Interviewer:
Sifu, can you tell us something about the wooden dummy?
Sifu Zopa:
Yeh, sure. In some Wing Chun there is only the mook yan jong but in Yuen Kay San Wing Chun there are several other dummies as well. Basically the word "dummy" is really an English term, in Chinese they’d be called "posts" which is a better generic term for the other types of "dummies". "Dummy" really implies they have some human shape or form - but most are really just posts with devices attached. Many gung fu systems use dummies with varying numbers of arms and other devices fitted to them. I believe Choy Li Fut has quite a few different types. Some other styles have a whole range of them for different purposes, too. Original Okinawan karate also had several types I recall - probably modelled on Chinese versions. These are very much a thing of the past nowadays as karate has moved into a commercial, sport, and competition mode and the old ways are dying out or have already died out. Hardly any modern karate practitioners seem to condition their bodies as they did in the past. A rare few schools preserve some of this training though. Mr Higaonna’s Goju school is the most well-known example. In Wing Chun we don’t find it’s necessary to have a lot of dummies. Most just have the mook yan jong. A rare few older Wing Chun systems - as we do - also have the juk jong - bamboo dummy - which has several arms. I’ve seen them with different numbers actually - from two on up - but usually nine. I recall mentioning this several years ago on an internet discussion site and no-one there had ever seen or heard of one. So, apparently the juk jong is quite rare - it’s from the Red Boats - they used to mount it on an external cabin wall on the deck and practice both arms and pole on it. We also have the mui fa jong, gerk jong or saam sing jong. These jong all have exercises that can be practised on them.
The saam sing jong consists of three poles hammered into the ground in a triangular shape. The mui fa jong consists of five poles hammered into the ground in a flower blossom shape - a square with a central post. These poles vary in height but are best about approximately groin or waist level. They can be used for training all kicks, steps variations, tripping up, and simulating sweeping. Their use increases the power of kicks and yields enhanced balance.
Whilst you can train any logical sequence of techniques on it, the mook yan jong also has a 155 moves form. Its purpose is to reinforce correct structures and angles, to foster the development of flow and to allow the correct, full expression of jing which we can never use on a live training partner without seriously injuring them. Repeated use also toughens the bridges and striking surfaces. It’s like the sam ba - the Wing Chun wall sandbag in that respect in that it allows full use of power. You should use dit dar jow - a herbal liniment after you have used these training devices to heal up bruises and to toughen the skin and striking surfaces.
We have the mook yan jong - the "wooden man dummy" as the main dummy, then. Though it is mounted at the base not on the slats which my Hong Kong Wing Chun practitioners friends use and which is the type you commonly see in books or magazines. The base-mounted model is closer to the original in as much as the base-mounting allows movement to the dummy side which is prevented by the slats. Also, in the old days the dummy was mounted in earth, sand and gravel - loose enough so it could still move a little - so it was obviously originally base-mounted. Modern apartment living in Hong Kong meant they had to devise another way to mount the dummy so the Hong Kong school devised the slat method. Indoors in the Yuen Kay San system nowadays we use systems of concreting with welded bases and put or fix the dummy into them.
With the mook yan jong you must practice so as to develop correct release of power. Your steps are ever-changing but still remain rooted. You must always maintain close contact with the dummy. People who go in and out and lose contact are losing the development of flow - they would be better just doing single techniques if this is the way they like to use the dummy. You have to move around the dummy so you look like a fish swimming around rocks. You must move continuously. Your arm bridges must stick to the dummy arms. This way you can develop sticking power which is a very useful skill once properly understood. Your structure and position will become correct and hard to defeat with repeated practice. Practice of the form in the air without the dummy helps develop flow, too. Flow is the fast and seamless continuous changing from one technique to another within a very short distance and time frame.
We teach our dummy form after the student knows all the hand forms but it can certainly be used from early days just to practice individual techniques. I think this is a good idea myself.
The mook yan jong has to have the bend of the dummy’s knee equal in height to your knees when you are in yee jee kim yeung ma - but with kim sut and proper sinking. The two upper arms must be the level of your nipples. The lower arm ought to be the level of your navel. The trunk can have some form of padding at strategic points so you can strike it hard without risk of injury. There are special dimensions for the dummy and some people have plans to make them themselves. We have ours. Every commercially available dummy I’ve ever seen had serious flaws I’m afraid. So, I think if you are serious about buying one it’s best to have one made. The dummy really ought to be made with reference to the dimensions of the person using it.