Hello from newbie

[03SVTCobra]

Hello everyone. I'm fairly new to speed bagging. Did a little kickboxing for about a year and a half but bought a house and could not afford to train anymore. I ended up hanging a thai bag, double ended bag, and speed bag in my basement so I could keep up with it until I can train again. I never really hit the speed bag much just the heavy bags and double ended bag so now that I have one I'm trying to get better.

My speed bag setup is a title 6x9 and title pro swivel.

I'm not sure if it is my swivel or my technique or a combination of both but I cant seem to keep the speed bag going straight. It seems to be more when I switch to my right hand that the bag gets a little of center. I cant circle around the bag either. The swivel doesn't seem to transition smoothly like I have seen others. Not that I'm circling around and around the bag but I have seen people hitting a speed bag and moving slightly to the right or left and the bag sort of follows them. Any tips would be appreciated

[novaspeedbagger]

Welcome to the forum!

Hello everyone. I'm fairly new to speed bagging. Did a little kickboxing for about a year and a half but bought a house and could not afford to train anymore. I ended up hanging a thai bag, double ended bag, and speed bag in my basement so I could keep up with it until I can train again. I never really hit the speed bag much just the heavy bags and double ended bag so now that I have one I'm trying to get better.

My speed bag setup is a title 6x9 and title pro swivel.

I'm not sure if it is my swivel or my technique or a combination of both but I cant seem to keep the speed bag going straight. It seems to be more when I switch to my right hand that the bag gets a little of center. I cant circle around the bag either. The swivel doesn't seem to transition smoothly like I have seen others. Not that I'm circling around and around the bag but I have seen people hitting a speed bag and moving slightly to the right or left and the bag sort of follows them. Any tips would be appreciated

It may be hard to say unless we could see a video of you hitting. But, for starters, I'd say keep the elbows up. Are you throwing circle punches only or are you using straight punch then circle punch and alternating that from the left hand to the right?

Most of us on the forum use the ball hook swivel because we change the direction of the bag on purpose and we even use side punches and inward and outward elbows. Some thing else that happens sometimes is the bag may not be perfectly round and it may hit a ridge on the bag and bounce out of sorts, but for straight and circle punching that shouldn't be much of a problem.

Sorry I haven't been much of a help, but things may get better after putting in more time under the board. I know when I first start trying a new combination, it gives me fits, but after a couple of days practicing things get better.

Also, work on control and accuracy instead of wailing on the bag.

Keep on Baggin!

[03SVTCobra]

This is basically the video I was following. I was original hitting it wrong so I went to some videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7SW2J7KeX0

I am throwing a straight punch then circle. I can switch hands it just seems like when I switch to my right the bag goes crazy. I think I am not hitting that first straight right properly. If I go slow I can get a decent rhythm going but not for too long. I feel like I'm getting excited and trying to speed up and then I lose it. I can also alternate circle punches and get a decent rhythm. I know not to just pound away at the bag and if I mess up I stop right away and start over. If I just hit with my left hand alternating straight lefts and circle punches I can keep it straight and go for a bit its just as soon as I switch to that first straight right the bad rhythm starts.
Part of my problem was I was hitting the heavy bag for about 5 or 6 rounds and then the double ended for 2 or 3 so I was tired by the time I got to the speed bag. Once I started practicing the speed bag first or only doing the speed bag I felt much better. I'm really not looking to get too crazy with it just to be able to hit it consistently and not get frustrated.

I am definitely considering picking up a powermill once i can get some cash together.

[03SVTCobra]

I'm not stopping it with two hands anymore but im letting it slow down and then trying to continue. I think my swivel is a piece of crap. It was very stiff from the day I received it. It loosened up a bit but it still get stuck sometimes and there is a lot of play where it meets the base. I thought about adding some washers above the bearing to tighten it up but it keeps getting stuck so i am just going to order a new swivel.

