Earlier this month we started learning the Lung Shou Pai wooden dummy form. In our style we use a Choy Lay Fut style dummy, a ching jong, rather than the Wing Chun style muk jong. The primary difference is the upper arm is on a pivot inside the body and is held in place with a spring, so when you pull it down, it pops back up. We’ve gotten some plans and I hope to start building my own soon, possibly as early as this weekend.

I’ve also started picking up our straight sword form from a couple of the other black belt students. That’s progressing especially slowly since I have to catch them outside of class to get the next few moves, then practice on my own. It may be the only way I’ll get to learn it, though, since we may not roll back around to it in class for years.

If all goes well, I’ll start really preparing for my third degree test one year from now. I’m already ramping up toward that end, though. I’ve been wearing ankle weights in class, working with a kettlebell to develop strength and endurance, and eating lots of ice cream to build up my resistance to cold temperatures.