Training dummies

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What are the training dummies for?

The idea behind the training dummies comes from an ancient past, since the beginning, they were created to help practitioners to improve those particular kinds of skills that are difficult to sharpen:

Both individually
Both with a training partner

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

The limitations of a common training dummy

However, if on the one hand, they allow exercising certain faculties that are normally hard to train (too high risk, over the limit of the partners’ ability, etc.), on the other hand, they lend strong deficiencies that prevent their univocal use.

A note by Master Kongling – In most cases, the people who say that the training dummies are useless belong to 3 categories: those who don’t want to buy them (and this is reasonable, they can often be very expensive), those who don’t want to build them (and this is less reasonable, many of them are within everyone’s reach) and those who make excuses because, actually, they don’t want to add solo training to their martial preparation (and this is the worst case). All those motivations do not hold up if we are talking about something that goes (even only a little) beyond the amateur level. In my personal experience, the real “change of gear” happened when I started my long solo daily sessions and in this, these tools played a fundamental role.

The typical limitations of a training dummy are that:

It cannot move
It cannot attack
It cannot deflect attacks
It cannot fool us
…

In other words (in most cases), we are talking about an “inert” object:

The classic punching bag (read also How to make a punching bag with tires)
The Wing Chun wooden dummy (read How to make a Wing Chun wooden dummy)
…

The 6 Dragons Kung Fu’s special dummies

Since 6 Dragons Kung Fu puts a special focus on individual dynamic training (as well as on group one read Online learning and martial arts: is it possible?, Why martial arts do not work: 5 reasons, How to use martial arts in a real fight), we have developed several types of training dummies and some of them are also “able” to perform movements (through direct or indirect stimulation): read more about them in Martial arts training dummies [MINI-GUIDE].

What skills are possible to sharpen with the 6 Dragons Kung Fu training dummies?

We have designed them to train:

Full power attacks – To be free to use lethal, wearing or damaging power
High-speed reactions – To do not be limited to the random combat capabilities of our partners
Advanced spatial intelligence – To force us to get used to manage a superior amount of stimuli
Advanced reflexes – To force us to get used to times of interaction otherwise impossible
Precision Control – To train things like defensive automation (read Introduction to the idea of Precision Control)
Resistance conditioning – To not be limited by the time, availability or cost of a group workout
Real strikes with weapons – To be able to express the maximum power of the martial weapons we study
…

The purposes of our training dummies

Before reviewing the various types of training dummies it is necessary to understand the purposes for which they were designed:

As we said, to apply combat techniques without limitations (thus understanding them in a more profound way, read A scheme to quickly learn any kind of technique)
To focus only on specific skills, temporarily ignoring the other ones (read All the skills of 6 Dragons Kung Fu)
To train mind and body to detach from the focus on the opponents to embrace instead the idea of interaction with a scenario (read Concentration and abstraction in combat)
…

A note by Master Kongling – The important thing is to understand that they are not designed to replace sparring and / or training partners in general (this, from a combat preparation point of view, would be a very serious mistake, read How to learn to fight: all the steps).

In the next article of this series, we will see the first training dummy (read A Wing Chun wooden dummy like in PVC).

In-depth video courses

DIY training tools for martial arts – A step-by-step explanation about how to easily build your training tools
Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – A video course regarding the fundamental 5 exercises you need to build real martial skills

In-depth articles

6 Dragons Kung Fu: what does it teach? – The learning path of our martial arts school
Secret Shaolin training tools – The special training methods of ancient Shaolin monks

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Have you ever trained with a training dummy?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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