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Forms and Drills Muk-Yan-Chong
The "Wooden Dummy" Form of Wing Chun
Introduction | Section 1 | Drills and Applications | Concepts and Theories
he famed wooden dummy, called Muk-Yan-Chong (pronounced muck-yahn-chong), is probably the most-recognized item in the martial arts today. Even though a variety of martial arts employ a wooden dummy for training, it is usually more recognized with Wing Chun.
When the wooden dummy first became a martial training tool is unknown, but it is generally accepted that it originated at the Shaolin temple. The "Wooden Man Alley" is said to have been two rows of spring-loaded wooden dummies, and in order for a student-monk to reach the end, he had to endure a variety of strikes from these wooden assailants. If he made it the end, he would then brand his arms with the styles of kung fu he trained in by grasping hot cauldrons with his forearms.
Personally, I am very glad that that is no longer a requirement to excel at Wing Chun.
A variety of shapes and sizes of dummies have been created throughout the generations, with the "live" dummy being the most prevalent (see below). Master Yip Man's era is credited with mounting the dummy on slats and taking the form of what we see today. In times prior, though, the common method of mounting was simply sinking the dummy into the ground vs. mounting it on the wall.
Where construction itself is concerned, the dummy has a set pattern for how it is fashioned and what its use is truly for. Some feel that the dummy's primary purpose is to condition the arms while others believe it is to mimic a person. It is true that repeated training will see many side benefits such as conditioning, timing, etc., but in my experience and as I was taught, the dummy's primary purpose is to improve one's structure when striking a non-moving object, increasing the coordination between upper and lower bodies ("uniting" the upper and lower bodies), and creating short-range "burst" type of power.
A good article that explains a lot more about the nature of construction and training is found at Master Clark Thornton's Muk Jong Kong website here (links to http://www.woodendummy.net/articles/wing_chun.shtml).
Section 1 begins by introducing the practitioner to an inanimate object, an object that will resist force at every turn. Because of this, we learn how to project relaxed force, a force that is devoid of "rebound," or pushing us backward.
Additionally, section 1 teaches proper footwork, body unity, and treating the body as one complete unit for creating short-range, explosive power. We learn angling, making use of the opponent's actions via various angles, sticking to the opponent, and "exploding" into the opponent.
Muk-Yan-Chong: Section 1 (1.48 MB | 31 seconds | WMV format)
Muk-Yan-Chong: Section 1 |
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Hoi-ma (Opening the Stance) Stand in front of the dummy just in front of the arms. The feet are together, the arms at you side, and the body upright. |
-1a- |
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Hoi-ma (continued) Bring the arms up while closing the fists. |
-1b- |
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Hoi-ma (continued) At the knees, sink the weight 45-degrees straight down. Do not lean forwards or backwards. |
-1c- |
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Hoi-ma (continued) Place just enough weight on your heels so that you can pivot the toes outward at 90-degrees. |
-1d- |
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Hoi-ma (continued) Now place enough weight on the toes so that you can pivot the heels outward at 60-degrees. |
-1e- |
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Man-sau (Inquisitive-arm) Bring the left arm to Man-sau and the right arm to Wu-sau. |
-2- |
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Chuen-kiu (Piercing-arm) to Man-geng-sau (Neck-Pulling hand) Drive the arms through the dummy arms (in between them) to create Man-geng-sau. |
-3- |
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Noi-moon Bong-sau (Indoor-area Wing-arm) Release the left arm and assume Wu-sau, while the right arm simultaneously executes Noi-moon Bong-sau to the inside of the dummy's right arm. |
-4- |
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Tan-sau with Gwoy-cheung (Palm-Up arm with Lying-palm) Simultaneously, step to the left with the left foot while the right foot performs Kau-bo (Plucking-step). While the feet are stepping, the right arm initiates Tan-sau to the outside of the dummy's right arm while the left arm drives in with Gwoy-cheung. When complete, you are at a 45-degree angle to the dummy and in right Juen-ma (Lead-leg stance/ Frontal-stance). |
-5- |
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Sheung-har Gaun-sau (High/low Splitting-Block arms) The right foot executes Hau-bo (Backward Circling-step/ Withdrawing-step) while the arms drive into the dummy's right and lower arm with Sheung-har Gaun-sau. |
