How to Use a Speed Bag Properly
Before I started using the speed bag, I didn’t really get what it was for. Since I started doing more boxing training, I’ve discovered that it’s a fascinating little piece of equipment with a variety of benefits. They are as follows:
1. Hand-eye coordination
2. Rhythm and timing
3. Conditioning of shoulders and arms
4. Cardio-vascular conditioning (when you get really good at it)
When using the speed bag, you have to deliver both faster and powerful repetitive punching combinations while moving your fists shorter distances than you usually use while punching. The key to this is understanding how the bag works.
First, the bag must be at the proper height. The fattest part of the bag should be level with your mouth or nose. Many people have it much too high, leading to bad form or improper/ ineffective punching technique.
When you first start punching the speed bag, it’s important to learn how to keep control over it using more efficient, short arm and fist movements and by starting slow. Most people use the bottom of their fist at first (because it’s easier) to get comfortable with the way the bag moves before moving on to specific boxing punches. Speed will come eventually come with practice. The primary goal is to keep the bag moving and in control, no matter how slowly it’s moving. Some find it helpful to count the rebounds at first. If you find that the bag swings wildly, know this: The bag is never out of control, YOU are.
You’ll eventually want to use your standard punches on the speed bag. The first ones I suggest are jabs and crosses. Don’t expect to deliver your punches the same way you do on heavy bags or focus mitts. You’ll need to maintain a circular motion to your punches. To increase your speed, start your punches closer to the bag. To get faster, you need to swing smaller. Speed is often a function of distance. With purposeful practice, not just slamming away at the bag, you’ll increase your punching power along with fist speed.
The rhythm of the speed bag is important to understand. If you hit it from the front, the next punch should arrive after an odd number of rebounds (1, 3, or 5). Most people know the hypnotic triplet rhythm of the speed bag being hit. The basis for this beat is the accents of the sound. The first rebound (off the fist) is the loudest, the second rebound (by your face) is a little softer, and the third (away from you is barely heard, and runs into the returning fist which quickly adds the next accented punch as the fist connects. 1-2-3, 1-2-3… it’s the sound you’ll come to love. It is the same sound done slower or faster. Try and hear that beat, but if three rebounds is too fast for you, or you just refuse to slow down or hit softer, then use 5 rebounds. The bag will be in the same position after 5 rebounds as it as after 3, in position to be hit from the front again.
Jab-cross combinations can be practiced with 5 rebounds as well as 3. Hooks are a little different. To practice repetitive hook combinations (i.e. left Hook, right hook), use an even number of rebounds (2 or 4). Four is best to start off with. This works because the next punch is coming from the opposite side from the last punch, and the laws of speed bag rhythm require it.
To mix hooks with other punches, the number of rebounds needed may vary, depending on the angle of the bag rebound and the angle of your fist as it connects. For example, a left hook may follow a right cross after 3 or 4 rebounds, depending on the bag angle established by the right fist and the angle your left hook enters. Practice this slowly and watch how the bag angle changes. Also, after a left hook, the left fist can return for a left jab on either 3 or 4 rebounds depending on the rebound angle. Either way, the speed bag forces you to keep you hands up for combinations.
With a patience and practice, you’ll quickly find the speed bag helps you pick off moving targets a foot or less from your face. It’s a great complement to almost any martial art.
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What You Learn from a Punch to the Face
In many martial arts, it is forbidden to punch the face while sparring. In our school, we allow it because you learn a lot from both punching to the face and being punched to the face.
In real self-defense situations, the head is a primary target. If you only ever deal with punches to the head in theory and not in practice, you won’t be at all prepared for what it’s like if you actually get punched in the head.
When I first introduce sparring to orange belts, it’s under very controlled circumstances. Students wear 16-oz boxing gloves and mouth guards and they spar at 10% intensity. Only punches and kicks to the shins are allowed. This gives them the opportunity to focus on one aspect of sparring at a time. At this stage, the most important thing to develop is the guard. When students are only allowed to punch, there are less different types of attacks to be ready for, giving them more opportunity to focus on using the guard to protect themselves from attacks.
