Home-made Mook Jong (wooden Dummy)

[Sandstorm]

Just thought I'd throw this out there for those who wish to own a Mook Jong but can't afford the ridiculous prices, I've made one this weekend using a tree trunk, a couple of limbs and some lengths of timber (for the supports etc). Here's some photos of the (almost) finished project...

http://sandstormfighter.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in making one yourself, I can try and give some tips/advice, and I can put up the dimentions etc.

Just thought I'd share it with you

Kind regards

John

 

[Eru Ilúvatar]

Allright John! I don't have the dummy form yet and don't realy know what to look at in a dummy but threw my amateur eyes it looks great! Nice work.

 

[skinters]

Just thought I'd throw this out there for those who wish to own a Mook Jong but can't afford the ridiculous prices, I've made one this weekend using a tree trunk, a couple of limbs and some lengths of timber (for the supports etc). Here's some photos of the (almost) finished project...

http://sandstormfighter.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in making one yourself, I can try and give some tips/advice, and I can put up the dimentions etc.

Just thought I'd share it with you

Kind regards

John

john,

i made one myself recently,ill fish out some pics,see what you think.the only problem i found was the arms kept snapping,and feel hardwood(if you can get hold of some) is the way to go.i made all the arms for mine by hand,ended up with some blisters m8,i can tell you.also considered investing in a wood lathe,takes all the work out.

its worth having a go of making your own.

regards

 

[Sandstorm]

Allright John! I don't have the dummy form yet and don't realy know what to look at in a dummy but threw my amateur eyes it looks great! Nice work.

Thanks, Eru. You can still own a dummy without knowing the form. It's a great tool for conditioning the forearms/knuckles/palms and working the strike/block combinations. Just need ot add the final limb and she's ready for punishment:asian:

john,

i made one myself recently,ill fish out some pics,see what you think.the only problem i found was the arms kept snapping,and feel hardwood(if you can get hold of some) is the way to go.i made all the arms for mine by hand,ended up with some blisters m8,i can tell you.also considered investing in a wood lathe,takes all the work out.

its worth having a go of making your own.

regards

Sweet! Would love to see it. I've neglected to add the leg so far, I'll see how it goes and may add one at a later date. For now, I'm just wanting it for the upper body workout. I used to own one years ago but had to sell it. They are far too expencive to buy, especially with the braces etc, so thought I'd knock up my own one. I'm just finishing the final limb. I had the same problem as you yesterday, where I inserted the final limb and didn't make the connecting joint as long or as thinck as the other two and it just buckled after two blocks. Fixing it up now and should be done by this evening. Not sure if I'm going to go all out and strip the body or treat the wood yet. Again, we'll see. It was just an experiment really, and it sems to be working ok. Just wanted to put it here in case others wanted to build one, as it's pretty straight forward.

Thanks for you interest.

Kind regards
John

 

[skinters]

john,

can i use your blog to post pics? or even pm me your email.

there some cracking dummy plans on the net,seen this ? http://www.mccarriedesign.com/wooden_dummy/dummy.php

 

[geezer]

Just thought I'd throw this out there for those who wish to own a Mook Jong but can't afford the ridiculous prices, I've made one this weekend using a tree trunk, a couple of limbs and some lengths of timber (for the supports etc). Here's some photos of the (almost) finished project...

http://sandstormfighter.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in making one yourself, I can try and give some tips/advice, and I can put up the dimentions etc.

Just thought I'd share it with you

Kind regards

John

Now that's cool. It's rustic appearance makes it look like something out of an old Chinese movie... you know, where the young protagonist goes out into the wilderness to train with some yoda-like hermit.

On the other hand, a here are a few considerations. Check your geometry. At first glance, the upper two arms seem a bit wide-set. Also, you have one upper arm noticeably higher than the other. In a standard dummy, although the two upper arm holes are offset, the stems on the arms are cut to one side to compensate. So, when the arms are properly set in their sockets, they are at, or very nearly at, the same level (traditionally said to be at the nipples of the breast). The geometry doesn't matter so much if you are doing free-form JKD style training, but it is important in training the form in classical WC/WT. The dummy is said to be like a "protractor" for correcting your angles and structure. If your protractor is way off kilter it won't be of much help.

Back in the early '80's, I made a dummy and didn't have access to a lathe, so I bought some old hardwood baseball bats at a thrift store. I was able to use the middle third of the bats for the arms, rounding off the narrow end with a sander. I cut the fat end into a long, square peg that I fitted into a length of square steel "tubing", or hollow stock. They worked pretty well until I got a "regular dummy" from Yip Chun. (Did he actually make these or just market them? I wonder...)

 

[AceHBK]

You guys have waaay too much time on your hands. May I introduce you to some women or porn perhaps???

lol..just kidding. Great job. I know I don't have skill nor patience to make one so I commend you guys on taking the time to build it. How long did it take? Please tell me you all put padding on the dummy where your knuckles strike. I see many that have padding when you punch the post. No need helping the development of arthritis.