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Kwun-sau (Rotating-arms/ Twisting-arms) Step to the right with the right leg while changing the arms to Kwun-sau. |
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Tan-sau with Gwoy-cheung Repeat the Tan-sau/ Gwoy-cheung combination on the dummy's left side, now using left Tan-sau and right Gwoy-cheung. |
-8- |
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Sheung-har Gaun-sau The left foot executes Hau-bo while the arms drive into the dummy's left and lower arm with Sheung-har Gaun-sau. |
-9- |
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Kau-sau (Plucking-arms) Turn your centerline back to the dummy while the right hand circles inside and the left hand drives to the outside. |
-10- |
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Jum-sau with Jing-cheung (Sinking-arm with Erect-palm) Initiate a left Jum-sau with a simultaneous right Jing-cheung. |
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Man-sau Jum-sau changes to Wu-sau while Jing-cheung changes to Man-sau. |
-12- |
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Repeat step 3 through step 12 for the other side. When finished, you have completed Section 1 of the Muk-Yan-Chong |
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There are a variety of wooden dummy interpretations due to each style's conceptual differences. Common sense dictates that the original wooden dummy form would have evolved and improved over time, but it is interesting to note that many styles resemble each other in many areas.
For example, the first half of the dummy form is almost identical in most styles. The second half, however, is where personal interpretation has largely been introduced. Is this bad? Of course not. Personal interpretation is what makes the art alive and so formidable.
As a practitioner works through the various wooden dummy drills, you can see a variety of elements from previous training. The difference, however, is that in many cases, the angles are different, and there is also a great deal of power release, footwork, and other advanced elements that many do not readily notice at first.
Man-geng-sau |
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From the ready position... |
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... the opponent attempts a neck grab. Using Chuen-kiu to drive through the incoming arms, Chuen-kiu transitions to Man-geng-sau by grabbing the back of the head and the arm. |
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With a forceful downward pull, the neck pull drives the opponent's face into an upward fist. |
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Rather than punching, an alternative counter-attack would be to drive a knee into the opponent's stomach while simultaneously using Man-geng-sau to pull the attacker into the knee. |
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Noi-moon Bong-sau to Tan-sau/Gwoy-cheung |
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As the attacker punches, we find that our opposite arm was the one that responded, thereby seeing us in Noi-moon Bong-sau. |
-1- |
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As the attacker changes his punch to hook, Noi-moon Bong-sau changes to Tan-sau. Simultaneously, the legs initiate Wang-bo (Side-step) to move us to the outside. |
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Continuing the momentum, Wu-sau transitions to Gwoy-cheung and strikes the opponent's kidney area. This is followed up immediately with chain-punching, Jeet-gerk, elbows, knees, etc. |
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In addition to concepts such as this, the wooden dummy also reinforces how important it is to "give way" to the explosive incoming force of an opponent. This is one of the concepts for "borrowing" the actions of the attacker in order to use it against him.
Yan-sut-gerk |
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As the opponent steps forward into range, Jeet-gerk (Stop-kick/ Jamming-kick) lashes outward into the attacker's knee. |
-1- |
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Rather than pulling back after the kick, the defender drives the foot fully down the shin... |
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... culminating in a foot stomp. Not only is this type of "dragging down the shin" quite painful, but it also keeps us in range for counter-attacking. Remember that when you have successfully bridged the gap, you are now in your preferred fighting range. If you withdraw and then try to close the gap again, there is nothing to say that this time you will not get dropped. Instead, take the opportunities that are presented and do not let them go. |
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The wooden dummy's look has also been altered over time, most probably originating during the Red Junk (Chinese boats) era of our history. It is said that practitioners fashioned holes in the side of the yardarms where the arms and leg could be inserted. But when training on dry ground, the dummy was inserted approximately two feet down.
