Chakram

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The chakram (Devanāgarī: चक्रम )is a throwing weapon that was used by the ancient Indians; it is a flat metal ring with a sharp outer edge from 5 to 12 inches (13−30 cm) in diameter.

The word comes from Sanskrit and means round, circle, or wheel. Earliest references come from the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana (here the Sudarśana chakram is the weapon of the god Vishnu). It was used by Indian armies, mostly by Sikhs.

It has an effective range of 40 to 50 meters. Because of its aerodynamic shape (similar to an aeroplane wing) it is not easily deflected by wind.

Flying discs and Aerobies are somewhat similar, generally plastic devices for recreational purposes.

A much larger (and purely fictional) version of the chakram has been used in many fantasy and martial arts media. This version, most likely due to its size, is restricted mostly to being a melee weapon instead of a throwing one, with its fighting technique being similar to the acrobatic use of a hula hoop in circus acts.

[edit] Film, television, and entertainment

Disks are used as weapons in the movie Tron.
The chakram is featured heavily in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, as the signature weapon of the title character.
Chakram is also the name of the second episode of the fifth season of Xena: Warrior Princess.
In the movie Krull, the titular character uses a chakram like weapon.
The character Jango in the anime series One Piece also uses the chakram.
Oddjob from the James Bond movie Goldfinger uses a chakram-like hat.
In the movie Predator 2 the Predator has a laser guided Chakram-like weapon
Razor-sharp plates are used for self-defense in Stephen King's Wolves of the Calla.
A chakram weapon is featured in the video game Secret of Mana.
In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, a chakram is dropped by the enemies Discus Lord and Amalaric Sniper, respectively.
In the video game Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, a character, Karim, uses Chakrams on one level.
In the MMORPG RuneScape, chakrams made of obsidian (known as TokTz-Xil-Ul) can be obtained from defeating TzHaar, or from a shop in the TzHaar city
Colette Brunel of the video game Tales of Symphonia fights with two chakrams. She also uses them as melee weapons.
The character Axel from the Kingdom Hearts series uses two fire-based chakrams for his weapons, mostly as melee weapons.
Chrakram are throwing weapons that return to the thrower like a boomerang in the computer game Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.
Kung Lao from the Mortal Kombat series has a razor-rimmed hat that can be used as a chakram.
The reploid Marino can obtain beam chakrams in the video game Mega Man X: Command Mission.
Sun Shang Xiang in the game series Dynasty Warriors wields a pair of wheel-like blades. They are usually referred to as chakrams, but more accurately resemble wind and fire wheels (a Chinese, rather than Indian weapon). Her moveset does not allow her to throw the weapon like a chakram, but she can throw the wheels in a wide arc which then return to her.
In Warcraft 3, the Warden, a Night Elf hero, uses a chakram-like serratted ring-blade (as a melee weapon, not throwing).
In the Turok 2: Seeds of Evil videogame, the Razorwind weapon is a kind of cybernetic alien chakram, and is one of the most, if not the most powerful weapon.
In Guild Wars, the Chakram is one of the off-hand weapons usable by the Mesmer class and one of the slashing dagger types used by the Assassin class in Guild Wars: Factions
In Threads of Fate the character Mint uses a pair of chakrams.
Sailor Moon uses her tiara as a chakram-like weapon in the popular anime series bearing the same name.
Wonder Woman has a razor-sharp tiara that she can remove and use as a chakram-like projectile.
In the manga series Berserk, the character Silat wields chakrams among other weapons of Indian origin.
Sen of Saturday, the armor piloted by Melissa in the anime Gun X Sword has the chakram as the main weapon and it is also the armors weapon form.
The character Yakushiji Tenzen uses two Chakram in the 2005 movie SHINOBI Heart Under Blade.
The character Tira in the video game Soul Calibur 3 wields an oversized Chakram.
The character Tio in the video game Grandia II attacks using dual Chakrams.
In Greg Cox's novel, The Eugenics Wars, Khan Noonien Singh rescues Gary Seven from Colonel Anastasia Komananov using chakrams.
In the video game Nox, the Chakram was a useful ranging equipment that ricochets between the walls and targets and supposedly returns back to the user.
In the game Fullmetal Alchemist: Curse of the Crimson Elixir, Edward Elric has the ability to transmute and modify chakrams and use them as a weapon.
In the video game Suikoden 4 one of the characters named Akaghi uses a chakram as a melee weapon, and in Suikoden 5 two characters named Sialeeds and Sharmitsa use a boomerang type of chakram as a weapon.
In the video game Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, The Great Mizuti uses a single chakram as a melee weapon in addition to spells.
In the video game Final Fantasy VII, one of the weapons available for Yuffie Kisaragi is a chakram.
On the television show Ben 10 a new enemy named Charmcaster appears in the episode Tough Luck. She takes a few ring chakrams out of her bag and throws them at Ben, and later on she transforms one of her chakrams into a huge chakram and uses it to almost run over Ben's grandpa.
In the video game Prince of Persia: Warrior Within the Blade Dancer sometimes uses a chakram, and the Prince can wield it as a secondary weapon.
In the video game Final Fantasy VIII, the character Fujin wields a pair of blue chakrams.
In the video game Megaman X Command Mission, the character Marino can use Chakram weapons.
In the PC video game "Lords of Magic" Chakram-like projectile weapons are used by a playable "barbarian huntress" character class.