How to Make a Practice Dummy Out of PVC Pipe

In sports such as martial arts and wrestling, an athlete needs to have a partner available to practice individual moves on. When another person is not available, a dummy is an acceptable stand-in. Professionally made dummies can cost as much as a thousand dollars. It is much more effective to make your own out of PVC pipe, foam, duct tape and other materials.

Things You'll Need

  • Heavy gauge wire
  • Bolt cutters
  • PVC pipe
  • Hacksaw
  • Duct tape
  • Styrofoam head
  • Roll of 1-inch sheet foam
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut the heavy gauge wire with bolt cutters to the following lengths: feet, legs and hips, 8 feet; arms and shoulders, 5 feet, 6 inches; and torso and neck, 3 feet.

    • 2

      Cut the PVC with a hacksaw to the following lengths: thighs, 16 inches (2); calves, 13 inches (2); forearms, 12 inches (2); and upper arms, 13 inches (2).

    • 3

      Bend the long piece of wire into the shape of the legs and hips (a long, upside-down U). The midpoint of the wire should be the middle of the hips, with a leg and foot extending from each side.

    • 4

      Secure the one end of the torso wire to the midpoint of the hips with a lot of duct tape.

    • 5

      Slide a thigh and calf PVC section onto each leg and bend the foot to keep them in place. There should be a 3-inch gap at the knee.

    • 6

      Lightly tape the PVC at the knee joints with duct tape, holding the thighs and calves apart and allowing movement of the knees.

    • 7

      Attach the arm wire to the torso wire with more duct tape. The connection should be at the midpoint of the arm wire and about 10 inches down from the top of the torso wire, forming a neck.

    • 8

      Add the upper arm and forearm PVC pipes in the same manner as the legs. Tape them apart at the elbows. Use duct tape to secure the forearms to the ends of the wire to form the hand stumps (the dummy will not have hands).

    • 9

      Push a Styrofoam head onto the neck wire and secure it in place with duct tape, completing the dummy's skeleton.

    • 10

      Wrap foam sheeting around the skeleton, starting at the legs, to form the padded bulk. Use duct tape to hold the foam in place.

      The feet can be wrapped once or twice, but the legs and torso may need several layers to reach the proper thickness. Use your judgment about how large you want your dummy to be.

    • 11

      Continue wrapping the legs, arms, torso and neck in foam until it is completely covered. For greater mobility do not connect the foam on the arms and legs to the foam on the torso. Think of it as five separately wrapped sections.

      You can wrap the head if you want, but it's not required.

    • 12

      Wrap the entire body and head in two layers of duct tape. Use a different color for each layer to make it easier to see if you have missed any areas.

    • 13

      Knock the practice dummy around the room to get a feel for it.