wooden man Techniques

[ovine king]

wing chun dummy isn't a conditioning tool; you do not bash yor arms on it in the hope that it desensitised your arms to pain.

It is a tool for you to practice your flowing both of your arms and in the combination of your arms and footwork, which is something you don't do often in single training.

the first "new" thing you are taught to do on the dummy, is how to step around the leg as you do your hand tachniques, this being something that doesn't feature in any of the hand forms and being part of the first section of the dummy form.

[nanfeishen]

Every school obviously deploys different training routines, and my teacher taught the 3 hand forms as normal, but we were also trained to do all the hand forms as one continuous form, we practiced the forms while stepping, and when we did the dummy form, we learnt it in sections, firstly with no contact on the dummy, then as the teacher thought we knew the movements we learnt them against or on the dummy, and each section was taught the same way, first off the dummy , then on the dummy, so there was nothing new either off the dummy or on the dummy.

And believe me Sifu Wood (as we called and greeted our dummy) certainly improved my arms without "bashing" which is the incorrect way of using the dummy anyway. The constant alternating of pressure against the arms, and the friction created against the surface of the arms or legs, creates the conditioning. "Bashing" anything doesnt condition, it does nothing more than create arthritis and rheumatism when you get older.

[ovine king]

The odd thing is, you do actually strike the arms quite hard so you do kinda bash but the point isn't to desensitise; you hit them hard because you are suposed to find that "sweet spot" on your arms where receiving doesn't hurt as much. This is why many non-wing chun people think you hit the arms hard to condition. You hit the arms hard because that way, if you do a bad movement, you get hurt. Do it correctly and you don't. Best example would be the three star (or five points depending on your lineage).

As i said, the most important point of the dummy is to show you things that you can't see/feel in just forms.

[Menjo]

do you take this style since you seem to know quite a bit about it?

[wingchunner]

Son Goku...:

Since you're in Cleveland, Ohio. You may visit my teacher's school. It's on the corner of Superior and E. 24th.

You can try out a class and pose the question to him.

Here's his website for more information.

http://www.immortalpalm.com

Marty

[stonecrusher69]

I have heard aot of good things about sifu ken Chung.I always wanted to meet him or any of his students.Does he ever come out to new Jersey to do any seminars or NYC?

[wingchunner]

Yes. Ken is a rare find. You're welcome to come visit our school in Cleveland. We have an open invitation for anyone to try our hands.

Ken may give seminars in Rochester NY from time to time. He usually gives a seminar in Cleveland at least once a year. I'd recommend you contact Carl if you're intersted. Also, they do a Wing Chun Camp in San Fran. CA every year around May or June for 3 or 4 days. You might get more out of going to that.

Marty

[stonecrusher69]

thanks for the invitation...Yes I like to check out your school some time.I'll call ahead when I do.I hope I could spend a few days there.Rochester NY is very far from me.I hear your lineage is soft compared to other YiP man students.Is that true?I keep hearing different stories.Some say yes some say no.Any way nice meeting you....

[1nsanity]

kenneth chung from california, bay area correct? if so he is a rare find. i train from ben der's line one of ken's students...

[Qui Gon Tzu]

The Mook Jong in not limited to Wing Chun forms only. It can be used for many different blocking and striking techniques from many different Martial Art forms. Please keep in mind that the Jong is used for practicing centerline techniques. I would not recommend it for Judo throws.

Some excellent training videos: The Mook Jong Slam Set Volumes 1 & 2 by Joseph Simonet “Dynamic Wooden Dummy Training for ALL Martial Artists” an excellent source for a modern take on Wooden Man forms and Wing Chun Gung-Fu Wooden Dummy Training by Randy Williams Part 1: Advanced Wooden Dummy Drills, Part 2: Lop Sau, Chee Sau and Dummy Theory.