Review on Train Like A Pro With Combat Sports Grappling Dummy - Perfect For MMA, Wrestling, And Fitness by Kevin Stephan

After reading reviews of various grappling and throwing dummies on revain, YouTube and martial arts web sites. I decided to order the 90lb dummy over the 70lb because I wanted to be sure to get a weight I knew would challenge me. I was also afraid that the 70lb would be to short (5'4") for me, even though I am only 5'6". I received the dummy through UPS and it came in a large cardboard box. I used a large 2 wheel dolly to take it into my basement where my workout area is located. Good thing I had a few steps into my walkout basement because this _ucker is heavy. Word of advice keep the dummy in the box because it is easier to move.Once in my 12X14 workout area, I unboxed it and inspected it for any damages. The dummy didn't come wrapped in plastic and did not smell as some other reviewers had complained about maybe because it wasn't in long storage wrapped in plastic. I wiped it down to get some of the cardboard dust off of it.The dummy measured out to almost 5'10", weighed a hair over 90lbs and is stiff as a board. The arms measure between 18-19" and bend at a slight angle where the elbows would be and is sewn onto the torso. The chest is 46" and the waist is 36". There are shoe string type stitching on the inside areas of the elbows, groin, knees and on the bottom of the legs. Because of the stiffness of the legs and the bulk of the torso, the dummy doesn't flex.After doing some warm ups, I tested the dummy out. I basically bought this to practice judo throws and some basic BJJ ground work. As other reviewers have stated these dummies may weigh 90lbs but the dead weight is probably 2x the weight and it felt like 180lbs when I tried to throw it. I threw it about 5 or 6 times to get a feel for it. It was awkward and difficult to throw. It felt off balance. I believe it was probably due to the combination of the height, weight and inflexibility of the waist where the legs are connected. I figured if I could shorten it without losing significant weight, that would help with the balance issue. So I decide to shorten it. I figured I would take out stuffing a little at a time till I got it down to 5'6". Because of the thickness of the heavy duty nylon construction I also had to figure how to fold the material over and to take that into account when measuring.I measured from the bottom approximately 4" one leg at a time, I cut the shoe string thread off carefully and opened the bottom of the leg. I removed a small Styrofoam sheet at the opening and then carefully pulled small clumps of cloth material through the slit opening. The material was compressed very hard so it was easy to keep the stuffing flat inside the leg and easy to see when I reached the 4". Another note to mention. I did not find any metal or other foreign objects mixed in the shredded material as other reviewers had found.I replaced the styrofoam piece back into the leg and folded the nylon material over carefully to make it as tight and less bulky. I temporarily held the tightened fold closed by using a piece of black Gorilla tape. I then re-measured from the top of the head to the bottom of the leg and found I needed to remove another inch of material because of the folded nylon. After removing another inch (approximately 5"of material removed), I re-taped, re-measured and found that that I had reach the desired 5'6" height that I wanted. I found it was much easier to tape up the bottom when I braced the legs up off the floor. I made sure the fold was tight and then heavily taped the bottom of the leg. After re-sizing both legs I re-weighed the dummy. It still weighed 90lbs.I again tested the dummy. What a huge difference the adjustment made. I believe the center of gravity was better for me and the balance felt better. It was still awkward at first to throw but after figuring out where to place my arms and hands, I was throwing it with power. It is still pretty stiff and I believe the legs will slowly flex more over time. Though I really don't want the legs to flex to the point that it won't stand up when I stand it up to throw. It still felt very heavy but I consider that to be an advantage considering not everyone you train with is going to be your size and weight. I'd rather get stronger to throw that weight than to get something to light.If I had to order another dummy I would order the same size and shorten it as oppose to ordering the lighter 70lb and shorter 5'4" dummy.I also used Gorilla tape and taped over all the stitching to reinforce those areas.I took it to my Krav Maga class and had my sparring partner throw it around and after figuring out where to place his arms and hands it was easier to throw around with power. We found that it was easy to armbar but not easy to to do anything with the legs if you're doing any kind of BJJ.I'll try to leave an updated review after a few weeks of training.The photos I'm attaching show the tape job and final height adjustment compared to me (5'6") and the B.O.B. at its lowest setting which is about 5'4"In order to hang this dummy. Use a safety harness and ratchet hanging strap as shown in the pics. I can practice empty hands and practice escrima stick drills and knife disarms. In order to do this. I used a box cutter to cut a slit in the seam at the top and bottom of the hand and then used a large screw driver to make the hole larger. I then pushed the escrima stick through the hand and using black duct tape I reinforced the seam so that it wouldn't widen or tear. after a few days of using both sticks and knives. The hole shows no signs of ripping and holds both in place.I also taped bungee cords to the arms in order to help keep up the arms when I stick the escrima sticks in. I connect the bungee cords at the back of the neck. The cords don't get in the way when I just practice empty hand flows.I followed a suggestion on here by a review about cutting the GI down the center of the back. I bought a size A4 GI and tried to slip it on but the arms are attached to far in front. I doubt very much an A5 but maybe would a A6 and above would fit but I wasn't going to spend $100 or more and then cut it up. I cut the GI in half and used black duct tape to secure each side onto the dummy (yes I taped over the harness because the harness does not get in the way of throwing.) I also cut the sleeves to length, maybe a little too short, so cut a little at a time. I then wrapped tape around the waist and upper chest area to make sure the GI stayed in place. I practiced several throws and it worked. The GI didn't slip off the dummy. See attached pics. I will update as time goes on.