What Is The Impact Of Wooden Dummies In Martial Arts History?

Type "wooden doll" in the search engine and you will see pages and pages of PVC dolls, autonomous dolls, traditional Wing Chun dummy, Mantis style dolls, etc. There is a huge variety, vast and flourishing type of martial arts is presented there with one part in common - admiration for the strong wooden structure opponent and the role in the training regime of the kung Fu practitioner.

Symbolic Test

The wooden doll is not only a basic training tool for those who are learning the movements of a style, or for those who seek to strengthen their bodies. Once a student masters the basic movements-blocks and holds-then innovation and improvisation are given way.

The Original

An IP Man is considered by martial arts experts as the inventor of the first doll of Wing Chun or Wooden Dummies. IP Man was a globetrotter, rarely stayed in one place for a long time so needed a compact and portable doll to train and maintain in any gym visited at that time.

When Bruce Lee exploded in the world, selling wooden dolls became a big business, not only in Hong Kong, but also in the other part of the world. As well as karate and Bubishi, a point of transmission from South China to the West was created with a wave of kung Fu schools teaching Chinese styles, with the wooden doll in the center.

Ultimate Power

The symbolic power of having a man face the doll by filtering into mainstream culture so much that a representation of kung Fu must have a doll somewhere, to let you know that this martial art is older and more traditional. There is a legacy behind that. It requires sacrifice of body and mind. It will definitely hurt you.

It is also helpful that a wooden pole with three protruding branches can also be used in an infinite number of ways, depending solely on student creativity. Each style of kung Fu has a set of forms that translate well into the doll.

Rumors of the Death of Kung Fu

It has never been a matter of true demise, but more of what will happen in the future. That's why the IP Man wooden doll can be the biggest contribution to martial arts. The wooden totem has a symbolic value that allows the martial artists of the modern era to go back to the masters, who arrived before them.

The legend says that in those times before Grand Master Yip Man, the Master selected own students and those struggled to make the grade. In the current day, it is the student who chooses their teacher and it is they, who have to make an effort not to lose their students.