Bag Training
Bag Training Equipment
First, you need a heavy bag. Canvas, leather, or vinyl bags may be purchased or constructed. Most commercial heavy bags are stuffed with shredded cloth that will settle over time making the bottom section of the bag very hard. I have found the best bag is to buy an unfilled bag with smooth sides with no heavy stitching or support straps down the sides (these may injure an unprotected hand or foot). Then find some loose cotton (it will take a lot of cotton). I filled my bag with cotton removed from old mattresses. The compressed cotton is very firm but will absorb blows. The cotton will never settle or develop hard areas. I have bag that is over 30 years old and is just as springy as in the beginning. Hanging heavy bags are best, but when there is not a suitable area to hang one, Wave Master bags or other types of rebound bags may be used.
For a hanging bag, you need a place to hang it. The bags are heavy so they must be hung properly and have plenty of room to swing freely in all directions. There should be enough room all around the bag for you to move and kick with ease. To hang from a ceiling, the bag must be hung from a rafter or some sort of bracket that spans two rafters. Metal brackets may be made or bought to hang a bag from a wall. Frames that sit on the floor are useless, they are not strong enough, the frame flexes too much, and the frame moves around the floor.
Feet do not need any protection but the hands should be protected. Boxing gloves are okay but they are heavy, offer too much padding, and do not allow all hand position to be used. The extra padding does help protect the joints from the jolts of punches but the feeling of that jolt is part of the bag training experience. Normal sparring gloves may be used, but they will quickly tear and wear out. Good leather bag gloves are best. They permit all hand techniques, protect the entire hand, have extra padding over the knuckles, and have a metal palm grip bar that permits a solid fist to be formed that is resistant to injury.
Hand wraps add extra protection over the knuckles and help support the bones in the hand. The first place to wear out on bag gloves is the area over the knuckles. Hand wraps help delay this wear. The leading injury sustained in a real fight is broken hands so it is best to toughen the hands to impact punching as much as is practicable. Using no wrap is best, but you can also lightly wrap the hand and then wrap the excess around the wrist.