Double end bag work critique

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by axelb, Jul 5, 2017.

  1. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    I'm trying to get back into things after a long absence.
    I have a double end bag for my garage which I work on twice a week at the moment for 20-30 minutes.



    Working about 1'30" rounds with 30second rest, for 10 rounds.

    I'll up the rounds, for a few weeks, then bring it down and increase round time to 2mins, rinse and repeat until I'm working 3minute rounds.

    First 2-3 rounds, basic 2 hit combo's repeated to get the feel of the bag, i.e. jab/cross or hook/hook.

    Round 3-5 move round and add some defence after a short combo e.g. jab/cross slip, or hook/hook duck.

    5-8 general bag work at a higher pace, a mix of the above, and any other 3-4 hit combos

    last 2 rounds steady pace ad hoc combo and moving round

    then I usually do a few minutes light work to cool down.

    Things I know I need to work on:
    -my hook is poor, elbow needs to be in line with fist, often it hangs down during the impact.
    -guard position, hands come down - I find I'm better than I used to be as the bag comes at you often :Do_O
     
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  2. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    The first MAP member video on the new site. :D

    I'd love to see more of this type of thing.

    If we were in a private lesson I'd want you to be softer in the knees, so not so upright.

    My checklist would be:

    1. Good guard
    2. Soft knees (not standing bolt upright)
    3. Move into range and hit
    4. Do not rise up during this movement
    5. Move back out of range and check soft knees again
    If you stay in range that is fine, but remember to keep the head moving.

    Bruce Lee said, "the head has no independent action of it's own," so move from the waist.

    Thank you for posting and I'd love to see more videos and a progression on the bag.
     
    axelb likes this.
  3. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    Thanks Simon, I'm glad for the feedback items I'll definitely work on.

    I have a video from year ago when a got the bag, which I can see a lot of improvement on - filming it certainly highlights areas for improvement that you don't realise.

    I was wondering about the uprightness of my stance, that hadn't clicked so I'm glad you pointed that out!
     
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  4. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    Agree with Simon about standing upright.

    I personally don't throw that many hooks to that bag, cos of the swing and I mostly "tip tap" it. However you are connecting with your punches so... "thumbs up"!
     
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  5. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    Great video!

    How's your footwork before and when you hook?

    Most of what I've been working recently has been coming down to trying to increase my understanding of footwork and movement around and in striking. My current favourite saying being, "Your arm/leg is just the nail, your body is the hammer." :)

    I'm so far from a boxer it's just not true, but for a hook I like a short arc but a good pivot on the feet and a nice high elbow. I find those bags really tough though, so what do I know?! :D
     
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  6. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    I should set the video in portrait mode next time to get a better view of my footwork also.
    I spend about 10-20 minutes a day doing light shadow boxing and try to focus on footwork, pivot for the hook - my boxing coach used to say like squishing a bug.
    I notice I lose the connection from the foot to hand as I fatigue which is a bit too frequent at the moment.

    My hook is the weakest/slowest of my punches so I have been making a focused effort on them over the last year.
     
  7. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    There is a fix for that. I'll try and get a video done in the next week for you.

    Is the issue your lead hook, rear hook or both.

    There is a thing you can do to add power with just a minor change in your feet, I'll add it to the video.
     
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  8. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Chin down mate. ;)

    Upon seeing your kick I'd say spend some time working on flexibility for your main "kicking muscles" but particular attention should be paid to anterior hip tightness (quads, hip flexors) as indicated by your performing a sort of crunch with your torso on the roundhouse kick. Also your knee during the side kick goes into a valgus fault, most likely because of short and tight adductors. And although you're in a guarding position your shoulders look like they're quite forward (does your job involve sitting at a desk or driving?) so maybe spend time stretching and mobilising your thoracic region structures.
     
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  9. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    I'm a desk worker, I read about that causing problems with hip flexors, and on the gluteous medius.

    I can do front splits to the floor and side splits with about one foot off the ground (following the stretching routine from your thread :D) it usually takes 6 minutes of stretching after I'm warmed up to get there though.

    In the last month I have been doing hip flexor exercises after my squat or deadlift workout.

    Sometimes I'm stuck at my desk for 4-6 hours at a time :( I notice it takes a lot longer to get to my peak flexibility after those days/weeks.

    Thanks, I'm looking forward to seeing that. It seems mostly on my left/rear hook, my right lead hook feels a lot sharper, and the foot to fist link fits a lot better than my rear hook.
     
  10. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    Working the bag again today, feeling very fatigued from squats and bench press so I kept it light to focus on the points people made.

    I felt I made some improvements, but I haven't done a video this time round :D
     
    Mitch likes this.
  11. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    Today's session finished abruptly at 5 minutes followed by lots of expletives.

    20170713_150837~2.jpg

    This is the third time I've had to reattach, but it looks like my anchor screws hadn't gone in properly. :mad:
     
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  12. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Get yourself to a boxing gym mate. Will save you time and money in repairs and you'll get firsthand feedback.
     
    axelb likes this.
  13. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    I used to go to the ABC, but I can't find one that fits my schedule with kids. Definitely the best option when I next have the opportunity.:)
     
  14. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Sell your kids on eBay. Boxing comes first. :D
     
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  15. ned

    ned Valued Member

    This is the third time I've had to reattach, but it looks like my anchor screws hadn't gone in properly. :mad:[/QUOTE]



    Looks like you need to find a ceiling joist ( usually at 400mm centres from wall ) to fix into rather than plaster board .
    Or if you don't want to change the position of the fixing cut a section of plasterboard out and fix a piece of 4"X2"
    (a noggin) between the joists.
    And yeah, joining a boxing gym is the best way to get straight up feedback - and hard to beat conditioning !
     
    axelb likes this.
  16. Tom bayley

    Tom bayley Valued Member

    Re the kick.

    Agree about the flexibility. looks like you are trying to cheat the height by angling the foot up from the knee. not a good habit against a solid target.

    Consider kicking lower and working on good technique within your range off flexibility. Maybe try mixing low kicks into the combinations. - low roundhouse, jab or hook, front snap to set up the jab, play to see what works with the way you like to flow.

    With kicks the key is always use good technique. A kick with good technique can be devastating regardless of how high or low it is.
     
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  17. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    yup I'm definitely kicking higher than my hips would let me then!
    I'm getting more flexible recently following the method in Van Zandt's thread; it's helped a lot as an office worker who neglected proper stretching for too long.
     
  18. Tom bayley

    Tom bayley Valued Member

    Have you tried using a hammock? I replaced the sofa in the tv room with a hammock. If you get angle of hang right it gives you a gentle stretch all the way from the Achilles to the glutes. it sounds daft but It has really improved the balance of flexibility in my legs over the past year. and I am 51 so improving flexibility is a big thing for me. And you get to combine exercise with vegging out - how cool is that?

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
  19. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    I think the majority of it is desk work. I am more conscious of it in the last year and walk around ever hour when I can, but the nature of my work means I sometimes need to be on the phone for up to 4 hours. In the evening I do a workout, or stretch/foam roll in front of the TV.

    Since this video I'm more flexible, about 4 inch off box splits, 2 inches from front splits which is where I used to be at flexibly wise about 4 years ago. I'll do another video once I'm over my annual September illness.
     
  20. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    Back again for round 2 :D

    Today was punch only bag work. Had to slow it down a few times as I was hitting my HR limit. I'm still dropping my lead hand from guard I've noticed, so I need to work on that.

     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2018
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