Building a Grappling Dummy with Silverline122

Hey buddies-

Over the last year or so, I've been introduced to countless youtube videos that contained a wealth of great BJJ information. I've noticed that although I got the basic idea in mind, applying these new-found techniques in live rolling situation was a lot more difficult than most of the videos made seem... The biggest problem was, although I was able to grasp the concept of many instructionals, I had to constantly think while rolling how I was going to get to certain moves. Muscle memory is highly underrated imo, lol...

Also- a lot of the techniques learned in class would slip out of my mind within a month or so, so I figured if I could get a little more practice time at home, I would be ahead of the game by at least a little...

This is when I decided getting a grappling dummy would be a good idea. I also figured I could practice ankle locks on it without worrying about injuring a partner... I've searched far and wide over the internet, but most decent quality dummies were at least $300, which is def. the kind of money that I wasn't planning on spending. I actually learned about building one from scratch from this site, and decided to give it a go.

I'm not the most gifted builder, but creating this was easier than I thought.

So...

I present to you, my grappling dummy progress:

1. This is the basic materials I've gathered to build this dummy:
*pool noodles*
*mop head*
*tons of duct tape*
*thick cables purchased at Lowe's- 5 ft, 5.5 ft, and 8 ft*
*2 pillows (not shown in pic)
*a few towels (not shown)




2. To create the head, I started by cutting a piece of pool noodle and fitting it inside a mop head. Then I duct taped it, wrapped it with a towel, and duct taped it some more:




3. Next I took the 5 ft cable, bent it in half to create the spine, and inserted it in the head opening, and secured it with... yes, duct tape:



4. Upon doing so, I took the 8 ft cable and attached it to the lower end of the spine, wrapping it with many layers of tape, and fit the pool noodles over the cable:

 

5. To create the body, I took an old pillow and wrapped it tightly around the spine, and secured it firmly with duct tape. Then I took pillow no. 2 and wrapped it around the body once more:





6. Creating the "neck and shoulders":




7: What I have so far:






*I'm contemplating adding realistic joint grooves at the moment, and it is not yet "complete", but so far, I'm pleased with the results... I'm already able to apply techniques on it, so I may even leave it as so... My main goal was to just be able to create something that works, and this fits the bill so far... As I finish it, I will update this thread with more pics*

 

Dummy in Action:



lol:

 

Nice job, but I would be afraid of it coming to life at night and killing me. That thing is spooky.

 

very cool. How long did it take and the cost of the materials? Also have u thrown it around and did it break or tear? thanks

 

too much time on your hands, the time you spend making that you could have been working for money to buy a good one. self pwnt

 

if ur neighbors ever see you using that thing they're for sure going to call the police

 

I'd hit it.

 

Great post. 3 questions.

How is it working so far? Durable much? What width pool tubes did you use?

 

qft. Next up, I'm building a female one.

 

So far, so good...
The width of the pool tubes are the standard size, 3 inches- I think, and this thing seems durable so far... I'll probably add a few more layers of duct tape and up the width of the legs... I've gnp'ed it as well too, but it seems to be holding up fine.

I've only spent about 2.5 hours making this thing so far, but- I'll follow up in a month or two to see if it passes the durability test

 

+1

I think you need to add a stuffed bra and rashguard for realism sake.

 

Just use a blow up doll

 

Even Ken dolls have a LITTLE package....Jesus hook the brother up!

That actually pretty cool, smart idea! I think you could've made it a little better (I dont personally know how) but It seems like it serves it purpose. Nicely done borther! How much did it all cost?

 

You couldve made it thicker, like this....

Fightraining: How to Make a Grappling Dummy 2

 

Took about 2.5 hours so far, -I've gnp'ed it a little and no breakage as of yet

 

thats sick.

 

That would've been ideal... That is one of my inspirations to make this, actually-

 

Nice job! My first thought was I'd hit it too.... lol. How much did it cost? Are you worried the joints might fail from repetitive stress at all?

 

Im guessing if you use it SO much that it wears down or breaks...you probably got your moneys worth anyway!