Hi! I want to build a wooden dummy like the one Bruce Lee used for training. Does anyone has schematics for building it... from the few pictures I have seen, it looks like having slots for placing the wood arms and foots. I would like to know sizes, angles, and even materials... which wood would be the most resistant to create a wooden dummy? What about metal? In one picture i saw Bruce using a wooden dummy with an iron foot. Also, im looking for moves sequences to get the most from the dummy. Best Regards!
Hello. I would not waste my time building one. I too, in the past thought I could make one until I found out what was involved. You need the proper wood (hardwood like oak or harder), you have to have the trunk in certain dimensions in order for you to get the right feel. You have to lay out the wood to dry I think for a while. You have to build not only the dummy, but the arms seperate, the leg, carve out the neck if you want a JKD one, the stand it will be on, etc..sand it down, etc. Plus once it is all done, you have to use a resin sealant on it...like a furniture polish to seal the pores and prevent cracks. Because when you are dealing with wood that is larger in diameter than 9 inches, the wood many times cracks due to the humidity. So you need to always look at every angle of it and be ready to use wood filler and a spray sealant to keep the crack from enlarging. If I were you, save a thousand bucks and order one from the best. You might think it is a lot of money and it is, but if you are serious about following Bruce Lee, I would get a job if I were you and save my money. The Great Lion Company has the best dummies I have ever seen. The JKD dummy with the corner stand is what I have. Go to the following link:
Once you are there, look on the left panal and see where it says Jeet Kune Do dummy. That is the closest replica of what Bruce Lee had in existence. Then click "back" on the top left of your screen and click on "about the stands". This will give you different options to how you decide you will mount your dummy. Like I said, I chose the corner stand cause it is more balanced and reliable than the other ones that are available not to mention it is free standing and you don't need to drill into the wall to mount it that way. It fits neatly into a corner in your house. Good luck and if you have any other questions, just ask.
Thanks for both answers, specially Len for showing me it's not so easy as I thought. You are right, looking at those pictures and some other I found, seems that I also need some machinery for cutting the pieces... making the cost even higher!!
I better save some dollars and buy one.
By the way, how do you use a wooden dummy? Which are the movements?
This message has been edited by chronodragon on Mar 9, 2004 12:47 AM This message has been edited by chronodragon on Mar 9, 2004 12:47 AM
There are a lot of different videotapes on wooden dummy training, however, I guess you can just drill the basics an hour after hour(boring, but beneficial), stuff like punching, blocking, entering etc
If you are learning trapping you should already know how to use the dummy.
You need not practice fancy bullcrap.
Practice simultaneous blocking and striking.
Practice simultaneous blocking and kicking, or striking and kicking or simultaneous trapping and kicking.
here's an example of a trap you can do just to give you the basic idea. Just say he punches (the punch will be one of the arms, let's say the chest height or the head height arm). You can pak sao that arm and simultaneously punch the face with the other hand. then let's say he blocked your punch, so your punching hand moves down to grab the arm and pull it out (lop sau) while the other hand strikes the face.
If the dummy is properly made, the height of the two upper arms will be approximately the same. There are many movements that can be practiced on the mook jong. You can work lin sil die dar (simultaneous defense and attack), simple traps, compound traps, half beat insertion strikes, bridging strikes, rotation strikes, entering skills, low line kicks and leg checking. You can also do a certain amount of chi gerk (sticking legs) on the dummy. You can work all of your basic parries for hand, wrist and forearm conditioning. You can also work small disengagement (huen sao) and large disengagement (jao sao) on the mook jong. There are forms that you can learn, but I prefer the freestyle training approach. This allows for maximum creativity and a limitless number of combination movements.
As Lenny said, Great Lion is definitely the company to go with ( http://www.woodendummy.net ). I have been there before and personally witnessed the quality of the work done by the owner, master craftsman Clarke Thornton, who is himself a Wing Chun Sifu. I personally own the JKD dummy with purple heart arms, the side legs and corner stand. Mine also has the Wing Chun leg option. You can't go wrong with Great Lion! Worth every penny that you pay and then some!
If your interested, I make wooden dummies with a padded pvc body. It allows us to sell the mooks cheaper than one that is all wood (saves on shipping costs, too) and allows for full contact striking. We manufacturer the arms out of all hard wood and everythis is built to last. We even have a one year warranty from breakage. If you would like to check one out, go to H2HTrainers.com
Myself and a buddy of mine, had made a mookie about 5 yrs ago, and although it was a job, it paid off. It was a learning experience as well as it's a great training aid we use all the time. Although it sets at his house, it's still standing and is strong. My buddy had all the scrap wood around so it didn't cost a whole lot of money. I think however if you take the time to build one and do a great job at it, you'll respect the mook much more as in if you just buy one...
