Does Hung Ga Kyun curriculum have a Wooden Dummy? One of the most common questions in the Hung Kyun community!

According to the legends, Southern Siulam Monastery is said to have 108 Wooden Dummies. Hung Kyun being the heir of the Southern Siulam has to have a Wooden Dummy (Set)!

Wing Cheun has one, Choi Lei Fat has more than many, some other styles, like Black Tiger School (Hak Fu Mun) have even Stone Dummy!

There are even photos and videos of famous Masters practicing on Wooden Dummy. Last  but not least, we have all seen different Hung Kyun Dummies in the movies!

According to our research, Wooden Dummy training was indeed important par tof Hung Ga Kyun’s curriculum – although it looked differently than most of the practitioners think.

Traditional Hung Kyun Lin Gung training has consisted of:

• “Stance Training” (Jaat Ma)
• “Hitting Sandbag” (Da Sa Ba)
• “Three  Stars Conditioning” (Da Saam Sing)
• “Pulling the Rattan Ring” (Laai Tang Hyun)
• “Hitting (and Kicking) the Wooden Pole” (Da Jong)
• (Etc. – there are many other tools and methods, but those are the most fundamental.)

Most of the fundamental exercises are covered in our Practical Hung Kyun Intro Kit.

“Hitting (and Kicking) the Wooden Pole”?  Yes – traditional Hung Kyun Wooden Dummy was just a simple pole (Jong) buried in the ground (similar to the Mok Ga Bamboo Pole below) or a hanging pole (similar to Hap Ga Pole). No hands, no legs, just body to hit and kick, used mainly for sharpening our weapons, in line with our pro-active strategy of “self-offence”.

Does Hung Kyun need Wooden Dummy training? Late Grand Master Lam Jou told me: “We prefer to practice with live opponent instead “Dead Dummy” (Sei Jong).”

Is it a bad idea to add a Wooden Dummy practice to your curriculum? No, why not to do so! You can use Wing Cheun Wooden Dummy, CLF Dummy (eg. excellent Ching Jong) or make your own design – just make sure you know what you are doing (many of my Wing Cheun friends criticize incorrect Wooden Dummy practice, saying it is not a conditioning tool, but tool for developing the footwork).

We in Practical Hung Kyun follow the old, simple way – simple pole. We hit it, kick it, sweep it, bang it with our forearms, elbows, bump it with our shoulder and body. Beware of our strikes, kicks and bridges!

Simple works.

Pavel Macek Sifu, Practical Hung Kyun

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