Important Information
If you do not give me a workable email address, you will not receive a reply from me!
Please Read This Note
Hello My Fellow Martial Artists
When I closed my hands to teaching Wing Chun Kung Fu and locked the door to The Great Lion Co. in 2005, I had thought that I would retire and concentrate on writing. But my interest in wooden dummy construction has not abated. Indeed, I find myself reopening the business and having to start again from scratch.
Unfortunately, by activating my email address before the site is ready, I find that I am being overwhelmed by individuals who want one of my "signature" dummies --- so much so that I am already behind on the orders --- and I haven’t even opened the website yet.
To give you a better understanding of my situation now, I want to talk a little about how I will be conducting business here so there will be no misunderstanding by anyone who orders one of my dummies.
I am over 60 now --- a senior citizen. I do not work long hours anymore nor do I feel the need to rush to get the orders out. I do not need the money. I simply enjoy doing the work. I am the master in this field and take pride in my accomplishments. No one has made as many dummies nor produced as many new products as I have over the last twenty years. I take my time and do a good job --- not only because I want to produce a quality product --- but simply because, physically, I cannot rush around anymore or tote the heavy logs like I used to do.
Therefore it is necessary, for my own health and well-being, to strictly control all new orders coming into this website. I have formed a list of incoming orders. The requests will be placed in the order in which they are received --- by date. When you purchase constructed equipment from me, your name will go to the end of the list. Everyone who buys a product after you will be placed after you on the list. As I complete and ship an order or when someone is dropped, the list will be updated so that you will move towards the front of the line accordingly. This numbered list will be posted on the website in plain view by date and a person’s last name & initials, in the sequence in which I received the request. In this manner, you can see the progress of your order towards the final construction and shipment of your jong. Please do not ask me for a shipping date. I will let you know when your order is ready to ship. On the average, I can complete 5 to 7 handmade dummies a month, depending on what is ordered.
The balance on your dummy is due when it is finished and ready to ship. That way you have very little total investment up front. The balance is the total cost of the order, including shipping to your location, minus the deposit you paid at the beginning. The non-refundable deposit reserves your place in the line. If you place a deposit and, after a period of time, decide you no longer want to wait, your name will be dropped from the list and you will forfeit your deposit (as an administrative and restocking fee). If you change your mind again, and want to reinstate your order, your name will go to the end of the list. You will not regain your former spot in the line.
This will apply only to constructed "signature" dummies and not to other products I have in stock. These items ship immediately.
I will hand make only a limited number of "signature" dummies. When I "close my hands" to the dummy business in the future, it will be final, and no more dummies will be constructed by me after that.
Please think very carefully before you place an order with me. I do not give in to unreasonable demands and will not change your order in the line, even if you offer more money (which many do). I don’t care if you are a personal friend, a celebrity, a famous sifu, a great-grandmaster, or what. Everyone will be treated the same. So don’t ask.
I have often been chided for not taking out patents on the new products I have produced over the years, but hind-sight is twenty-twenty. The newer products being produced will be patented soon.
For your information, so that you cannot be misled by others, my company was the first to produce the following products or techniques, which are now being copied by almost everyone:
- The first traditional Wing Chun PVC dummy
- The first Modified Wing Chun Dummy
- The first commercially sold JKD Dummy (my version of Bruce Lee’s JKD dummy)
- The first square portable wooden stand
- The first portable wooden corner stand
- The first steel corner stand
- The first steel wall mount stand
- The first commercially sold Choy Lay Fut Ching Jong (square body)
- The first mobile "T" stand for the Choy Lay Fut Ching Jong (pat. pend.)
- The first freestanding Wing Chun PVC dummy (no mounting stand)(pat. pend.)
- The first freestanding Modified Wing Chun dummy (no mounting stand)(pat. pend.)
- The first freestanding JKD dummy (no mounting stand)(pat pend.)
- The first freestanding Choy Lay Fut Ching Jong (round body)(no mounting stand)(pat. pend.)
- The first freestanding Hung Gar wooden dummy (no mounting stand)(pat. pend)
- The first freestanding 7-star Preying Mantis wooden dummy (no mounting stand)
- The first to offer steel core laminated wooden legs (pat. pend.)
- The first height adjusting mounting system for wooden and steel stands
- The first freestanding multi-arm, multi-height modified Wing Chun dummy (contains three sets of arms at three different heights with three separate legs on one dummy)
- The first to construct dummy arms out of very dense and hard tropical wood (cocobola, purple heart, bloodwood, etc.)
- The first to offer an unconditional lifetime warranty on the body and the steel core laminated legs.
- The oldest wooden dummy manufacturer in the United States today.
My whole point in saying all this is . . . we are the first and foremost dummy manufacturer in the world today. No one has more experience and no one makes them better.
Master Clark Thornton