Build Your Own

WoodenDummy

Carlos Colorado

Wing Chun Kung Fu Council

Copyright (C) 2001 WCKFCwww.wckfc.comAll Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, whether by graphic, visual, electronic, film,microfilm, tape recording, or any other means, without prior written permission of the author, except in the case ofbrief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles.

Published by Wing Chun Kung Fu Council in cooperation with Grandmaster Ip Ching

Distributed by:WCKFC545 E. TabernacleSt George Ut 84770www.wckfc.com

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

About The Dummy 9

Selecting The Proper Wood 11

Building The Body 12

Building The Arms 23

Building The Leg 26

Particulars Of A Proper Dummy 29

Finishing The Dummy 31

Setting Up The Dummy 32

The Measurements 34

The Mook Yan Jong is, in manyways, the trademark of Wing Chuntraining. It is a vital key of apractitioner�s skill. In order toproperly train and becomeproficient, one must have awooden dummy that properlyrepresents correct lines of force,and that has the correct amount ofspring. There are several ways tomake a Mook Yan Jong. Theseinstructions assume that youalready have some proficiency inusing tools, and working wood.Please read the instructions in theirentirety before you start makingyour wooden dummy, so that youmay have a basic idea of all that isinvolved. As always, remember touse common sense, and beconscientious of safety measures;wear safety glasses, etc.

introduction

ABOUT THEWOODEN DUMMY

Following these instructions willleave you with a beautiful andfunctional, heirloom qualitywooden dummy. And it willprovide you the correct angles, astaught by Ip Man, through his sonIp Ching.

chapter one

SELECTING THE PROPERWOOD

The first step in building a goodwooden dummy is selecting awood that is both functional, andbeautiful. It must meet therequired measurements.

In choosing a piece for the body,one has different options. Onemay decide to use a natural logfrom a variety of trees, or perhapsa laminated and milled �log� fromthe wood of choice. Mostpractitioners choose to usehardwood, however, experienceshows that a lodge pole (pine) log,which is more readily available,will hold up excellently againstyears of use; many hesitate to use apine log because of the inevitablechecks and cracks on the wood.Although it is important to find alog without excessive cracks thatmight distort the angles on the

dummy, the checks on athoroughly cured log do not affectthe function of the dummy. Someeven like the look of wood betterwith a few cracks to add character.One always has the option offilling in the cracks with woodputty if the cracks are thought ofas an eyesore. Opting for pinerather than hardwood will makethe project all the more affordable,if that is a concern.

As for the limbs and crosspieces,the wood must be a hardwood, forexample, oak, teak, maple, etc.

This is a must so that your dummy canwithstand the tremendous amount of powerand impact that it will recieve.

The first step to building the body of the Jongis to cut the log to the desired length. Theneater the cut, the less one will need to sand atthe end of the project. Be sure to also choosethe face or front of the body, taking intoaccount the amount and size of checksrunning through it.

chapter 2

BUILDING THE BODY

The next step is to mark a vertical midlinedown the front of the body, then a line onthe top end of the dummy that extendsfrom the first line, through the core line ofthe body, all the way to the back.

Using these lines as the main guides,draw where the holes for the threearms and the leg will be, as shown onthe plans.

A very suitable angle isachieved if when marking off the toptwo arm holes, one allows there to bea 3/16� gap between the inside of thehole, and the vertical midline of thedummy, or a 3/8� gap between theholes. This is a suggestion that willgreatly improve the usefulness of thedummy.

Note from the plans at the backof this book that the two top armholesmust cross the transverse plane seenon the top of the dummy. It is crucialto not make these two holes parallel toeach other. Follow the next stepscarefully in order to avoid such amistake.

Lay the body horizontally. It is important whenever drilling a hole, to besure that the body is level.

Center the topmost armhole when seen fromabove. Do NOT place the dummy with thevertical midline in the center when seenfrom above, offsetting one armhole to eachside of the center of the body, as shown inthis photo.

