“Muk Yan Jong” translated word for word means “Wooden Man” – in other words, “Wooden Dummy.” Originally, it was known as the Mui Fah Jong—Mui Fah meaning Plum Blossom.

Muk Yan Jong is a training device exclusive to Ving Tsun. It is the final stage of training for hand and foot techniques. Therefore, those who have studied the 108 Muk Yan Jong techniques must have first achieved a high level of proficiency in the art of Ving Tsun. Those who truly know all these techniques number but a few. Of those few, only a handful were taught by Yip Man himself.

The 108 Muk Yan Jong techniques include practically all the Ving Tsun hand and foot techniques. They are, in effect, those techniques in various combinations and every conceivable application. They can be broken down into three categories;(1) Neutralization Maneuvers; (2) Confrontation and Counter-attacks; (3) Blatant Attacks. These techniques finalize one’s hand, foot, and body positions. Precision is of the utmost importance. The techniques train one to respond to an attack with a counter that is not only instantaneous and spontaneous, but the most appropriate and therefore, the most effective.

In the three pictures immediately above, Si Hing Rick Mitchell demonstrates selected movements on the Muk Yan Jong.

Some Muk Yan Jong techniques may not seem to conform to Ving Tsun’s theory of economy of movements. For example, some of the changes of body positions from left to right and vice versa may seem unnecessary. But they are actually done to compensate for the fact that the Muk Yan Jong itself doesn’t turn as a real opponent would when struck or blocked with force. Until a fully automatic Muk Yan Jong is invented that is capable of reacting more realistically, one will simply have to live with concessions like these.