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BAG WORK (part 1)
Now that we are approaching the end of the year, many clubs and academies will soon be closing for Christmas. Enthusiastic martial artists’ will be looking for training ideas that they can effectively carry out from home. So this month we’ll look at applying timer training to your bag work.
Bag work can be physically very intense and requires discipline and imagination to remain motivated. When training alone you have little feedback and less variation in targets or target movement. This is where a structured approach can keep your skills progressing, preventing stagnation and boredom.
Without deciding in advance the number and duration of rounds you’ll conduct, the training session will tend to dissolve into random techniques, worked until you think ‘That’ll do – I’m tired!’ By breaking the session into rounds you’ll give yourself defined targets, pushing your fitness and providing a framework in which to place your training drills (if you missed the ‘Measuring Fitness’ Combat article, see it online at www.martialconcept.co.uk).
Timing Structure
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>A floor standing bag allows positional flexability
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Bag work timing structures are very simple because the high energy-expenditure dictates that a rest is required between rounds. At Martial Concept we recommend resting for 15 seconds after a 1-minute round, 30 seconds after a 2-minute round and 1-minute after a 3-minute round. These intervals provide adequate rest while placing a strong demand on your energy systems. Your level of fitness (or the length of the rounds in your up-and-coming bout) will affect your choice of training round duration. Generally, you should aim to use the longest rounds possible and to work for more rounds than you’ll need in competition. This will condition your body for a hard time — ‘Train hard, fight easy’ as they say.
If you are working the bag with the intention of improving a specific technique, then it’s advisable to keep the rounds a little shorter and to work on improvements early on in your workout – while you are still fresh. Trying to ‘groove in’ new or adjusted technique when you are tired will only help to reinforce bad habits. Save your new or improved technique for a hard work-out once you have had a chance to invest in some quality repetition and you can reproduce good technique even when tired.
Having selected an appropriate timing structure for your bag work session, let’s now look at some ideas for the type of work each round will encompass.
Drill Structure & Bag Work Themes
The theme of your bag work should always be personal to you. For example, you may have recently discovered a weakness in your technique or footwork and wish to correct it through deliberate repetition. Or, as already mentioned, you may want to drill a new technique to make it become natural and automatic. Perhaps your next competitive bout is against an opponent with a weakness for a hook punch, and you wish to rehearse some effective combinations. Whatever your reason for training at that very moment, you should set a goal. It may simply be to improve your fitness, work your favourite combinations, and relieve some stress! By establishing this before you start and planning your session around this goal, you’ll progress faster and maintain motivation.
The type of ‘bag’ you are using will dictate the type of techniques that you can practice. There are many designs employing different shapes, weights and configurations intended for specific purposes. We’ll take a look at the main types, and briefly consider the techniques that can be effectively trained on each.
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>Using the underside of a punch bag to practice a Muay Thai knee
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Punch Bags were pioneered by boxers and are the original bag design intended for punching only. Martial artists have taken to this piece of equipment, throwing all manner of techniques at it from ridge-hand strikes to spinning hook kicks. At between 3ft to 5ft in length these bags offer opponent targets from the hips upward. The cylindrical shape means that upward strikes can be difficult (such as an uppercut punch). However, Muay Thai practitioners do use the under side of these shorter bags to practice knee strikes. Newer ‘angled’ bags have a protruding surface that upward strikes can be aimed at. These bags are more versatile, offering you greater scope in your drill structures. The hanging design keeps the floor clear, offering no restrictions to footwork. The main concern with this design is the practical length of the bag bracket and the resulting distance of the bag from the wall. When kicking these bags you don’t want to catch your toes on the wall!
6ft Kick Bags were developed to allow a full range of martial arts techniques to be practiced, including lower limb strikes such as leg kicks. These bags function in the same way as the punch bag with the same limitations. Like the punch bag it also provides a tough, adaptable bag for your workout.
Floor Standing Bags utilise water or sand filled bases for stabilisation. This design can be less robust than a hanging bag, but does offer great advantages in positioning. Not having to be sat against a wall means that 360-degree movement can be made around the bag. However, the size of the base can form an obstruction, which in reality can limit footwork practice. The upright portion of these bags tends to either be solid (making the whole unit rock when hit hard) or uses a flexible sprung feature (making the base remain stationary while upright flexes). The upright portion is rarely padded making low strikes impossible. Other designs are now available offering realistic human torso targets. This can transform your accuracy and allows all manner of techniques to practised – including uppercuts!
Maize Bags are heavy pear-shaped maize filled bags, designed to allow boxers to train punches. These bags are good for developing power and soon let you (painfully) know if your punching wrist alignment is correct. To a martial artist, these bags offer a compact and solid target that lends itself to punches, elbows and knees. Kicking drills can be practiced on the maize bag, but round kicks would be better performed using a Muay Thai style. Contacting with the shin rather than the top of the foot will prevent ankle injury. The heavy and tough nature of this bag will naturally ‘impact’ condition any body weapon trained on it.
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>The floor to ceiling ball develops speed, accuracy and will hit back
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Floor-to-Ceiling Balls are the only piece of solo training equipment to hit back! Again borrowed from the boxers, this inflated ball is strapped between the floor and the ceiling by elastic straps. The energy of your strike is returned to the ball making it swing straight back at you. The harder you hit it, the quicker and more forcefully it returns. Without your guard up or evasive action you can be hit square in the face! This piece of kit is designed to allow punches and elbows to be trained. An accurate ‘square’ strike results in a straight swing. An inaccurate strike will send the ball swinging randomly making follow up strikes difficult. Kicking it isn’t very effective and tends to result in a nasty tangle! The floor-to-ceiling ball is an excellent tool for developing footwork, speed and accuracy.
Speedballs are another boxer’s tool for developing speed and hand-eye coordination. It consists of a small inflated-bladder suspended by a swivel from the underside of a horizontal board. When struck, this bladder rhythmically bounces against the board very quickly. To continuously strike the target requires great speed, accuracy and timing. Martial artists also tend to use this equipment to practice head height kicks. Because the target moves away as it is struck, it allows your technique to carry on through, ideal for training jumping kick accuracy.
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>Wall mounted bags offer targets at different angles including upward strikes
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Wall Mounted Bags were developed for Muay Thai fighters to practice punches, elbows and knees. They are extremely durable and provide multiple targets at various angles including upward strikes. Their only limitation is with respect to kicking targets, but they are a very useful addition to a multi-bag set up.
Regardless of which piece of equipment you own, to make effective use of it you need to apply a timing structure to your training session. Martial Concept’s Timer Training Mix CD makes an ideal accompaniment to any bag training set up. It provides you with effective timing structures, telling you when to start, rest and go again – allowing you simply concentrate on your bag-work theme.
Next month we will build on this article by looking in more detail at ‘drill structures’ and general good practice, giving you some ideas that you can use in your bag work training.
If you missed last months column, you can see it on the Martial Concept website – www.martialconcept.co.uk.
For more information regarding the Timer Training Mix or timer training, please e-mail info@martialconcept.com.
You can buy the Timer Training Mix online at www.martialconcept.co.uk for £11.99 – free UK delivery. Or see the advert elsewhere in this issue.
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