Craftsmanship is Job One! Each Wooden Dummy is custom built on an individual basis with careful attention to detail. From selecting the raw lumber to drilling and polishing the final slat, our exacting standards assure that your Wooden Dummy will be the highest quality, most rugged and most beautiful that you've seen anywhere. We believe that building a classic Muk Yang Jong is exactly like Kung Fu: when you're willing to put in the time and the hard work, the results are incredable.



On this page we'd like to give you a brief tour of the Wooden Dummy construction process, so you can see the kind of attention to detail that makes our Wooden Dummies so unique.


About the Wooden Dummy Trunks
When a log arrives it is green with the bark on it. It is then turned on a custom horizontal lathe until sized to the correct diameter.



The Wing Chun Dummy Trunk is 54" long and between 8 1/2" and 9 1/2" in diameter. It weighs approximately 110 pounds, depending on the trunk diameter and retained water weight. The upper left hold is 9 3/4" centered from the top; the upper right hole is 11 1/4" centered from the top, and the lower arm is centered 21 1/4" from the top. The leg hole is 2" square and located 40" from the top of the trunk. The upper slat hole is offset 1 3/4" from the centerline and centered 7" from the top. The lower slat hole is offset 1 3/4" and centered 44" from the top. The two upper armholes are offset (i.e., one cut above the other through the trunk). There is approximately 1/2" of wood between the two upper holes on a 9" diameter trunk.

The Jeet Kune Do Trunk is 60" long and between 9" and 10" in diameter. It weighs approximately 125 pounds, depending on the diameter and the water weight. The head is 7" long; the neck is 4 1/2" long and 5" in diameter and can be gripped by the hand. The arm placement for the three arms is the same as the Wing Chun dummy.

The PVC Trunks are constructed of hard PVC plastic, 1/4" thick and 8 3/4" in diameter. The arm, leg and support slat specifications are the same as for the traditional Wing Chun dummy. The pipe is hollow but can be capped to add weight. The dummy trunk is clean but unpainted. As received it is white and in some cases still has the manufacturer's blue markings on it. It weighs approximately 40 pounds.

About The Wooden Dummy Arms and Legs
The Wooden Dummy Arms are round and 12" in length. They taper from approximately 2 1/2" at the base to 1 1/2" at the tip. The tips are rounded. The upper trunk armholes are offset; therefore, the arms are offset on the shanks to allow the arm tips to come back on center. The distance between the upper arm tips is approximately 8" when pulled together and 9" when pulled apart. The lower center arm is center-shanked. All arm shanks are approximately 1 3/8" square and vary in length, depending on the diameter of the trunk. The 1/2" stop peg holes are drilled in the shank 3/4" from the trunk to allow forward and reverse play in the arms. The arm stop pegs are tapered dowels that drop into a vertical position in the stop peg holes. All armholes are 1 1/2" square to allow vertical and horizontal play in the arms. The arms are made from oak and hickory, but other woods can be ordered at an additional cost upon request (e.g., cocobola, etc.)



The Natural Legs are constructed from curved tree limbs and have a 2" square shank. The legs vary in length, angle, diameter, and degree of straightness, but the most common angle is approximately 60 degrees from the horizontal plane. These legs move slightly in the hole, but can be shimmed to prevent any movement if so desired. The natural legs come in a variety of hardwoods, and there is no guarantee that the leg will match the type or color of the wood used in the dummy body.

The Wing Chun Steel Leg is 2 3/8" in diameter with a 2" square steel shank that inserts through the trunk at an angle. The leg bends approximately 60 degrees from the horizontal plane and will move slightly in the hole. The leg can be shimmed to provent movement is so desired. It is coated with high-grade Rustoleum bronze paint.

The Jeet Kune Do Steel Front Leg is 2 3/8" in diameter with a 2" square steel shank that inserts straight through the trunk approximately 3" below the center arm. It extends outward 6", then angles 45 degrees for 12", and then drops approximately 20" toward the floor. It is pegged in the back like the arms for easy removal. Bruce Lee used this leg to practice throwing his opponents, as well as other techniques.



