GRAPPLING DUMMY REVIEW

Grappling dummies. Love them or hate them, they won't take it personally.

Joking aside, are these dummies really a useful training tool or a complete waste of time?

Many years ago when I first started to to deviate away from the traditional martial arts towards the new and more effective Mixed Martial Arts training (like many the first VHS release of UFC 1 was an eye-opener) I found it almost impossible to find a training partner who understood what "grappling" was nor thought it wasn't some kind of gay "cry for help" when i asked if they wanted to wrestle and explained the guard position.

This is when i decided to make my first grappling dummy. This was actually a pretty useful tool and an impressive construction in it's own right. I tool a hoodie, sewed up the face opening. I hand-sewed the waist to a pair of thick jeans and sealed off the arm and leg holes after stuffing it with old clothes.

I really beat the shit out of this thing and created some simple drills to work on from various positions. Even when I started training with flesh and blood humans I continued to use the dummy as it allowed me to use techniques and force that would be otherwise unacceptable in a training environment.

When I first saw the various forms of dummy being released (my first exposure was an Instagram ad) I had flashbacks to my early teens and, considering the infrequency with which I know grapple and Covid related limitations, I though why not.

Check out the video to see how I fill and use it.