Using a long 1-1/2� boring bit,drill a pilot hole, which will be thecenter of the armhole, for the firstand topmost arm all the waythrough the dummy. Such a bitwill produce a nice, clean, andstraight hole; and it will save youmuch chiseling, but if a bit thatsize is unavailable, you may useone of a smaller diameter.

Next, Begin to carefully chisel thesquare shape of the hole andcontinue chiseling down all theway through the body.

Great care must be taken whilechiseling, in order to keep the holefrom wandering off from where itshould be.

If very long chisels are unavailable,you�ll have to draw the shape ofthe hole on the back of the dummy.Use the pilot hole that you drilled,to determine the exact position ofthe hole, and once you�ve cut in asfar as your chisel will take you,start the same process from theback of the dummy. Your twoholes, pertaining to the same arm,should meet in the middle.

Once you�vecompleted the first andtopmost armhole,rotate the dummy,centering the hole forthe second arm.Follow the procedureas you did for the toparmhole.

Be aware that since there is nodistance between the bottom of thefirst armhole, and the top of thesecond, the two holes will literallymeet in the middle of the dummy,creating a diamond shapedpassage from one hole to the other.

Repeat the process forthe last armhole in thesame way as the twoprevious steps.

The hole for the leg on the MookYan Jong, must be slanted at a14° slope. To achieve this, yourpilot hole must be made using awooden guide. One can easilybe made by drilling a hole withthe boring bit into the end of a3�x 2�x 2� block of wood.

Then, using a miter saw,cut off both ends of theblock at the prescribed14° angle.

Now place the guide onthe log as shown andcommence drilling yourpilot hole. Once you�vedrilled a couple of inchesinto the body of the Jong,you may set aside theguide. At this point, thefirst couple of inches onyour hole will serve as aguide as you drill the restof the leg hole. If yourboring bit is of a smalldiameter, you may wishto drill a couple of pilotholes.

With a pilot hole drilled,chiseling out the rest of thehole is much like chiselingthe armholes, except onemust be careful to create thishole with the 14° angle. Thewooden guide you created isuseful in this process. Usethe guide by laying it on thesurface of the body, at thetop of the leg hole and beginchiseling out the hole.

Then move the guide to the bottomof the hole and use the back edgeof the guide, begin chiseling outthe bottom of the leg hole. Thisprocess will help you start the leghole at the correct angle.

With the holes for the limbs inplace, one is ready to make theholes for the crosspieces that willhold up the Mook Yan Jong.

First draw a lineperpendicular to theline you�ve drawn onthe top of the body.Then extend this linedown the side of thebody.

Mark the holes asshown on the plans atthe back of this book.Be sure that the holesare off centered andtoward the back of thedummy. You cannot,however, use a 1-1/2�boring bit. You�llhave to go with asmaller one. Drill apilot hole and chiselout the corners as youdid with all theprevious holes.

A common concern for people who own a Mook Yan Jong, is finding away to anchor it, so that it does not slide from side to side on thecrossbeams. Some use blocks of wood on either side of the body to keep itin place. A simple and more cosmetically pleasing way is to insert acouple of dowels on the back of the body, that will fit into notches cut outof the crossbeams. On the plans for the back view of the body, you willsee two holes; one is found slightly over 7� down from the top, and theother one a little over 43�. Use a 5/8� boring bit, and drill only halfwaythrough the dummy. As you drill in, if you look into the side hole for the

crosspiece, you should see abouthalf of your dowel hole isinvading the hole for thecrosspiece. Then, insert and gluea 5/8� dowel into the hole youdrilled, use a coping saw to cutoff the excess, so that the dowelis flush with the body. Theprocess is the same for thebottom dowel hole.

You are now just about finished building the body, and the only thing leftto do is to use a router to round off the edges on the top and the bottom ofthe dummy. Sanding them down instead works just as well, but it takessomewhat longer.