The Jeet Kune Do Side Legs are 2 3/8" in diameter and are centered in the trunk about 1" below the lower support slat. Bruce Lee used these side legs to practice his low kicks.

The Wing Chun Option can be added as a custom feature to the Jeet Kune Do dummy. A 2" x 2" hole can be cut at the bottom of the JKD trunk to allow the insertion of a Wing Chun leg. If you remove the JKD center steel leg and add the Wing Chun leg your Muk Jong becomes a modified Wing Chun dummy.

NOTE: The Wing Chun steel leg is the standard leg for all Wing Chun dummies, including the Wing Chun option on the JKD dummy. Natural legs are extra.

About The Support Slats
The Support Slats (or hangers) are made from true 1" x 2" solid oak and they provide very realistic bounce. They are 5 feet in length and sealed with one coat of high-grade sealer. When ordering a dummy they come with dummy stop blocks which allow your to limit the movement of the dummy.

Q&A Session

A Muk Yang Jong is a serious investment, and one that you should consider very carefully. Below, we ask the "hard questions" right up front so you know right where this product stands. When shopping around or comparing, we suggest that you ask others these same questions...

What About Repairs? Do You Offer A Lifetime Warranty?
A Wooden Dummy is a training device crafted from sturdy hardwood with the intention of being struck, kicked and grappled with. As such, careful attention goes into the craftsmanship to assure that the wood can withstand this punishment.

For instance, we hand-pick oak and hickory logs to be used as the Wooden Dummy trunks, then turn them on our custom horizontal lathe until carved to the proper dimensions. Revealed in the process are all the flaws, worm holes, knots and other imperfections. Most are removed during the turning cycle, but a few -- as seen in the picture -- must be repaired. Any large holes and cracks are filled with a mixture of liquid fiberglass and sawdust which hardens and bonds with the wood, thus sealing the crack. These are sanded smooth and sealed with three coats of polyurethane like the one in the picture.



Understand that all wood over 2" in diameter cracks as part of the drying process. If air dried, it takes one year to dry 1" of log. A log 9" in diameter may take as long as four and a half years to dry down to a moisture content of about 30 percent. We kiln dry the logs at a specific temperature and humidity content of between 10 and 15 percent which millwrights tell us is the ideal moisture to stabalize a log for indoor use. During that process the log cracks as demonstrated by the pictures here. These cracks are filled with special wood paste and sealed to keep the log stable.

This attentive craftsmanship -- this building with the Tao of the Wood as some would say -- assures that your Wooden Dummy is both completely stable in terms of environmental factors and capable of withstanding the punishing routines of a Wing Chun, Jeet Kune Do or other Wooden Dummy form.

We offer a 90-day warranty on all of our products, and a full line of relacement parts. Our philosophy is simple: if it doesn't break within 90 days, it isn't likely to.

We believe that Lifetime Warranties only as good as the intention to honor them. We understand that the effect of warranty work is cumulative unless you limit it. Because Muk Jongs are made from wood, there will probably be repairs necessary at some time over the life of the product. The result of a lifetime warranty is that after awhile, as the customer base grows, the manufacturer will be doing a great deal of warranty work and will soon reach a point where he will no longer be able to take new orders. Not too smart. So you have to wonder whether or not these people who offer "lifetime warranties" really intend to honor it, or even if they will be in business in one or two years.

What Type of Wood is Used in Construction?
First some terminology: not all hardwoods are hard. For instance, Balsa wood is classified as a hardwood, palm trees are hardwoods, etc. The terms "hardwood" and "softwood" are biological terms and refer to things like cell structure, seed distribution, tree shape, etc. and do not mean the wood is hard or soft. Muk Jongs made from poplar, sweetgum, tulip, etc. are soft hardwoods and tend to wear out more quickly. Some softwoods are actually very hard (e.g. southern yellow pine, etc.), but most softwoods tend to delaminate over time, are full of resin and are not really the best woods for constructing a wooden dummy. The hardest woods in North America come from your nut trees (e.g. oak, hickory, pecan, black walnut, etc.).



