Meeting the Master
Back in January, I got together with my friend Kim Patti to talk over some photography stuff. As we chatted, I learned that Kim was a retired Army/Navy guy that has spent al of this life doing woodworking – from a kid, to teaching it in school and to adults. Here I was, Face to face with a true master!
I relayed to Kim that I had been practicing Wing Chung Kung Fu for a while, and one of the things that I was dreaming about doing was building a Kung Fu wooden dummy (Mook Yan Jong) and that I had found a couple of videos on YouTube that showed how to make one cheaply using MDF. He listened attentively and didn’t say anything about it and we parted ways.
Challenge Accepted!
A couple of days later, Kim came back to me and said “Do you know that in China, people would build the wooden dummy from an actual tree?” I did know that, but I never thought myself skilled to even build the simplest of dummies from plans on YouTube. Truthfully, I am considerably inept at anything that has to do with doing stuff with my hands. If I were to try to hang a picture on a wall – my neighbors house would be on fire.
Kim explained that there really is no reason I couldnt learn any of this stuff – and that there is no better feeling than sitting around and making something with your bare hands. To finish a project on your own would give me an appreciation of the craft behind it.
He looked at me and said “Challenge accepted! I am going to help you build one from scratch with your hands. ” The catch? It would be done step by step – with me coming to learn from him on both antique tools and modern tools.
Building the Dummy
(click on the images above for a slideshow of the process)
The next couple of months, I would drive an hour up to meet with him and spend time learning some of the components that were involved in the building of the wooden dummy. I can’t really explain how gratifying the process of working with my hands was. I felt like this new hobby was stimulating other parts of the brain, and getting me excited about something new!
A few months later, I had finished the wooden dummy. With it parked in my room, I found something that I can get excited about! I’ve spent time playing on youtube, learning about tools, trying some things in Sketchup and dreaming about the things that I could do next.
I have not been excited about something like this since I started photography- and it feels great. Now, I incessantly bother Kim and my friend Al with tool recommendations – a fie inside to try something new.
And I have Kim Patti to thank for all of it. Let’s see what else I can make with my own two hands! Maybe this will give me ideas for new photography work!