When it comes to building thelimbs for a Mook Yan Jong, hereare some things to consider. Alathe is by far the simplest way tomake an arm. Without a lathe onehas to carve out the round armswith a plane or by some similarmethod. It proves extremelydifficult, and usually ineffective. Ifa lathe is not available, or, if youfeel unskilled in the use of one, asimple solution is to find a goodcabinetmaker in your area, andshowing him the plans for thelimbs, ask him to produce a set foryou. He will be able to quickly doall the work on the arms and leg,and hand them to you ready foryou to do the finishing work.Many times, this is the sensiblething to do. If you, however, havea lathe, you may follow the

chapter 3

BUILDING THE ARMS

instructions on how to build thelimbs. Keep in mind that theguidelines given are somewhatvague because making the limbs ismore an art than a science.

First:Laminate hardwood boardstogether and create three, 2-1/2�x2-1/2�x 2� blocks of wood.Next, carefully find the center oneach end of your boards, by tracingtwo diagonal lines from corners tocorners that intersect in the middle.

Mount the arm on the lathe, andmake a mark ½� from the end.Then from there, measure 11-3/4�and make a mark. The surfacebetween the two marks will bewhere the taper is. Start to turn thewood on the lathe until it is roundand of a 2-1/2� diameter. Be sureto only round out half of the blockof wood, and leave the other halfsquare.

Stop often and check your progressby measuring the diameter withcalipers. When the lathe work isfinished, take the arm and cut offthe excess wood on the taperedside.

Repeat this process for the othertwo arms.

It is now time to create a taper.Follow the plans at the back of thisbook for the correct measurementsas you cut.

To cut the square shank of the arms, use a good, sturdy band saw. Youmay also use a handsaw, or jigsaw if you prefer. As the plans indicate, twoof the arms must have the shank cut �off-centered�, and one �centered.�Keep that in mind as you cut.

Wait to drill the peg holes on the arms until after you have inserted thearms into their place in the body and decided where the holes should be(see Section IV), then drill the holes, and cut off the excess wood on the endof the shank. Make pegs by carving them out of a dowel.

Legs have been made by manymethods. Some have used biscuits,dowels, and other means to createa strong joint at the correct angle.Experience has shown the

chapter 4

BUILDING THE LEG

following to be a simple way tocreate a solid joint on a leg. Pleasestudy this section carefully,especially the photos, in order tounderstand the process.

Start with two ¾� thick boards, and a 1 ½� board. The thicker board willalso be longer. Refer to the plans to determine the length of the boards.Cut them at a 45° angle.

Now assemble the leg pieces into place. When done correctly, you willhave the leg in its entirety placed together without glue as shown below.

The two above photos show different views of how the joint will cometogether. The photos show a disjointed fit, in order to illustrate theindividual board. Note that the boards alternate at the joint. This layeringprocess can just as easily be done in four layers if using only ¾� thickboards, just keep consistent with the concept of layering the leg.

The photo at theleft illustrates theleg and how itcomes together.All that has tohappen now is toslidethe twolower outsidepieces up intoplace

Next, simply laminate the leg in theconfiguration as shown on thepictures. Use plenty of wood glueand camp the leg tightly. Let drythe entire assembly dry completely.

Cut the shank of the leg on a bandsaw, as done for the shanks of thearms, so that it fits into the leg holeon the body. Remember to allowfor some play between the shankand the hole.

The leg can now be shapedaccording to preference. A simplepass of a router on the sharp, 90°angles, will give the leg therounded feel that it should have.However, you may choose to

further round out the leg to give ita softer, more cylindrical look. Itwill make for a better looking andbetter feeling dummy. To do this,use a hand plane or a belt sander,and simply take off as muchmaterial as desired. Sculpt the leg.

Wait to drill the peg hole on theback side of the leg until after youhave inserted the leg into the holein the dummy. Now decidedwhere the hole should be. Next,drill the hole and carve a peg outof a dowel.

