The Wooden Dummy?

[Thunder Foot]

Hello,
I was wondering if any of you know a good place to purchase one. Whether online or locally (for those in So. Cal). Also, do any of you know where I can obtain information in reference to dummy sequences/forms? Whether JKD or Wing Chun? I'm basically looking for a reference point to begin practicing. Thanks.

 

[Zaose]

Hello,
I was wondering if any of you know a good place to purchase one. Whether online or locally (for those in So. Cal). Also, do any of you know where I can obtain information in reference to dummy sequences/forms? Whether JKD or Wing Chun? I'm basically looking for a reference point to begin practicing. Thanks.

Try this:

http://www.woodendummy.net/

I have one of their dummys, and so does my Sifu - they are top notch and excellent!

 

[Thunder Foot]

thank you for the recommendation. They look very solid. If nothin comparable comes to surface, I very well may pick one up. :asian:

 

[simplicity]

Try this company: http://h2htrainers.com/

That other company isn't up and going yet and the previous owner of that company was having all kinds of problems with ordering and their product.

 

[Zaose]

The previous owner did in fact have issues, however the current owner was the owner previously (also the founder).

The current owner is the guy I did business with when he previously owned the company. He changed the name because the previous owner kind of tarnished the old name. He is very good, honest and takes pride in what he does.

Also, they are hand made and very solid, beautiful and durable dummies. I've worked on all sort of dummies, including "authentic" ones from China, and this guys dummies blow them away.

Email him to find out if he is ready to start shipping - just open a dialog and see how it goes.

 

[Zaose]

Also, it appears the company Simplicity linked to doesn't have real dummies - they are PVC. Cheaper sure, so if you are on a budget that may be the way to go. PVC dummies are not as nice as solid wood, however. (You will pay for it though).

I like working on PVC sometimes because you can just unleash hell on them. They don't respond the same as solid wood though.

 

[simplicity]

Will.......How much are their JKD Dummy's?

 

[simplicity]

Will.......Thats kool the original owner is back in business. Do they sale retail and wholesale or just retail?

 

[Zaose]

Hey John,

I paid about 800 for my "freestanding JKD Dummy" - basically their JKD solid oak dummy with metal legs - the side legs are the same as Bruce's side legs on his dummy, and the back and front can be switched around to be like Bruce's or a traditional wing chun leg. It is cool for limited space, but I would probably rather have a proper framed one (they had those too, I just didn't have the space when I bought it a few years ago).

I'm not sure about wholesale. I think they might - Lamar would know more about that, maybe email him?

Those dummys you linked look like an excellent budget dummy. I was thinking of making my own PVC one, but heck for that price I may just get one of theirs. I like the padding they put on them too - seems like you could really go all out on it!

 

[Dare Devil]

I'm currently between dummies, but I can tell you how to use them.

As far as forms go, there are the Jun Fan/Wing Chun sets and the JKD sets. The former are pretty similar between sifus. I've seen Randy Williams, some of Francis Fong's and have been taught the sets from the Inosanto clan (various instructors under Guro). They are pretty similar with a few differences here and there. Traditionally in the Historical JKD teachings, they only went up to #7 or #8, however, most of us in the Inosanto lineage know the full 10 sets.

As I understand it, Guro created what are called the JKD sets based on what Bruce Lee did on the dummy. These sets are very different from the Jun Fan/Wing Chun sets and are much more similar to the type of trapping done in JKD application (e.g. pak da, lop sao qua chuie, jao sao, etc.) These drills look like what you see in James Lee's book or Dan Inosanto's trapping definitive video. The JF/WC sets seem to work a different type of skill. A lot of the counter trapping techniques come from these sets. Also, some chi sao and other, what I call advanced skills, are found in the JF/WC sets.

While freestyling is probably the best way to train ultimately, there is a lot of good material in both sets. If you don't know what to freestyle, or if you want to put a check on your discipline and make sure you have a more comprehensive approach to your dummy training they are resource. Plus, like I said, there are some good tactical concepts inside the sets that can be extracted and applied.

As far as places to learn, Larry Hartsell has the first five JF/WC sets in his book on hardcore training. There are also several videos that have the sets, although some are more technically accurate than others. Ron Balicki's videos are good as well. One thing to remember is correct vectors in the techniques. The wing chun derived tools are very particular in the shape your body takes and the direction the tool moves.

 

[Zaose]

If you can find them (very rare and hard to get a hold of) the "Jeet Kune Do 1" and "Jeet Kune Do 2" posters are excellent. They have Dan I. and Jerry Poteet (and maybe one or two others) working different things on the dummy - all photos with descriptions below. They are basically posters with the JKD Dummy stuff on the front, and Bruce Lee posters on the back (also rare pics on the back).

 

[Thunder Foot]

Thanks for all the recommendations guys. I'll definitely look into those videos and books mentioned. How do you guys feel about Lmar Davis' Mook Jong he is selling? Here is a pic, tell me what you think. And what is the best wood to have these made out of? Red Oak? I want to look into the quality as well. :asian: