Total Newb ?'s

[neverenough]

We have an entry level speedbag at our gym. It is rarely used, but I started messing with it and am getting the hang of the "machine gun" technique. My goal is to be able to do it like "the pros"......where you hit it, and it hits the board 3 times and hit it again...fast...with a nice cadence/rythm....ala Mayweather & Rocky

How important are these three pieces and can you recommend what would be best?

1) The Bag..smaller bag faster but harder to control? lighter bag faster? what do I look for (ounces, size, material)

2) The Swivel: My immediate thought was that when I see videos of people working the bag quickly, is that we have a cheap swivel in the gym, and this slows down the bag. True?? Recommendations?

3) The Backboard/Platform: I would assume the harder the backboard, the less reaction time the bag would have on it. Does this speed things up, make it more difficult, etc??

Thanks....would like to build something in my garage so I can do this at home as well. I welcome all feedback!! I am going to get this down!!

[Marta]

Speed bag bible

Hi -

I also have just started, so I don't feel at all qualified to answer your questions. But I will suggest to you that, if you haven't done it already, that you buy the Speed Bag Bible. You get a discount on it and the accompanying DVD, since you are a member of this forum.

It has answers to all of your questions and a LOT more. Plus the accompanying DVD is extremely helpful. It will be the best $20 you can spend.

Good luck ! (I need good luck too, but I will keep practicing so I get good at this.)

Marta

[Speedbag]

Hi Neverenough. Welcome to the forum. We love total newbs, so I'll try to answer a few of your questions.

How important are these three pieces and can you recommend what would be best?

1) The Bag..smaller bag faster but harder to control? lighter bag faster? what do I look for (ounces, size, material)

The Bag..smaller bag faster but harder to control? .....Generally, Yes, it takes more skill to control a smaller bag and they are less forgiving of a miss hit.

lighter bag faster? ...... to a point. actual Bag Speed is dependent on several things beside the "weight" of the bag. The inflation (amount of air inside) drastically effects speed, and if a bag is too light (and too small in size) it actually can make it slower, like punching a feather. No matter how hard you hit it, it is not going to go fast. Many (me included) find that lighter bags tend to "float" off the fist and don't really accept the power of a punch very well, or the hands feel like they are slipping on the bag more than driving into it. the result is a slower bag.

what do I look for (ounces, size, material).... Eventually, with some experience on different bags, brands and sizes and shapes, you will find a pattern or model you like, and feels good on your hands, with a reaction you like. Every bag has it's own personality but you will need to learn that for yourself with experience. For now, as a beginner, I suggest you stay with a medium size bag that has a good reputation among experienced baggers. But I guarantee if you ask 10 advanced baggers, you'll probably get 10 different answers. There are many brands, patterns and prices. Fortunately their are some great bags, IMO (only) that are reasonably priced. Personally, for a beginner I can recommend several:

The Title Boxing brand bags

http://store.titleboxing.com/titlespeedbags1.html

The Red 9x6 or blackish blue 10x7 are easy on the hands, have great weight per size ratio and the quality per bag (purchasing the same bag over time...) remains constant. All the bags in this photo are normally very good quality, have predictable reaction and are reasonably priced.

Title Red 9x6 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ystLKAw09RE

Fight Pro Sports

http://store.titleboxing.com/fighting-sports-pro-speed-bag.html

Everyone seems to love these bags also. I've been hitting the black and white 9x6 for the last few months and really love the reaction and look of it.

White Fighting Sports (start at 2:58)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6LdxsTErM8

For a speed rating, I actually love the Leone Bag

http://store.titleboxing.com/leone-speed-ball.html

A lot of baggers (me included) would rate this as "super bouncy" making it a bit tougher to control for it just goes faster than you would think it should. Personally, I really like it, however it's quality per bag is suspect for many baggers report the brads come off or seams don't hold. Haven't had the problem with mine, but I change bags a lot and don't beat it to death.

Leone Bag:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWqjN9VLZHA

I also personally love the Black Title Pro models

http://store.titleboxing.com/title-black-pro-speed-bag.html

for speed, shape and reaction. however, I have had to return a few for warps, bubbles and general poor consistency of construction over time. But when I get one that is well constructed it's an awesome bag. But a bit pricey when other models are much less expensive.

Title Black Pro 8x5 in the hands of master Matt Santiago...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF2UM1EGRHA

again: Title Black Pro 8x5. look quick.... by Matthew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzlh18EvVDs

also a few others with title black pro 8x5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO0cdTx-H8M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnVmGMrY4P4

I personally also have grown to like the Balazs Lazer Bag.
http://www.balazsboxing.com/cgi-bin/...=gear|training accessories|speed and striking bags|LS

probably the most expensive model in this list, but comes with a lifetime guarantee, and they do back their products with awesome customer service. This bag mode is a bit "heavy per size", in that is feels much heavier and harder on the hands the others in this list. But at the last gathering I learned an interesting tip from another bag master. The Lazer Bag is actually a bit faster if you underinflate it a bit. Normally that would be just the opposite. But fully inflated my lazers feel Hard when you punch it, particularly without hand wraps or gloves, and it is slower than the same size bag of other brands. But if you underinflate it just a bit, the bag speed seems to increase. I thought that really sounded backwards, but when I tried it, it worked. This bag is also well made and consistent over time. Then again, with a lifetime guarantee, you shouldn't need to buy many of them.

Gravity on Lazer 8x5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ffnVIqf7IQ

Gravity on fighting sports 8x5 by MsDeville

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koKn8ot6WM0

That would be my bag recommendations.

