How it all came to be…
108 Shaolin Wooden Dummies
How it all came to be…
108 Shaolin Wooden Dummies
The Wing Tsun wooden dummy is thought to have originated in the Shaolin 108 Wooden Man Hall where a trainee of the Monastery would have to navigate down the hall as his or her final test. According to Shaolin traditions, women were not permitted in the monasteries. The story of the female elder is said to have been a story created by secret societies as a cover. The truth is clouded by history having been handed down verbally or just recorded in popular novels. In any case, a candidate for the final test would have to “fight off” a dummy when it came out of the wall. He would accidentally trigger the dummies by stepping on certain planks in the floor. Wooden dummies were, like chi sau, probably not invented but rather developed through history. Several martial arts have their own versions of wooden dummies as part of their ancient history. It seems likely that a wooden dummy as a training device could have originated in the same place. The other possibility is that one martial art took the idea from an instructor of another martial art and adapted it for his own use and teachings.As a reinforcement of the authentic historical origins of wooden dummies, several other Chinese martial arts also use wooden dummies of different designs.
Read the full story in Grandmaster Leung Ting’s book.
116 Wing Tsun Wooden Dummy Techniques
The 116 Wing Tsun Wooden Dummy techniques are taught in the early Technician levels after the Biu Tze form and its applications. There are seven sections of techniques on the dummy and chi sau techniques for each section. In Leung Ting WingTsun®, the main intent of the wooden dummy techniques is not to toughen the arms and legs, although this is a byproduct. The purpose is the development of certain high level skills. It is the final portion of the weaponless art. The techniques include methods that require very fast footwork to be practical. Most high level teaching is high level because they are more difficult, not more effective.The number of techniques in the wooden dummy form can vary from lineage to lineage. The full story can be found in the book 116 Wooden Dummy Techniques – by Leung Ting available at www.wle.com.