I was looking at this website to purchase one and call it a day.
They have a lot of different versions. I didn't know there we so many.
http://www.woodendummy.net/shop/

 

[mook jong man]

Just thought I'd throw this out there for those who wish to own a Mook Jong but can't afford the ridiculous prices, I've made one this weekend using a tree trunk, a couple of limbs and some lengths of timber (for the supports etc). Here's some photos of the (almost) finished project...

http://sandstormfighter.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in making one yourself, I can try and give some tips/advice, and I can put up the dimentions etc.

Just thought I'd share it with you

Kind regards

John

Looks alright that one John , pretty rugged looking unit . I wouldn't just be working empty hands I'd work my stick and knife stuff on it as well .

I don't think you'd be worried about marking up your dummy like if it was one of them 600 dollar jobs .

You don't want to cut your dummy up to much or damage your sticks so probably best to use one of your old sticks and a aluminium training knife.

 

[Sandstorm]

john,

can i use your blog to post pics? or even pm me your email.

there some cracking dummy plans on the net,seen this ? http://www.mccarriedesign.com/wooden_dummy/dummy.php

Ive seen that site before, while researching. Nice work, but I don't have the facility to make it as 'tidy' as that unfortunatley.
I can PM my email addy if you like, or, if you want to set up your own blog, that is also possible. Just go to blogger.com and follow the steps. It's handy for diary entries and stuff.

Now that's cool. It's rustic appearance makes it look like something out of an old Chinese movie... you know, where the young protagonist goes out into the wilderness to train with some yoda-like hermit.

Thanks mate. I wasn't sure about stripping off the bark etc, but I kind of like it's roughness.

On the other hand, a here are a few considerations. Check your geometry. At first glance, the upper two arms seem a bit wide-set. Also, you have one upper arm noticeably higher than the other. In a standard dummy, although the two upper arm holes are offset, the stems on the arms are cut to one side to compensate. So, when the arms are properly set in their sockets, they are at, or very nearly at, the same level (traditionally said to be at the nipples of the breast). The geometry doesn't matter so much if you are doing free-form JKD style training, but it is important in training the form in classical WC/WT. The dummy is said to be like a "protractor" for correcting your angles and structure. If your protractor is way off kilter it won't be of much help.

I followed the hieght dimentions and the distance from the top down to each limb respectively. I didn't bother too much with the geometry becasue it's not specifically for Wing Chun forms or anything, more for conditioning work and Kali/Wing Chun trapping etc. Thanks for the pointers though, really appreciate the input.

Back in the early '80's, I made a dummy and didn't have access to a lathe, so I bought some old hardwood baseball bats at a thrift store. I was able to use the middle third of the bats for the arms, rounding off the narrow end with a sander. I cut the fat end into a long, square peg that I fitted into a length of square steel "tubing", or hollow stock. They worked pretty well until I got a "regular dummy" from Yip Chun. (Did he actually make these or just market them? I wonder...)

I'm sure he made them all himself:jediduel:

LOL

You guys have waaay too much time on your hands.

:rofl:

lol..just kidding. Great job. I know I don't have skill nor patience to make one so I commend you guys on taking the time to build it. How long did it take? Please tell me you all put padding on the dummy where your knuckles strike. I see many that have padding when you punch the post. No need helping the development of arthritis.

It took about 4 hours in total, just to get it to this stage and I used hand tools (mallet,Chisels,saw etc). You could machine it much much quicker if you have access to the equipment. As for the padding, I spent enough time punching bags and pads, not sure it's going to make alot of difference striking bark

Looks alright that one John , pretty rugged looking unit . I wouldn't just be working empty hands I'd work my stick and knife stuff on it as well .

I don't think you'd be worried about marking up your dummy like if it was one of them 600 dollar jobs .

You don't want to cut your dummy up to much or damage your sticks so probably best to use one of your old sticks and a aluminium training knife.

Thanks, MJM. The place it's located doesn't really have enough room for stick work, but I was intending to do some close range knife stuff, yes. It's a strudy bit of kit for sure, and a hellava lot cheaper than a manufactured one.
I've drilled some techs on it today and it's held up real good. Just enough movement and spring without compromising resistance.


Thank you all for looking and your comments/advice. really appreciate your input.

Kind regards to you all
John

 

[suicide]

i had one made after i see one for sale at 300 $ :shooter:

 

[jks9199]

i had one made after i see one for sale at 300 $ :shooter:

Where'd you have it made or did you do it yourself? Are you satisfied with it?

 

[bigbadade]

It has a certain Rustic appeal, but nothing feels better than one you make yourself!!

 

[chisauking]

What I'm saying is aimed at wing chun practitioners & doesn't apply to other styles.