Chai-sut-gerk |
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The opponent is making an obvious posture that he intends to attack. |
-1- |
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As the attacker drives in with his punch, the defender side steps with the outside leg. Simultaneously, double Lap-sau defends the punch and also gives us something to hold on to. During the the Lap-sau action, the indoor leg is being raised and... |
-2- |
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... drives Chai-sut-gerk into the side of the attacker's knee. Even with minimal force, this type of kick will generally cause permanent injury that requires surgery to repair. However, in a real situation, this is immediately followed up with chain-punching, etc., to ensure that the threat is removed. |
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Short-range Power
Muk-Yan-Chong training teaches a great deal about short-range power, or the training delved into for generating a lot of power in very close range to the opponent. Wing Chun favors close ranges such as fist, palm and elbow/knee range, so the wooden dummy capitalizes on this by teaching us to explode into our opponent.
The continuous release of force into this inanimate object also teaches us to overcome rebound. When you strike the dummy, only two things can happen: either the dummy moves, or you move. If the dummy is mounted on a wall, then naturally it is not going to go anywhere. Therefore, the power into the dummy will bounce back (rebound) into you, and now it is you that moves.
Over the course of time, we learn to overcome that rebound by reinforcing our adduction of the knees, linking the entire body as one structure. And throughout the training, we learn to keep ourselves in place when this rebound occurs. Because of this, our power increases, which in turn teaches more explosion of force. In combination, all of this creates short-range power that is efficient, explosive, and very difficult for our opponent to counter.
"Live" Dummy vs. "Dead" Dummy
Many who are new to Wing Chun will usually think that the present dummy is what was always around, but in reality, how you see the dummy today has only been around for about 65 years or so.
A "live" dummy is one which is mounted on the wall or a portable stand, whereas a "dead" dummy is one which is sunk into the floor or ground. Prior to Yip Man's era, most dummies were "dead" dummies, and even a brief look at pre-Yip Man era photos will almost always show you a wooden dummy that is sunk into the floor.
When Yip Man moved into his Hong Kong apartment, naturally there was no where to "sink" a dummy into. So as the story goes, one of his students fashioned the dummy to a wall-mounted frame. With this new mounting, there was also a type of give to the force being exerted since it would move slightly, and it was found that this type of mounting was actually preferable to the non-moving "dead" dummies.
Is there a difference? Is one really better than the other? Personally, I prefer the "live" dummies, but both have their advantages and disadvantages. A dead dummy is completely non-moving, so even if you have a good command of your structure on the live dummies, the first time you experience a dead dummy will be eye-opening. I highly recommend that a practitioner at the wooden dummy level also acquire a "dead" dummy for even more force creation
Why Does Wooden Dummy Training Come "After" The Empty-hand Forms Training?
Some view the wooden dummy as the height of empty-hand fighting, so many times they want to jump right into training with it even before they have completed the empty-hand form curriclum. This, however, is a mistake.
The first half of the dummy includes a lot of concepts from the Siu-Nim-Tau and Chum-Kiu, whereas the last half of the dummy includes concepts from the Biu-Tze. A practitioner can train their current skill level on a dummy and glean a lot from it, but training the curriculum itself would be a mistake if they have not completed the Biu-Tze. While the dummy is an excellent teacher for learning more about Wing Chun, it can also create a plethora of bad habits if a practitioner is not already at a particular level.
Remember that the wooden dummy comes after the empty-hand forms for a reason. Some will say it does not matter, but it does. If it did not really matter, then the dummy curriculum would come before something else, would it not?
True or False: The Dummy's Purpose Is To Build Up The Arms For Contact
False. While regular training with the wooden dummy will condition your arms for contact, that is not its primary purpose. Its primary purpose lies in advanced training for uniting the upper and lower bodies to create one complete unit vs. a "collection of parts."
While many attributes result from this type of training, building up the arms for contact is not the primary purpose.
After completing the empty-hand forms, the next stop on the path of progression is the wooden dummy. It is here that we "tie together" a variety of concepts in order to build an explosive foundation within an extremely tight working space. And nothing is better than Volume 5: Muk-Yan-Chong for taking you step-by-step through this remarkable training aid.
This video-illustrated in-depth workbook takes you through the complete wooden dummy curriculum from start to finish with nothing left out. That is why Volume 5 includes the complete form, all of the drills, all of the applications, and an in-depth step-by-step breakdown of the concepts and theories that makes wooden dummy training so effective.
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Updated: 10.26.2009 4:55PM MST
