How hard do you guys hit the dummy?

[IronFist]

I've always heard that in *proper* WC, you don't hit the dummy very hard. It's just for structure or something. Maybe they meant you don't hit the arms very hard, but you can still blast the body.

A lot of people say that it is a conditioning tool, and it's meant to be worked hard.

Personally, I like to do both. I usually being by doing it lightly to get proper form, and then add more power as I go. By the end I'm really rocking it (well, probably not, but it's a lot of force for ME, haha).

What do you think?

IronFist

[Atleastimnotyou]

well. i suppose you can hit it as hard as you want as long as your structure isn't compromised

[anerlich]

IMHO the "live" dummy at least is supposed to mimic the elasticity and resistance of a human, So you need to hit it hard enough to get it moving and have it "bounce back" to test your structure. If it's a conditioning tool, you also want to work those bridges pretty hard as well.

For conditioning I think you should have fairly solid contact with the forearms, as they are the parts you really want to toughen, less so with the dummy body. Don't ever punch the body full power unless you really want to damage your knuckles. If you can break your hand on someone's skull, you can certainly break it on a hard lump of teak. You can give it a much heavier whack with the palm, but I don't think you really have to go full bore just for the hell of it. Wallbags and the like are better for that.

Other times you want to work more rhythm or fluidity, and then trying to smack it hard doesn't make that much sense.

Several senior WC guys, including William Cheung, have advocated padding the body so you can hit it harder. Might be something to that, though I've never done it, nor has my sifu.

[TjD]

i hit it as hard as i possibly can, using correct structure

however, when you begin to learn the dummy its best to get hte right feel for it, or else you'll be muscling through the whole thing, and never learn the appropriate "jing" so to speak

[IronFist]

My dummy has a PVC body, and it still hurts to punch it hard. I need to get some padding for it... I think I found something that will work at WalMart.

You can see pics at my site, which is given at the bottom of my posts, but I'll link it here for ease.

IronFist's Wooden Dummy Site (http://woodendummy.4dw.com)

IronFist

[Neurotic]

I don't think there is anything wrong with hitting it hard.

All depending on what you are doing.

I know my arms are alot 'harder' than they used to be, due to the time I love to spend on the wooden dummy.

But like all conditioning excercises, be careful.

Avoid repetition excercises at full power, if something hurts, slow it down etc.

I've done this the hard way, I've had a bone bruise on my right forearm due to repetition of bon soa arm breaks on the dummy... and it is taking a LONG time to heal. It's also right on the spot where everyones strikes/blocks will land on, so it is impeding my training somewhat.

By the same token - you should also be able to generate a strong amount of power by slow, flowing technique, and solid body mechanics.

While it is really nice to move really fast, and hear that great cracking noise as the wood arms move inside the body.. slow it down once in a while, and make sure you can still generate the same sort of power while moving at a slower speed.

:o)

I love the dummy! :o)

Neurotic

[reneritchie]

Depends what I'm working on. Sometimes hardly at all, sometimes quite a bit. Like any tool, you try to get as much out of it as possible, even if sometimes its just some fun destressing after a long day at work 8)

[old jong]

Most of the times,I just ''tap'' it lightly concentrating on lines and good posture.
Sometimes,I attack it with an ax and set it on fire but it gets expensive in the long run!;)

[Mr Punch]

Depends how fast the sneaky little booger comes up on me.

[Shisio]

I agree with what everybody else is basically saying- personal prefrence.

[tparkerkfo]

LOL, I guess I disagree with every one else. LOL. Go figure. WHY blast the dummy? It is a lump of wood. As Andrew mentioned, the bag is better for that.

For me, the dummy represents a sophisticated training tool. It is cool and neat to whack the dummy. All those motions and sounds. But what do they really do? I feel it is bettern to use the dummy to hone your skills. You are better off, in my opinion, sticking to the dummy and working on percision. Use structure to deliver your power, but you don't whack it all over. The power comes at the last second from my perspective. Others obviously have differnt views. If your REAL good, you can break the arms of the dummy. But then what? You gotta replace them. LOL. Use the bag to develop power, and the dummy to work on precision. Thats my POV.

Tom
________
Extreme vaporizer (http://extremevaporizer.info)

[Grendel]

Originally posted by tparkerkfo
LOL, I guess I disagree with every one else. LOL. Go figure. WHY blast the dummy? It is a lump of wood. As Andrew mentioned, the bag is better for that.

For me, the dummy represents a sophisticated training tool. It is cool and neat to whack the dummy. All those motions and sounds. But what do they really do? I feel it is bettern to use the dummy to hone your skills. You are better off, in my opinion, sticking to the dummy and working on percision. Use structure to deliver your power, but you don't whack it all over. The power comes at the last second from my perspective. Others obviously have differnt views. If your REAL good, you can break the arms of the dummy. But then what? You gotta replace them. LOL. Use the bag to develop power, and the dummy to work on precision. Thats my POV.

Tom

Right on, Tom. Your advice agrees with my experience.

Regards,

[IronFist]

I think I might have not been clear. When I said I like to use a lot of force on the dummy, I still meant I was using good technique as well. Not just like banging on it with sloppy form :)

My question was whether light movements with good technique, forceful movements with good technique, or a combination of both, was best.

IronFist

[tparkerkfo]

Hello Iron Fist,

A couple points. The first is I do have some strong views on practice, as many people on the list could tell you. Second, these are MY POV based on what I have been taught. I don't pretend to beleive my way is the best. I only offer them as a differnt base line to help others that may have questions.

I too was assuming good structure and technique. What is the point of hitting the dummy if your not going to use proper structure? It is a waste of time. But, I still beleive that the dummy is not a device to unleash your fury on as some people do. Not you in particular. The dummies typically are made of a hard wood, yeah I rememer our discussion on PVC, and that doesn't lend itself well to hard hitting of any kind. Perhaps we should define hard though. Can you release power into the dummy? Yup. It is done with the body and not the hands. A lot of people without proper instruction do whack it, with and without proper structure. It seems more akin to Hung Gar than it does wing chun.

I see the dummy as expensive, hard, and defensless. Why beat it up? Instead, use it as a tool to gauge your techniques and proper body structure. You can practice realsing power on it as well. But I think one should not be at any extreme and not use the dummy to condition ones arms.

Again, these are only my views based on my teachings. Your will vary. If you mean the samething as me, that is OK.

Just my thoughts
Tom
________
Volcano vaporizer reviews (http://vaporizerinfo.com/)

[Cipher]

I think the most important thing is to have correct structure, but, I like to put some power behind it when I strike it too.

I like to go throught the dummy form both slow and light and fast, hard etc. etc.

It's kind of like doing perfect punching combos in the air and if that is all you do and you try to do the same thing hitting something like a heavy bag then chances are you will be shocked at the difference. I just like to make sure that anything I practice that I also put some time in doing the same thing while hitting or blocking something real.