Hanging vs. Free Standing Heavy Bags?
- Thread starter SFC JeffJ
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Hanging bags are much better.
Freestanding ones feal "empty" too hit, which they are, you can't really sink a solid hit into them, and if you try to kick them, often you end up knowcking them over. Not to mention the fact that after a few hits it is not where it was when you started.
Freestanding ones feal "empty" too hit, which they are, you can't really sink a solid hit into them, and if you try to kick them, often you end up knowcking them over. Not to mention the fact that after a few hits it is not where it was when you started.
I agree, and there are other reasons too—chief among them, for me, the fact that while they're swinging and you're trying to get a bead on them, it's much closer to a real combat situation than a standing bag just sitting there so you know exactly where it's going to be whenever you strike it.
I also think it's good to punch and kick into a very heavy bag that sometimes is swinging towards you. Your technique and power have to both be excellent or it's gonna hurt. All in all, much more realistic training, I believe.
I haven't yet done any serious training with a heavy bag.
So...best I can do is describe what I like about the freestanding bag. I don't have one here at my house but my school has set up a practice area with a Wavemaster XXL. The bag is mounted in the corner of the area so that ain't moving anywhere regardless of how hard it is hit.
I personally like it because of its consistency. I drill on the same move repeatedly for awhile so I get a feel for how I can improve upon it.
I'm looking forward to training on a heavy hangng bag sometime. I think I would like that a lot...but I'd need a different place to live before I hung one
So...best I can do is describe what I like about the freestanding bag. I don't have one here at my house but my school has set up a practice area with a Wavemaster XXL. The bag is mounted in the corner of the area so that ain't moving anywhere regardless of how hard it is hit.
I personally like it because of its consistency. I drill on the same move repeatedly for awhile so I get a feel for how I can improve upon it.
I'm looking forward to training on a heavy hangng bag sometime. I think I would like that a lot...but I'd need a different place to live before I hung one
ArmorOfGod
Senior Master
Hanging ones are better, like everyone said, but if you live in an apartment, stationary ones are better than nothing. Also, the BOB freestanding are kind of cool due to their shape. You can practice working chokes in and direct your strikes towards specific head targets.
AoG
AoG
Remember the purpose of the heavy bag, that is to develop power. You can't develop power on a target that has no weight behind it, which standing ones don't, the weight is under it. Proper tool for the proper job.
They are better then nothing, but if you have a place to hang a bag, a hanging bag is a much better option.
They are better then nothing, but if you have a place to hang a bag, a hanging bag is a much better option.
zDom
Senior Master
All well-stated comments above.
I agree that:
• hanging heavy bags are best
• swinging hanging heavy bags are GREAT training (but be careful!!)
• free-standing bags are better than nothing, but not even in the same league as a hanging bag
• Bob is fun to choke
And to practice neck strikes and solar plexus/rib shots on.
One option that is better than free-standing bags but not quite as good as a beam-hung hanging bag is a bag on a "cornerman" (do they even make them anymore?) They tend to "walk" across the floor, but that can be mitigated by placing it against a firm post or weighting down the legs with sandbags.
I agree that:
• hanging heavy bags are best
• swinging hanging heavy bags are GREAT training (but be careful!!)
• free-standing bags are better than nothing, but not even in the same league as a hanging bag
• Bob is fun to choke
And to practice neck strikes and solar plexus/rib shots on.One option that is better than free-standing bags but not quite as good as a beam-hung hanging bag is a bag on a "cornerman" (do they even make them anymore?) They tend to "walk" across the floor, but that can be mitigated by placing it against a firm post or weighting down the legs with sandbags.
still learning
Senior Master
Hello, I prefer hanging ones and I have both of them.
OK...there is another school in town that has over a dozen of free standing for years....BIG problems with leaking and cracking on the base.
Never tried "BOB"....looks like a great bag to work on.........Aloha
OK...there is another school in town that has over a dozen of free standing for years....BIG problems with leaking and cracking on the base.
Never tried "BOB"....looks like a great bag to work on.........Aloha
I'm in agreement with whats been said. I use both. The free standing ones tend to move around if they're hit hard, ie: such as kicking it. However, if space is an issue, they're more compact. The hanging ones take up alot of room. They tend, depending on the size, to be heavier, which is good. They'll start to swing eventually, but thats ok, because it'll force you to move around, working footwork, body position, etc.
Mike
Amen to that—definitely be careful! I often use MA shoes when kicking against a freely moving heavy bag, but I sometime kick barefoot too just to give myself an extra incentive to deliver the kick hard and then get outta there. If you're at all sloppy, it can hurt. And with certain kicks, like a rear-leg side kick, if your timing is off, and the bag is swinging towards you at the point where you drive the kick in, you can get the kick jammed back into your hip. Not only can it knock you totally off balance, but it can leave you feeling like a truck hit you if you do that a couple of times in a training session...
I've never heard of these kinds of bags. Where did you run across them, zD?
The Bob type ones can be very theraputic, find a photo of someone you would really like to beat up but can't of course as you are a responsible martial artist, enlarge it on a photocopier till it is life size and tie around 'Bobs' head, then let loose your beat kicks punches ect. Enjoy!
I have to say, my first name is Robert, I go by `Bob', and all of this talk about these particular human-shaped bags makes me, um, kind of anxious... :wink1:
sankaku-jime
Yellow Belt
I have a free standing bag, whilst a hanging bag is better where I live it is simply not practical.
I find the bad usefull for both timing and for testing on how powerfull your strikes are.
also the one I have is good for low kicks sometimes hanging bags are to high for me.
there is a good review here
http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/freestandingbags.html
I find the bad usefull for both timing and for testing on how powerfull your strikes are.
also the one I have is good for low kicks sometimes hanging bags are to high for me.
there is a good review here
http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/freestandingbags.html
zDom
Senior Master
A cornerman is not a bag type. It is a piece of equipment to hang a bag FROM.
Try this link:
http://www.amazon.com/Cornerman%99-.../105-2630597-0118022?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods
A hanging Muay Thai bag is simply the best heavy bag out there. After that Hanging bag's are generally better than there free standing counter parts but take up more space generally and are not always as desirable. (ie. apartment or constantly moving)
Hey, that's very good, Tez! I sure wouldn't have resisted if I'd thought that one up
zDom said:
Gotcha—wasn't reading carefully enough. Will check it out. I'd love to have a hanging heavy bag, but the garage has been Declared off-limits to such things, so I'm looking for alternatives... thanks for the link!
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