When you are considering a jong, it's important to remember the following:

1) It's a lifetime's investment, so paying between 500 to 600 hundred pounds for your jong is not a great deal of money if you see it in this context. If you look after it, it will still be worth a large % of your purchase price when it comes to selling.

2) It's important that you get all the dimension & angles of your jong & its arms & leg right to develop the correct angles & positions in relationship to oneself. One will find your 4 wing chun seeds -- tan, bong, fook, wu -- won't flow from one to the another if the angles are wrong, and therefore you won't be training your transitional techniques properly.

3) The arms of the dummy must be smooth, otherwise one would rip their own arms to peices, and would also discourage the practitioner from sticking to the jong.

4) The main purpose of the jong is not to toughen your arms & legs -- altough sometimes it's a by-product of your training in the long run.

5) If you set your jong up properly on 2 horizontal bars, it would give you invaluable 'feedback' when you train on it. It's a type of energy which you can 'play' with to help you gauge your own correct use of power on the jong. It can even tell you whether you are hitting the jong correctly or not.

6) Set the height of the jong lower than your own yee-jee-kiim-yeung-ma height in order to develop your sitting power by forcing yourself into the ma-bo at all times.

If money really is a big issue, then you can try to make as much of the jong as possible and buy the arms from a kungfu shop. My friend at cransproductions do sell the arms at reasonable prices.

Of course, if you have access to all the wood turning equipments, then you can make the whole jong yourself, providing you have the skill, but then you still have to consider buying the wood -- which is quite expensive.

Hope my quick points helped.

 

[koenig]

I built my own dummy years ago. I actually bought a book a guy had written on eBay on how to build one. I know he was selling it for years on eBay but I just checked and I don't see it listed anymore. Let me see if I can find a link to it and I'll post it up here. It was a PVC dummy with wooden limbs and looked quite good.

Anyway, I did as he recommended in the book and used a PVC body but had someone make the limbs for me. This was recommended because making the arms yourself would be impossible if you don't have all the equipment and experience.

I do recommend making one, however, as they can be over a thousand dollars at some stores to buy a new one.

 

[koenig]

I built my own dummy years ago. I actually bought a book a guy had written on eBay on how to build one. I know he was selling it for years on eBay but I just checked and I don't see it listed anymore. Let me see if I can find a link to it and I'll post it up here. It was a PVC dummy with wooden limbs and looked quite good.

Anyway, I did as he recommended in the book and used a PVC body but had someone make the limbs for me. This was recommended because making the arms yourself would be impossible if you don't have all the equipment and experience.

I do recommend making one, however, as they can be over a thousand dollars at some stores to buy a new one.

I found it, he has a website now: Guide to Wooden Dummy Construction

 

[chisauking]

One consideration when making the body of the jong with upvc or a hollow trunk is the mass \ weight. If the body is light, it would not rebound any significant mass back to you, so you don't have the energy to play with.

One of the reasons for the jong form is to force one to train \ find their structure. If the jong is too light, it doesn't help the practitioner to find their structure, due to the lack of feedback.

 

[naneek]

good effort sandstorm i like the rustic look of it too, have you got any pics of the arms and how you connected them to the body this seems like it might be the hardest part of the build to me, nice work for such a short time by the way!!

 

[geezer]

One consideration when making the body of the jong with upvc or a hollow trunk is the mass \ weight. If the body is light, it would not rebound any significant mass back to you, so you don't have the energy to play with.

One of the reasons for the jong form is to force one to train \ find their structure. If the jong is too light, it doesn't help the practitioner to find their structure, due to the lack of feedback.

Good point. I wonder if they make hollow tubing bodies (PVC or metal) that you can fill like a heavy bag (sand, water, sawdust, etc.)? That would really cut down on the shipping and transportation headaches, and still allow for a good massive trunk when set up and filled.

 

[mook jong man]

Good point. I wonder if they make hollow tubing bodies (PVC or metal) that you can fill like a heavy bag (sand, water, sawdust, etc.)? That would really cut down on the shipping and transportation headaches, and still allow for a good massive trunk when set up and filled.

I think you can buy end caps that go on to the ends of pvc pipe from the hardware , I know they have them for the small diameter pipes , so they should have them for the big ones as well.

I remember seeing a picture of a homemade dummy a wooden one , ages ago and instead of having it suspended on the wooden rails , the guy had it suspended by several heavy duty springs , according to him it worked pretty good.

 

[koenig]

Yeah, you can cap the bottom and fill it with sand to add some weight.

Well you can fill it with sand up to the leg hole, at least

The lighter PVC body weight can be compensated for by using thicker mounting boards. Then you're dealing with the entire structure's mass rather than just the dummy, yet the dummy will still move when you hit it. It doesn't feel *quite* exactly like a wooden body one, but the small difference is worth saving $500.

Plus, the original wooden dummy was a post burried in the ground, so it wouldn't have had any body feedback at all (other than being completely solid and immovable).