Should I make or buy a wooden dummy?

[BlueWaveKarate]

I can pick one up locally from a craigslist guy for about 650, or make one for dirt cheap.

Anyone DIY Mook Jong? Is it worth the effort or should I just spend the money?

EDIT: I'm handy with wood. (thatswhatshesaid)

[Wastelander]

A Facebook group that I am a part of that researches and shares hojo undo information has actually been pretty busy with wooden dummy conversations as of late. I haven't made one yet, but I am definitely planning to! For my purposes, a kakiya or tou would be a better dummy than a mook jong, and I suspect that may be the case for you as well.

I have found a local place that sells pieces of retired telephone poles--check Craigslist in your area--that my sensei and I are planning to check out sometime in the next couple weeks. My plan is to smooth and varnish the surface of a 6ft length of telephone pole and put a little padding on the striking areas. I will probably also drill out divots where the eyes should be so I can include strikes to the eyes in my practice. Then I will drill out a slot at about chest height, bevel the slot, and mount a removable wooden arm through it. The arm will be held at an upward angle toward the head by rubber bungee cords running from the back of the arm down the back of the dummy to provide resistance. I am also planning to bolt a length of 2" spa tubing to each side, which I can use for sticky hands and joint locks with resistance--if the wooden arm gets in the way, I'll just take it off. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'm thinking of mounting the body of the dummy so that it can pivot, but I don't know how realistic that will be.

For inspiration, you can search Google and YouTube for the following:

kakiya

kakete-biki

ching jong

one arm dummy

Sensei Garry Lever's YouTube channel also has some hojo undo videos that include some of his practice with a tou that has the same type of rubber tubing arms that I mentioned I want to use on my dummy.

Edited August 6, 2013 by Wastelander

[sensei8]

Well, the cost of a commercial wooden dummy can reach up to and beyond $1,000 dollars.

So, if you're good/great with wood, I believe that DIY is the way to go. I'm not good with wood: I can't nail two peices of wood together to save my soul.

Some pretty good post thus far. It's what one's comfortable with I suppose.

Good luck!!

Good to see other karateka's take up wooden dummy training!! I always pictured that the wooden dummy was more for kung-fu practitioners and the like, but nowadays, more and more karatekas are training with them. They've been a staple with Shindokanists for as long as I can remember.

[Harkon72]

If you have the resources to make one, go for it.

If you can afford the £800 to buy one and your training can justify it, do like wise. I personally have no room for one or the relevant training to use one. I know of Dojos that have one but they never use it for what it is intended.

[Wastelander]

With regard to karateka using a wooden dummy, I would like to point out that all karateka should be able to use a kakiya, at least to some degree, without requiring additional training to do so. A mook jong is more difficult to work with because the trapping techniques it was designed for are not very prevalent in karate, so I could see needing additional training for that. The kakiya has long been a valuable training tool in Okinawa, and plenty of kihon and kata applications work well on it. It is mentioned and diagrammed in several books on karate from the 1920's-30's, and you can see one in this old photograph from Miyagi Chojun's training yard: http://www.kowakan.com/archives/3704/karate-jutsu-hojo-undo-equipment

I have never had the luxury of using a proper kakiya, although I have used a mook jong on a few occasions, but I have used tree limbs in a similar fashion. Deflections, limb control, and joint destruction techniques all work well on a moveable arm. If you check out Ryan Parker's YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/thecontemplative2) he has graciously shared a few kakiya drills that you can try out.