We use North American oak or hickory trunks. For the stands we use Western Red Cedar for the Wooden Dummies, or Douglas Fir for PVC Dummies.

Is the Trunk Laminated?
A "laminated trunk" is one where the wood is glued together and then turned round on a lathe. It looks like a tree trunk, but is usually painted or stained so you can't tell it's laminated. Big, solid pieces of wood such as whole logs are both expensive and hard to work with. Therefore, some companies offering "economy" Wooden Dummies substitute traditional whole trunks with imitations made by gluing smaller pieces together. Laminated trunks, if they have problems, tend to crack apart along the glue lines.

We use only solid wood logs for our Wooden Dummy trunks. We use NO laminated wood products in the construction of our equipment. We do not paint or stain the wood.


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Is the Knee Jointed or Laminated?
Traditionally, the leg of the Muk Yang was made by carefully selecting a properly curved tree limb and carving it down to the proper dimensions. Today, however, in the interest of saving time and money many companies manufacture legs using jointed or laminated wood.

Jointed legs are usually glued together at the knee or the bend in the leg. This is unfortunate because the greatest pressure exerted on the dummy are the low kicks. These powerful blows tend to blast the knee and can cause the leg to shatter if it's jointed. Laminated legs, made by gluing together smaller pieces of wood, tend to break where the shank joins the main body of the leg.

We Manufacture the natural legs used on our Wooded Dummies by carefully selecting a properly curved tree limb and carving them down to the proper dimensions; the old fashioned way!


What is the Diameter of the Trunk?
The average trunk size of a Wing Chun dummy should be around 9". The smaller the diameter, the less it weighs. A traditional dummy trunk should weigh at least 100 lbs. The upper two arms are also set at a specific angle. Anything under 8" is suspect because the upper two arms can't be set correctly.

Trunks we use are between 8 1/2" and 9 1/2" for Wing Chun dummies, and between 9" and 10" for Jeet Kune Do dummies.

Are the Trunk, Arms and Leg Kiln-Dried?
The wooden parts of the dummy must be kiln-dried to reduce the moisture content of the wood. Even your tropical woods must be dried. This helps prevent serious cracking later.

All wooden elements we use are kiln-dried using our exact specifications of moisture and temperature to bring the moisture content to between 10 and 15 percent.

Is the Finish "Furniture Grade" or Better?
The arms and trunk of a Wooden Dummy are contact surfaces for the martial artist and should be smooth and free of knotty protrusions. These protrusions (bumps or knots in the wood) can cause serious injury if struck with the palm or fist.

All contact surfaces of The Wooden Dummies are sanded, polished and coated with high-quality sealant.

Are the Tropical Woods Shipped from Hong Kong and Mainland China Better?
That's relative. Are you willing to pay three or four hundred dollars extra for the fact that your getting a "traditional" dummy made in Hong Kong or mainland China? And even if that is your intention, consider the following:



Tropical hardwoods grown and are manufactured in tropical environments. They may de-stabalize in different climates.   The well-known grandmasters who lend their names to some companies never actually touch the dummies you will get. They're made in sweatshops by dozens of people who wouldn't know a sun punch from a fruit punch.    Much of your investment is being spent on transportation costs to move your dummy from one side of the world to the other. In contrast, we use North American hardwoods, build and stabalized in North America and intended for use in the North American climate. Each and every Wooden Dummy is crafted by hand by master craftsman and Wing Chun Sifu Clark Thornton and students using the traditional methods of Sifu Francis Fong. And finally, your transportation costs are limited to, in most cases, loading the dummy onto a bus or truck.

Thank you...