A punching bag is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched, for use in exercise, physical training, or stress relief. Someone who trains using a punching bag is usually trying to improve one of three areas: physical strength, aerobic fitness, or punching technique.
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History
Punching bags as we know them are a modern invention but pells have been used in martial arts and swordplay for as long as there is a written history of military training. Similar apparatus in Asian martial arts include the Okinawan makiwara and the Chinese mook jong, which may have padded striking surfaces attached to them. In martial arts and combat sports such as Karate, Taekwondo, Muay Thai and others, heavy bags, standing bags, and similar apparatuses have been adapted for practicing kicking and other striking maneuvers in addition to straightforward punching technique.[1]
Construction
Punching bags are often filled with grains or other material [2]) and are usually hung from the ceiling or affixed to a stand. The design of a punching bag should allow it to take repeated and constant physical abuse and not break. It must also absorb the impact of blows, without causing undue harm to the user.
Types of bag
There are many different types of punching bags, with different names based on their size, use and mounting method. Speed bags are small, air-filled bags anchored at the top to a rebound platform parallel to the ground. Speed bags help a fighter learn to keep his hands up, as well as improve speed and hand-eye coordination. Double-end bags are light, round bags, often anchored to floor and ceiling with elastic or semi-elastic materials. Such bags are often used to practice mobility and accuracy on a moving target. Maize bags are not punched with great force but are used in boxing training to improve the athlete's head motion and ability to evade an opponent's punch, their name deriving from the fact that traditionally they are filled with maize.
A heavy bag is larger, cylindrical bag, usually suspended by chains or ropes for practicing powerful body punches. Pedestal bags or tower bags are heavy bags mounted on a weighted pedestal rather than being hung from above. Other variations on the standard heavy bag include horizontal suspension from both ends to practice uppercut punches and non-cylindrical shapes. Almost all punching bags are covered with leather or synthetic materials such as vinyl which resist abrasion and mildew. Canvas is also used as a bag material where there is lower use and humidity. Body-shaped training aids such as the modern "body opponent bag" and the fabled "slam man" are made primarily of synthetic materials, and punching bags are sometimes mounted on a weighted pedestal rather than hanging from above. These are not punching bags in the strict sense, but modern versions of apparatus such as the wooden man apparatus of Chinese Wing Chun, the medieval quintain and target dummies used in modern bayonet training. Large inflatable balloons with weighted bases are another kind of punching bag, often painted with a picture and sold as a children's toy.
Safety precautions
Powerful strikes to the heavy bag are not recommended for younger athletes, lest they risk damage to their still-developing bones. Adult athletes who strike the bag with full force are encouraged to use hand wraps and bag gloves to avoid injuries such as the boxer's fracture of the fifth metacarpal.
Turn of phrase
A person is called a "punching bag" if one perceives the person as being the subject of constant and unwarranted attacks.
References
- ^ http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Dtimes/Pages/article35.htm
- ^ NBC 30 Connecticut. Family's Punching Back Holds Smelly Surprise (2007-05-17). Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