[Speedbag]

I am throwing a straight punch then circle. I can switch hands it just seems like when I switch to my right the bag goes crazy. I think I am not hitting that first straight right properly. If I go slow I can get a decent rhythm going but not for too long. I feel like I'm getting excited and trying to speed up and then I lose it. I can also alternate circle punches and get a decent rhythm. I know not to just pound away at the bag and if I mess up I stop right away and start over. If I just hit with my left hand alternating straight lefts and circle punches I can keep it straight and go for a bit its just as soon as I switch to that first straight right the bad rhythm starts.
Part of my problem was I was hitting the heavy bag for about 5 or 6 rounds and then the double ended for 2 or 3 so I was tired by the time I got to the speed bag. Once I started practicing the speed bag first or only doing the speed bag I felt much better. I'm really not looking to get too crazy with it just to be able to hit it consistently and not get frustrated.

I am definitely considering picking up a powermill once i can get some cash together.

Hi 03SVTCobra

Speed bag is about control. Control of repetitive movement, force, speed and direction. But those are not the bag's problem, they are "our" problem. The bag will only do what we tell it, and it will behave only as long as you can control YOUR repetitive movement, force, speed and direction of your punching. It appears you have some control of this as noted above, and you start to lose it when trying to go faster. If you are having trouble changing hands then don't worry about that for awhile. Hit with one hand at a time. You can do several Front Straight Punches (FSP) with the same arm, then switch to Front Circle Punches (FCP) with the same arm. Do 10 punches of each with the right arm, Then do it with the left. The point of this is to gain repetitive movement, force, speed and direction with the same arm, each individually. Believe it or not you don't have to conciously worry about matching both sides (arms and hands) for the brain will do it for you. Unless you have some sort of neuromuscular disability or joint issues, the brain will sync your sides and the bag will tell you when you get it right. (it will keep going... )

Perhaps this 4-step learning method will help. You are probably beyond it but seem to be struggling with the repetitive triplet rhythm.

When it comes to changing sides, from left to right. Start hitting with your non-dominant side (say, left) and do three of four repetitive Front Circle Punches (FCP). Hit softly, using only the weight of your hand. While doing this, have the right fist up and ready. then, after five punches, change and switch to the other hand. If you miss hit and the bag goes wobbly, then try it with 5 rebounds inbetween in stead of three. (however, with a mid size bag it might not hit the board five times with such a light punch. Don't worry about that either. You're learning right now, not working out on the speed bag yet.)

Then try hitting lightly while mixing 3 or 5 rebounds. When you change from 3-to-5, then back 5-to-three rebounds, you have to add or reduce force a bit when going to 5, and vary your hand speed when moving back to three. This can teach how to vary your punching force or power slightly when YOU want to, and also works your brains timing mechanism. With time and practice, your brain will eventually bring order to the chaos of sight, sound and movement that is required for repetitive speed bag punching.

If not, we normally blame it on the swivel, or a miss-shaped bag.

However, the problems you state are not really equipment issues, they are control issues.

Hope this helps.

[03SVTCobra]

Thank you for the advice. I will definitely try out your suggestions. I may order a new swivel anyway just to try out the U bolt. I have noticed that my chain link doesnt turn very good. In most of the videos i have watched the swivel turns ever so slightly from side to side. Mine does not. As soon as it tries to do that the bag goes all crazy and the swivel sort of locks up. My technique needs some work but from looking at most of the videos i have seen the swivel should be able to turn side to side to some degree.

[ExEODCDR]

You've got some great advice above! I started about 3 months ago now, and the first few weeks were frustrating, especially watching the videos folks post up here. I ended up taking a week of slow hitting on my biggest speedbag and just repeating a few patterns and all of a sudden one day it just worked.

I started with a U-bolt and just as I got decent on that I got a Powermill swivel and it took a week or so to get used to the ball swivel. It wasn't as forgiving as the U-bolt, but I love the Powermill once I figured it out!

Watch SpeedBag Skunk's videos on YouTube as well - he gives a few great instructional videos that got me on track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co2MY69TdwQ

After I felt comfortable with just keeping the bag going with a basic pattern I worked on the fist roll and linking... just keep at it!

[03SVTCobra]

OK guys thank you very much for the advice. I really hated to blame it on the swivel but I think that was my problem. The new swivel arrived today and instant smile on my face after I installed it and tried it out. I knew I wasn't that un-coordinated. It is like night and day difference. I can keep a decent rhythm now, alternate single circle punches, straight punch then circle punch alternating hands no problem now.

[Mrs Mitts]

Cool! Nothing worse than getting frustrated when you're starting out. Welcome to the forum by the way and hope to see a video when you're ready.