How to Use a Wing Chun Wooden Dummy

The Wing Chun wooden dummy is a classical training method used in most Wing Chun classes. There are many things to factor in when using this form-provoking tool. Practitioners use the wooden dummy to prepare their students to apply pressure, have proper form and develop the correct strength needed in Wing Chun. The following steps will help you use a Wing Chun wooden dummy correctly.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Position the dummy's height correctly. Adjust the height of the dummy so its higher arm is at your shoulder level. Adjust the height high enough to enable you to practice a lot of the techniques. A dummy that is too low will also prevent adequate technique from being learned.
2. Angle the legs of the dummy correctly. Adjust the leg so that it is equal to your leg stance. Line up the curve in the dummy leg with your knee joint. Correct dummy leg stance will enable you to develop better striking and pressing to weaken your opponent's stance. Don't leave the leg too far off the ground so you can kick under it, which will increase your laziness in technique.
3. Face the dummy's center line without the dummy facing yours. The dummy has angled arms away from your center line to teach you this technique. This will help you learn how to move and learn the correct angle to work with both a dummy and then a real person.
4. Watch when you use your arms. The arms of the dummy are set up to represent how low you use your arms. Use arms until you are at the lowest dummy arm. At this point, transition into using your feet. Use your hand techniques only as low as the lowest dummy arm. Below the lowest arm switch to defensive moves of your legs.
5. Block with hands and kick with feet. It may seem that both hands and legs are doing techniques at the same time, but this is not completely accurate when you look closely. When your legs are doing technique, your hands are blocking. Block, then punch. Block, then kick. You can block and kick or block and punch, but you cannot do all three at one time. Practice, practice, practice and then find a real person to practice on.