The other thing students learn at this stage is mentally dealing with being hit in the head and face. Because it’s new to them, they start out flinching quite a bit, making it hard to defend. Also, when they take that first punch in the face, even though it’s a light one that doesn’t cause damage, it still fazes them and puts them on the defensive. After a few sparring sessions though, this reaction lessens as their mind begins to cope with the state of duress that comes from being hit in the face.
As the attacker, by actually punching to the face while sparring, you learn to do it for real. When you only ever spar stopping your attacks just short of the face, your muscle memory develops to do this naturally. A former student of mine who was a 2nd degree black belt in Taekwondo discovered this in a situation when he was forced to defend himself. He tried to punch his would-be attacker in the face and his punch stopped just short of the guy’s face. Fortunately, the attacker took this to be a show of skilled restraint and decided it wasn’t worth it to get in a fight.
While many people don’t like the idea of punching to the face or being punched to the face, it is an important aspect of self-defense. The key to alleviating students’ fears when it comes to this is starting out in very controlled circumstances then upping the ante gradually as their skills improve.
Pressure Point of the Day: Solar Plexus
A strike to the solar plexus, as demonstrated in this video by MMA fighter Megumi Fujii, is an effective way to subdue an attacker without causing injury. The solar plexus is a nerve motor point that, when struck, causes temporary motor dysfunction to the surrounding muscles, those which are used for breathing. It’s not simply a matter of having the wind knocked out of you. For a short period of time, you have trouble breathing both in and out.
One day I was sparring with a student of mine named Alec. He was the youngest in my class at 19 and oozed natural talent. That being said, on this particular day, he was keeping a very high guard to stop incoming blows to his head while ignoring any kicks I aimed at his body. After the first 2-minute round, we took a short break, giving me the chance to address the weakness in his guard.
“So Alec, I noticed that you’re not blocking any of my strikes to your body,” I put forward.
“Yeah, I just figure I’d rather take a shot to the body than a shot to the head,” he replied, with the cocksure attitude that goes hand in hand with youth and talent.
“You do realize I’m not striking with any power, right?” I queried. “And I’m aiming at your solar plexus.”
“I still think I can take a shot to solar plexus, even if you were hitting with full power.”
I looked at him, a tiny smirk playing across the corners of my mouth, betraying my intention. “Okay then. Let’s do the second round.”
In the second round, Alec came at me with a right cross for his first attack. I sidestepped the blow, snapping a quick roundhouse kick to his solar plexus, making solid contact. Alec grunted as he received the blow, pausing a moment before continuing the round.
Again, he came at me, leading with a couple of jabs, following with another right cross. And again, I do the same sidestep-roundhouse kick combo, hitting home on his solar plexus. He stopped, knees buckling as he ineffectively gasped for air. “I have to stop,” he croaked before crumpling to the ground.
I let him regain his composure for a couple of minutes and get back on his feet, after which I approached him. “So… what did we learn?” I asked him with an admittedly cheeky tone.
“I said I could take one shot to the solar plexus, not two!” he retorted sheepishly.
“And that wasn’t even full power. That was about 50% my full power.” I knew I wouldn’t need to use full power to make my point. I wanted to him to learn a lesson, not hate me.
His eyes widened in disbelief. “I think I’d rather take a shot to the head than your full power kick to the solar plexus.”
The second blow would have had even more effect than the first due to the overload principle. When striking nerve pressure or motor points, if you attack the same nerve point twice, you’ll notice a significant increase in effectiveness the second time around. That’s because the first blow weakens the nerves, causing them to be more sensitive when struck again.
After that sparring session, I never again saw Alec disregard incoming body shots.
We're proud to announce that Lori O'Connell Sensei's new book, When the Fight Goes to the Ground: Jiu-jitsu Strategies & Tactics for Self-Defense, published through international martial arts publisher Tuttle Publishing, is now available in major book stores and online. More about it & where to buy it.