There are some important andcritical points to having a MookYan Jong with correct lines and acorrect feel. One such point is thatthe two top arms must be placed inthe dummy in a certain way, they

chapter 5

PARTICULARS OF APROPER DUMMY

must hang level. Uneven arms willdistort the practitioner�s skill inresponding to different lines offorce.

To assure that the two arms arelevel, one must insert the arms sothat they are upside down fromeach other.

Notice that the 2-1/2� diameteron the top two arms preventsthem from being inserted all theway in. It seems as though theholes were too close together.That is not the case. It isnecessary to sand some excessmaterial off where the armsmeet, so that they fit in the holesat the same time, and so thatthere is some play betweenthem.

It is an important detail to know that there mustbe a certain amount of play on the arms andleg. One must not drill the peg holes on theback of the arms and the leg too close to thebody of the dummy. Allow some room, so thatthere is a certain amount of play. Notice on thephoto the gap between the thick part of the armand the body.

As shown on the plans, the crosspieces must be1� thick. This is important. Often one will buya 1�x 2� board at the store, and notice that itdoes not truly meet those measurements. To goany less that a 1� thickness will make the feel of the Mook Yan Jong tooflimsy. It will move too much. Be sure to cut a half circle notch of 5/8�with a coping saw at the middle of the crosspieces.

At this stage, one is ready to do thedelicate finishing work on thedummy. If you have decided toconceal the checks on the body, fillthem in using good wood puttyand letting it dry.

Now one must thoroughlysand the body and all of the limbs.Hand sanding is fine, but using anelectric palm sander will get thejob done much more quickly.Remember to always sand with thegrain. Start by using 80-gritsandpaper until you have a nicesurface. Move on up to about 120-grit to prepare the dummy for theactual finishing stage.

Choose whether you want tostain your dummy with a specificcolor, or if you prefer to leave thenatural look of the wood. Thechoice is yours. Any stain will donicely if that�s the rout you take.

chapter 6

FINISHING THE DUMMY

Apply the stain as directed by themanufacturer.

Many finishes are used forwooden dummies. Some peopleprefer to use a lacquer, or justregular furniture oil such as OldEnglish or linseed oil. Experiencehas shown that the best finish forthe Mook Yan Jong is Tung Oil.Tung Oil is rather inexpensive andreadily available. It strengthensand nourishes the wood andconditions the fibers, making thedummy last a lifetime. Freelyapply the Tung Oil according to theinstructions on the container.Apply three or four coats to yourJong before you start to use it.Thereafter continue applying TungOil weekly or monthly. Onecannot overdo the number of coatsof Tung Oil.

Individual needs will dictate muchof the setup used for the dummy.Some need a portable stand, whileothers have limited space to workout in. People will need todetermine what sort of setup willbest suit their situation. It isrecommended, whenever possible,that the structure that holds thecrossbeams be lagged permanentlyon to the wall. Having the MookYan Jong completely stationary isbest, and often unachieved withportable stands, which move whenone applies power to the woodendummy.

A few guidelines must be followedin order to properly set up thedummy. It is the practitioner�sheight that will determine howhigh to mount the dummy. When

chapter 7

SETTING UP THE DUMMY

the practitioner is in a proper WingChun stance, his navel should bearound level with the bottom, orcenter arm of the wooden dummy.

Also, this should provide agood level for a proper bongsau, with the bridge of thehand making contact with thetop arm and the practitionersupper arm nearly parallel tothe ground.

Remember, making a Mook Yan Jong is more anart than a science. Put your heart into your work,and you�ll not be disappointed. Theseinstructions, if closely followed will leave youwith a wooden dummy to last you a lifetime.

chapter 7

THE MEASURMENTS

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The Dummy BodyFront View

(C) Copyright WCKFC 2001

7.19 “

43.30 “

2.25 “

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The Dummy BodyBack View

(C) Copyright WCKFC 2001

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(C) Copyright WCKFC 2001

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(C) Copyright WCKFC 2001

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(C) Copyright WCKFC 2001

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(C) Copyright WCKFC 2001

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