If you’d like to see the other blogs in this series click here for Siu Lim Tau, Cham Kiu, or Biu Ji, The Weapons of Wing Chun.
The Wooden Dummy form, Muk Yan Jong ( 木人樁 often improperly romanized as Mook Yan Jong) is a form in Wing Chun ( 詠春 ) that is variably placed in the progression depending on lineage or school. Countless pages have been written on its training, meaning, and all the little nuanced details therein. We will not go into that here, and refer you to Sigung Kwok’s article on his website if you’d like to read more there.
What we are doing here is showcasing many of the variants, so you can properly assess principles and performance without having to be dogmatic about trivial things. But first, we need to lay down some criteria for why certain examples are chosen and why others are not:
First, because we promote Ip Man Wing Chun, we will focus on his lineage/sub-lineages. (Some other inclusions may be made for illustrative reasons)
Second, because we are looking at tradition, we will primarily look at his direct disciples, the first generation students. (No offense to your sifu, but 3rd and 4th generation disciples just weren’t there. Lineage holders may be an exception where necessary).
So let me start with Grandmaster Samuel Kwok. My Sifu is under him, and thus I am in his lineage (though we are an independent school, and do not represent his organization), and thus I look to him for our standards in traditional matters. He is a second generation student, first trained under Grandmaster Ip Chun, and then Grandmaster Ip Ching. He has spent the last several decades travelling and training with as many Ip Man disciples as he can, and is the inspiration for this post (and subsequent series). It we are to find the essence of wing chun under all the variance, we can only do so by crossing hands with, and analyzing as many practitioners as possible.