21 combinations of the speed bag

[Tim]

http://www.kenpoconnection.com has a speed bag training video...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9123080712350028929&q=speed+bag

http://www.kenpoconnection.com/products/videos/speedbag.htm

I'm hoping to get a review copy...

[Teetu]

I wasn't aware anyone used the back of the hand, although it seems unnatural

[Speedbag]

I wasn't aware anyone used the back of the hand, although it seems unnatural

You have to remember he is a martial artist, and many martial art styles use the back of the hand with the elbow lower than the fist rather than level.

The position of the elbow is a key factor in The Speed Bag Bible because the raised elbow level with the fist allows for the easiest and most efficient method to pass through the bag. IF you do not care about hitting the sides and back of the bag, then the elbow position, and contacting the back of hand - will matter much less.

Having only seen the Google video version, He appears to be fairly skilled on the bag, but it distresses me to hear people use terms "combination" and "technique" interchangeably. IMO, they are NOT the same. It also distresses me when their lack of knowledge appears in the title of their video. There are in fact hundreds of combinations on the speed bag, not only "21". The man who taught me, who is far better than this guy, wrote a chapter in his boxing book entitled "32 speed bag combinations", using all sides of the bag. I later abandoned that belief for a more explicit method of conceptualizing the bag. There are over fourty "combinations" using "techniques" from the FRONT of the bag. Throw in the sides and reverse techniques, and this becomes hundreds.

It also distresses me to see people use various elbow movements and strikes on the bag (Outward and Inward) and fail to identify the difference. The names of his moves, and the order of fist elbow contact are both addressed as "combinations" and/or "techniques". Which is it?? Perhaps his full video addresses this.

- that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[Tim]

... wrote a chapter in his boxing book entitled "32 speed bag combinations", using all sides of the bag

Can you refresh my memory as to the title of this book? I think you've mentioned it before and that it is out of print, however I might try to locate a copy simply for nostalgia purposes. Is it "Boxing Skills for Fun and Fitness"?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0914338013?v=glance

[Speedbag]

Can you refresh my memory as to the title of this book? I think you've mentioned it before and that it is out of print, however I might try to locate a copy simply for nostalgia purposes. Is it "Boxing Skills for Fun and Fitness"?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0914338013?v=glance

Yes, that is it. It has been out of print of sometime and has not been digitized to my knowledge to bring it back into print. With the new "print on demand" (https://www.lightningsource.com/index.htm) options of digital printing, NO book ever has to be "out of print" anymore, since one or two copies can be printed within a day or so. But the text has to be scanned an uploaded to the printer.

My copy of this book has my own wayward scribbling all over it, dissecting the speed bag illustrations and putting them in my own terminology. Somehow, his term "back elbow gooseneck follow through..." didn't tell people much IF they couldn't really see it. His "Elbow Gooseneck" turned into my Outward-Double Elbow Strike". I just found my own names and terminology more exact. I did this with his blessing, by the way. We remained good friends long after his teaching days, and he is proud that one of his own students advanced his material. In fact, the picture of the board on the left with a man standing in front (http://www.speedbagcentral.com/ssp/bag_areas_angles) of it was originally drawn by him. He hand drew each speed bag combination shown in chapter three, from the side and from above, as if looking down through clear board.

...his was the first major work concerning the speed bag that I know of. One day back in 1972 I walked into the Memphis State Field House and heard this really cool beat. It sounded like distant drums. I followed the sound, and found him alone in the combative room, standing under the board, hitting. I still feel the awe of that moment. I now know how a lost sheep feels when it finds a shepherd. For the next two or so years, we spent many hours on the bag.

Dr. Schroeder, MSU (http://www.speedbagcentral.com/ssp/other_people)