2) The Swivel: My immediate thought was that when I see videos of people working the bag quickly, is that we have a cheap swivel in the gym, and this slows down the bag. True?? Recommendations?

Without seeing the exactly swivel you are referencing it is hard to say. But yes, a crappy swivel will reduce the quality of your speed bags movement and a lousy swivel has ruined many a workout. There are various types of swivels and here is a link to some swivel information.

http://www.speedbagcentral.com/ssp/speedbag_swivels

As for me and my house, we prefer the ballhook style for it always the most natural bag rebound when hit from "all around the bag", often called Bible Style Punching. All the other swivel styles tend to occasionally influence the bag rebound angle due to the mechanics of swivel construction. The ball hook does not. And the best ball hook swivel that is readily available is the Deville Ballhook, make by our own forum member and bag master, MsDeville. Yes, there are less expensive swivels, but in the swivel market you definitely want the higher quality of material and reaction. You certainly get what you pay for here, and I would recommend getting a less expensive speed bag and put the extra money on this swivel. The Deville #13 makes any bag look good.

http://www.speedbagforums.com/forums/album.php?albumid=100

The Backboard/Platform: I would assume the harder the backboard, the less reaction time the bag would have on it. Does this speed things up, make it more difficult, etc??

The Backboard / Platform (or Drum) can be made of several surface materials. I have never found the actual "hardness of the board" to make any difference in reaction, but the overall sturdiness of the wall unit is very important. You could have the hardest wood on earth attached to a shaky, rattling wall unit and it will be dead ball slow. On the other hand, you could put the cheapo plywood surface on a rock solid wall unit with no vibration and it will hit much faster. The key IMO is the sturdiness of the whole wall unit. Heavier boards (not wood harness) tend to make it more stable for they don't vibrate as much when the bag hits. Many baggers put 20-30 pounds of sand over the top of their boards to make it heavier and attempt to kill and wall unit vibration which will drain bag speed.

A rock solid wall unit that everyone loves (many of the best have let it rip under this board with no problem...) is the Balazs I-box platform.

http://www.balazsboxing.com/cgi-bin/catalog2.cgi?action=page&page=ms0433

you will not find a better wall unit for the price and it also looks great. Very sturdy and easy to adjust.

Well, that's my 2.5 cents worth. Hope it helps.

[speedy G]

this is an awesome thread - Is there a way to flag a favorite thread to come back to, rather than posting on it like I'm doing? Apologies if the instructions are easy to find, but I haven't come across it. -mike

[rehamco1]

this is an awesome thread - Is there a way to flag a favorite thread to come back to, rather than posting on it like I'm doing? Apologies if the instructions are easy to find, but I haven't come across it. -mike

What I do is copy the material I want to save and past it in a new microsoft word document. then I can keep it in my document files. Or I copy it and paste it in a new e mail that I send to myself and then can forward it to whomever I wish.

[speedy G]

thanks rehamco. I'll do that too! - but I'd rather just click on a "favorite" button.

[Zaza]

this is an awesome thread - Is there a way to flag a favorite thread to come back to, rather than posting on it like I'm doing? Apologies if the instructions are easy to find, but I haven't come across it. -mike

Mike... just go to the top of the thread page and you'll see a "Thread Tools" drop-down menu. From that menu, select 'Subscribe to this thread'.

When you want to check the thread, go to the very top menu bar and click on the 'Quick Links' drop-down...select 'subscribed threads'...there you'll find a list of all the threads you've subscribed to. Click on the one you want to see & bingo!

[speedy G]

Mike... just go to the top of the thread page and you'll see a "Thread Tools" drop-down menu. From that menu, select 'Subscribe to this thread'.

When you want to check the thread, go to the very top menu bar and click on the 'Quick Links' drop-down...select 'subscribed threads'...there you'll find a list of all the threads you've subscribed to. Click on the one you want to see & bingo!

bingo boingo! and yippee too. Thank you Za²!

[Commander]

This is really a helpful thread, to which I have subscribed as indicated above. Now that I am properly addicted and desiring to hit the bag daily vs. the 3 times a week I go to the local YMCA, I ordered the Balazs I-Box in knockout red along with their Lazer bag (9x6).
I plan on mounting it in my basement through dry wall into studs which I have verified are 16 inches on center.
Question: should I just mount it directly through the drywall and into the studs, or is there an advantage of first installing 2x4s or some other dimensional lumber to create a "frame" on the wall? (I got that idea looking at Alan's video on his Facebook page that nearly landed him on network television. Masterful.)
Apologies in advance if this has been answered before, but I just couldn't find the information.
Thanks to all you experts for your ongoing instruction and inspiration!

[Speedbag Seaweed Man]

Welcome Neverenough!

[Dutchman]

With drywall it's best to build a cross frame work to spread the shock load over the surface. I've seen square pieces of 3/4" plywood used for this purpose. You don't want to mount a frame directly on sheet rock, as it will soon start collapsing with use.

[Commander]

Thanks Dutchman, that makes a lot of sense.

[MsDeville]

You could check out Alan's website for ideas on how to mount a platform. Here is a photo from the site that shows how you should put up some 1x4's horizontally on the wall. It's best if they can span more than just 2 sets of wall studs. Screwing to 3 sets of studs will make it that much stronger. Worth it in the long run, imo.

[Hedya Cohn]

You look like Rosie the Riveter in your avatar, Dee.

[MsDeville]

You look like Rosie the Riveter in your avatar, Dee.

Hi Hedya.