Purpose of the Wooden Dummy

[JK Walz]

I would be interested to hear what different people think the purpose of the wooden dummy is.

Does it teach hitting techniques?

Footwork?

Energetics?

Does it condition the arms and hands?

[anerlich]

IMO to teach angles and transmision of force, but mainly to allow you to train after you've bored all your training partners to death repeating techniques thousands of times over.

[old jong]

Mainly what Anerlich said.
It teaches you also how to react if you are attacked by a wild log!;)

[Rob Wolf]

It seems that the understanding of Wing Chun’s 108 MYJ has become elusive, so here’s my best shot. So shall I begin with the kuen kuit?
1) There are 108 movements for the wooden man, repeated practice develops the proper use of power.
2) The footwork varies and one should always maintain close contact with the Mok jong.
3) The generation of power starts from the heart and shoots to the centreline of the Mok Jong, up, down, back and forth movements are continuous.
4) The improvement of ones power can never be predicted.
5) The arm bridge sticks to the arms of the Mok Jong during movements.
6) The achievement of sticking power is a threatening force.
7) The development of the proper release of power.
8) The proper usage of your position and the correct line are hard to defeat. That being said, The Wing Chun 108 Mok yan Jong develops the correct use of power, better line structure, enhanced coordination of hand and leg movement, continuity and fluidity of motion. The training also develops closing the gap and the Iron bridge arms. It should also be mentioned that one should never hit the Mok Jong to hard. One should always maintain body unity during the movements, stick closely to the wooden man and the eyes should always look to the Mok Jong, ( not down at the hands, etc.) also remember to direct the power the the centre of the dummy. Another aspect is the even development of the right and left sides of the body, as well as simultaneous block and attack with the hands and legs. The Wing Chun mok Yan Jong is a priceless tool that teaches the development of power and the applications of the 3 Wing Chun Hand forms, Siu Lim Tau, Chum Kiu and Bue Jee.As a last note I would like to be sure and credit this information to my Wing Chun Sifu, Augustine Fong who has passed this knowledge down to me , as he himself learned from my Sigung Ho Kam Ming, who was a top student who learned the entire Wing Chun system of gung fu From our Sijo the late great Yip Man. Hope this helped!! ……..All the best, Sifu Lopez www.sillumwingchun.com

[Savi]

Greetings Sifu Lopez from Meng's Martial Arts of AZ, and thank you for sharing some of Kuen Kuit and the other well formatted information. It has left much for us (me at least) to think about coming from another branch of the Wing Chun family tree! As for my thoughts, I think the wooden dummy serves many purposes. Just generally speaking:

1. Mind: It is a prepatory tool to train fighters and teachers alike to engage an enemy with specific military/combat tactic and strategy tied to its use. Since the dummy is more or less a stationary object, it allows you to train against an 'opponent' with a very strong root. Because of this, it is you that must be mobile and therefore must have a thorough understanding of footwork to apply proper strategy and tactic per application. Its arms and leg have been designed at specific angles from the trunk to allow such executions of application to perfection - that when you hit the dummy in multiple places with the right sympathetic motions and structures, you only hear one sound for coupled motions. More than one sound constitutes broken body unity in time and space, which demonstrates an unsuccessful execution.

2. Mind and Body: It is a means to develop the awareness of, and build experience in, engaging a second object. In other words, it is one of the best partners to train with because it never complains when you do something wrong, but you'll know - if you get bruises! You should be able to train Biu Jee level energetics on the Muk Yan Jong and not sustain personal injuries, like bruises unless your timing of motion and energy release aren't harmonized. Could also be perceived as another form of Iron Arm/Fist training and conditioning. Could be seen as a level specifically intended for one to meditate on their personal martial awareness of their body in motion. Hmmm...

3. Body, Mind, and Spirit: It is also a device which allows the practitioner to further develop an internal as well as external understanding of time, space, and energy. For example, I have found that the further my training went in the Muk Yan Jong, the more compact and stronger my Chi Sau (hand and footwork) became. It refines and intensifies every level of Wing Chun training, and the use of the Body, Mind, and Spirit. I think it is quite an ingenious tool to train with. Once the practitioner has focused on the unity of Body, Mind, and Spirit, then and only then have they reached perfect knowledge. Find your harmony!

Some styles of Wing Chun I have heard train weapons application on the dummy, with many many layers being a part of this training. This is very intriguing to me! But overall, I feel that the Muk Yan Jong serves as the bridge between you and a live opponent, and cannot be ignored as an integral part of combat training. Once you reach this training level, you must ALWAYS revisit it when training previously visited levels with your kung fu family.

These are just some of my immediate thoughts... maybe more later...
-Savi.

[azwingchun]

Wow....finally a great post has arrived! But really, to me this is what this forum is about, sharing ideas from the different lineages. Almost brought a tear to my eye.... LOL.

On a lighter side, we must not forget, it is a great to tool to relieve stress on.;)

[Mckind13]

THanks Savi and Red Wolf
David McKinnon

[Savi]

Hi all,
Knowing that in Wing Chun, we train pole vs pole, pole vs knives (Baat Jahm Do), and knives vs knives... does anyone know of, or have any experience in training/learning the Gwan (pole) with the Muk Yan Jong they could share? May be a silly question, but I'm just curious.

-Savi.

[yuanfen]

There used to be a separate dummy IMO for pole work-once upon a time. Not necessary now.

[azwingchun]

The only real drill we do is circling around the arms, like figure eights in and out of the dummies arms. To help build the strength and control needed to use the pole. But this is usually only done by a student who is just getting into pole work. ;)

[KPM]

Hi Guys!

Check out this link at about the middle of the page. You will see the Pole Dummy from the Chi Sim WCK lineage. Looks pretty interesting to me. I would like the chance to work with one of these some time. :-)

http://www.weng-chun.com/index_e.htm

Keith

Oops! The specific page didn't come through. Just click on the "history" link on the left sidebar and then scroll down to about the middle of that page. There is another pic of the pole dummy on the "masters" page near the bottom.

[flavour54]

Firstly, I heard it had a lot more than a 108 movements and i have been in a class where Sifu gave us a sneak preview at set 3a and 3b. I also heard dim mak is involved.

It's only what I heard

[Rob Wolf]

Hello,
Yes, The Wing Chun 108 Mok Yan Jong is also referred to as the 116, this counting includes The 8 leg tecniques which are in addition to the 108 hand tecniques.
Traditionally we have always referred to the dummy as the
108 Mok yan Jong.........The first Kuit or sutra in reference to the dummy reveals this in that it states; "There are a 108 movements in the Mok yan jong" Yet to retiterate , The Wing Chun Mok Yan Jong consists of 108 hand tecniques and eight kicking faht, so yes 116!!!
Now if you were to count out each motion you may come up with 253!!!
It has been said that in fatsan, Yip man taught a 140 movement set, which was then streamlined to 108 and then later regrouped into 116 to include the chi gurk or wing chun sticky leg......Hope this helps,
All the best, Sifu Lopez