During the very early beginnings of martial arts development, various training aids were introduced, including punch bags, wooden dummies, striking posts (makiwara), and other assorted tools for strengthening the grip of the hands, or hardening and desensitizing the skin.
Most of these training implements have survived to the present day to some degree, but you’re likely to see punch bags more often than not, in studios training all combat and sport martial arts, not to mention boxing and kickboxing gyms.
Role of Punch Bags in Martial Arts Training
In general punch bags can be used for a couple of reasons – assuming you are not a martial artist. Firstly, training on the heavy bag is great for improving physical fitness. As well as this advantage, hitting a punching bag is an excellent way of reducing the stresses of everyday life, rather than bottling pent up emotions after a tough day at work. So as long as you don’t overdo it, it’s good for everybody to have access to and use punching bags as a normal part of their workout routines.
Of particular importance to martial artists, kickboxers and western boxers are three separate areas. Punch bags can address all three of these areas, which are physical strength, aerobic fitness and good punching technique.
Types of Punch Bags
There are several different types of punch bags, and all have their own very specific uses.
1. Speed Bags
Speed bags are the small air-filled bags used very commonly by western boxers to improve punching accuracy and hand to eye coordination. They are attached to the ceiling or wall with a rebound platform so that they bounce back into position when punched. Speeds bags – or speed balls – are normally made from a plastic polymer or leather.
2. Heavy Bags
Heavy bags are also commonly associated with western boxing gyms, but are also widely used for martial arts training, where they are used for practising all power techniques including punching, kicking and elbow and knee-strikes. They are larger training aids, usually hanging from the ceiling using a chain, and can be made of leather, synthetic material or canvas. Depending on what kind of training you are doing, these bags can be filled with different materials, such as grain, or rags for a fairly light bag; or filled with sand, which makes the punch bag considerably harder – take care to use wraps or gloves for the harder heavier bags to protect your hands.
3. Variations on the Heavy Punch Bag
The heavy bag has a few cousins. First off, they are are not always hung from the ceiling. Pedestal bags are similar for training purposes but floor-standing, with a heavy weighted base. Then there are upper cut punch bags, designed to be wider at the top for practising upper cuts. Finally, there are the non-cylindrical bags, such as the body opponent bag, which is moulded to look like the head and torso of a person, pedestal-mounted, for practising accuracy and power of strikes to various parts of the opponents anatomy.
So the humble punch bag isn’t just reserved for the western boxer; it has all kinds of uses, and in some cases has been developed especially for the martial artist.
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