How to Build a Wooden Dummy: Price, Instructions and Video

Wing Chun Wooden Dummy: how to build it: In this article, you will learn how to build your Wing Chun Wooden Dummy. The Wing Chun Wooden Dummy, also known as Mook Yan Jong, it's a very powerful tool to improve your Wing Chun skills, such as arms and hips coordination, speed improvement, and many other aspects of the training. It's one of the fundamental parts of Wing Chun solo training.

Many lineages use the Wooden Dummy in a different ways and for different purposes. For example, in some lineages, the arm's position is different rather than in others. Whatever lineage you are studying, the Mook Yan Jong is an essential part of the Wing Chun training and needs a special focus.

How much does it cost?

The price depends on many factors and the price can vary a lot from a very cheap half Wooden Dummy (starting from 150/200 $) to more than 2,500$ for a very fine one.

Generic Wooden Dummy Plans

Wing Chun Dummy Blueprints

While the generic Wing Chun dummy plans are more than enough to start training you have to consider that some lineages could have different wooden dummy plans. Before buying or building it check if your lineage has differences from the generic one. In Fig.1 and 2 you can find the general wooden dummy blueprints with some important measurements using different views. In each view, all the needed details are specified with good precision. From Fig. 3 to Fig. 6 you can find all the measurements written with the US metric system.

Sifu Adam Willis: some useful tips for the Wooden Dummy practice

Considerations

The original Wooden Dummy is made using teak wood, however, keep in mind that teak is VERY expensive and becoming increasingly not easy to get ahold of. During your wooden dummy construction, you will face up to one challenging part: how to make squares into the wood part of the trunk for the arms to go into. For someone with no experience cutting squares in wood, this requires some extra construction, but it can be created using a drill, chisel, and file.

Here, there is a video that includes wooden dummy plans. It doesn't require drilling holes

To which height do I have to set up my Wooden Dummy?

You can calculate the ideal height to set your Wooden Dummy using your own height. The wooden dummy has to be designed around you as much as possible. If your Mook Yan Jong is too high you will tend to raise your shoulders and broke your structure instead of building a powerful one. Conversely, if your dummy is placed too low you will hunch on it and you will lose the correct position, used to train with it.

Kenneth Chung Wooden Dummy Specifications

Randy Williams Wooden Dummy Specifications

References

This article was written with the help of the following references:

• How to Build a Wooden Dummy by Sifu Adam Willis
• Making a Kung Fu Wooden Dummy by The Joy Of Hack
• How to Build a Wing Chun Wooden Dummy by Sifu Wahnish
• Using Wing Chun Dummy Plans to Build Your Own by SG Koenig