circumstances you describe. But you raise the issue of someone , who admits to ,or it can be shown that , they only own the bat for the purpose of self defence ( and let's face it , many pubs seem to have something like this behind the bar ) . However, quite honestly , I don't know the answer to your question -- but suspect it would muddy the waters if the worst were to happen. So get the bat -- use it in the park /garden ,at least once -- and then put it away in "readiness".

Legally you can't carry them for that reason and if caught with them especially on school property they probably will not be very understanding and will get you in more trouble than you would care to have. They are recognized and classified as a weapon in all fifty states. Instead you might want to consider something more conventional and more defensive in nature like a small pepper mace dispenser that fits in your pocket and can be attached to your keys. Even that might not fly very well but it is something that is seen as more defensive in nature than a set of nunchaku.

I also have to wonder about your ability to use them; fancy twirling and passing is one thing but learning how to do more than that and really use them in application requires formal training which does not sound like the case here. I would be more concerned about if someone took them away from you and then used them on yourself if I were you. I think its probably best if you leave them at home really.