those free-stand bags that are shaped like the upper-body of a man (like this: http://www.aztec.se/budo/categories.asp?ID=1037134) are they any good? Can they take some serious beating, or are they just for target-practise?
I was thinking about a normal heavy bag, but I would have to hang it from my ceiling so it wont disturb the neighbours, and I’m worried that it wont hold up there. I’m looking for something that I can really use some power on, so speedbags isn’t an option.
It can take all the punching you can dish out, but probably wouldn’t last with full power kicks. I have one, but only use it for precise placement practice. A heavy bag can fool you on accuracy sometimes.
It will slide around if you hit it real hard, but shouldn’t bounce enough to make the neighbours mad.
we have one at training called Boris… he takes full powered kicks to the head, hits with bamboo poles, any punches, whatever. he’s lasted for a couple of years at least (though I’m not sure exactly how many). And yeah, they are expensive, or I would of gotten one for myself ages ago. It’d be amusing to punch it and watch its head fly off, wouldn’t it.
You could always get the basic wave master free standing bag if the BOB is to costly. The only problem with them is they tend to skip when you really pound on them.
Well I never used one of those things before other than maybe push it at the sports store, but I remember seeing one once with part of his face ripped off (not cut, ripped) at the nose. I think the head is hollow, so you can do like eye gouges and all and not worry too much.
They’re pretyy cool. At my workplace, we have one in the gym that I use on a regular basis. They move, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as it can work your mobility and ensure that you aren’t just standing in one place. The head is great for working hooks and uppercuts, but it won’t stand hard kicks for too long. It’s fairly tough, but I’ve knocked some of the filling out of it now. If you can afford one, it’s not a bad buy. You can definitely get some good use out of it.
“It’s fairly tough, but I’ve knocked some of the filling out of it now.”
How’d you do that? With the masterful THAI KICK!? Hahaha!
I was once considering buying one of those for the fact you could work boxing specifics on it but yet again, pretty expensive. How tall do they stand anyways?
The height is adustable. I think it goes to a little over 6 feet. It’s great for boxing specifics and has two really good benefits:
bob has a head
Because of that, you can practice accuracy. It’s not hard to miss a hook or uppercut on a heavy bag, but it’s a lot easier to miss on Bob
2.it teaches follow ups
several people that I know (myself included at one point in time) will try to reset themselves if they miss, as opposed to following up the miss with another strike. with Bon, you can work following up when you miss.
i had a wave-master and the padding wore out in 5 months of use. now i just use it for palm strikes, blocks and elbows. what i did was take the padding unit of and i was left with the slim plastic core. its perfect because its the same width as a persons neck.
Hello,
I have one, have had it for a few years , love it, ive only put it through my wall twice… But it can definately take a beating.
I have a wholsale account with century, there coorperate headquarters and plant is literally 5 min. from my house here in Ok. I can usually get them for around 150-200, last time I got a free wavemaster top with it. Your sifu/sensei..whatever should be able to establish a wholesale acount and get the discount.
Regards,
Gary
Make tour own, dummy (sorry, I couldn’t resist the comma)
Seriously, I’ve made several. All you need is some kind of semi human skelatal framework secuerly mounted to a 4X8 piece of plywood in a standing position. Cover this with padding- carpet padding works well. Then cover that with carpet. Try to immitate the human form as much as possible. Duct tape it well all over, then add some details. I like to give it feet for stomps, knees so you can practice full force accurate knee shots. I generally stuff an old jock strap so you get the feel of a good groin shot. Give him some kind of rib cage, and don’t forget to define the solar plexus and the supra sternal notch. Try to give his neck and head as much definition as possible- I tape strips and triangles on to define chin, mouth, nose, orbits of the eyes, ears, etc. Arms are optional, but I don’t recomend them as they are easily dammaged and never in the right position anyhow. Have a partner stand behind the dummy with two padded wands if you want to work with arms. Tape all this really good (except for your partner) with a lot more duct tape, then get him dressed up in whatever fashion suits you, and you are ready to wail at a fraction of the cost (assuming you scrounge, yard sale, Good Will, and generally use your head when gathering materials). You can get as fancy as you want and do things you couldn’t with the store baught ones. For example, make him with eye sockets and put grapes in them to practice finger techniques (this also adds another dimension to the realism as now, like any good sleezball, he’ll attract flies).
The most durable dummy I made was also the first. It still resides in my brothers shop, and still takes a good hit when called on. The framework is 2" square steel tubing, welded and gusseted. But even well padded this monster is pure hell to hit full force! I’ve also made them out of different sizes of PVC pipe. These yield better and some were fairly dureable. But they don’t last. Their biggest weakness is the ankles and lower legs. Right now I’m looking for some schedule 80 PVC to try for the legs and feet. I’m also toying with a spring mounting system so there is some give other than the leg itself when I haul off and really kick him.
Any how, if you decide to try it and want more details or have questions I’ll be glad to answer. And if any of you have any good ideas I may incorporate them into the next dummy.
Oh, and one last finishing touch- you’ve got to name him. My steel dummy is “Ski”, and my current (broken) PVC dumy is “Touchdown”. I like to stand Touchdown outside our sliding glass door at night and scare the heck out of my wife. He’s such a kidder.
But it can definately take a beating.