During the devolpment and initial review of the new Maxx MMA Fitness and Training Heavy Bag, we were immediately impressed with the shear variety and multitude of drills that athletes can train on this bag. This months articles are written to help illustrate and provide examples on how you can get the most out your training on the F&T Heavy Bag.
The first way to train on the F&T Heavy Bag is like a normal punching bag. The bag is very well suited for this and we hung ours up with approximately 40 lbs. Or 88 kg water in it. It's size lets you strike an area roughly from the head to the waist of an opponent. This is more than enough for a boxer's workout, and suitable for North American Kick Boxing where kicks to the legs are forbidden. If you are a full rules Muay Thai or MMA fan, you can still use this bag but you will want to practice you leg kicks on some other piece of equipment.
This bag is packed with features including a bottom anchor loop, so that you can tether the bag to the floor, or not depending on your preference. If tethered it will not swing very far. Untethered it can have a nice swing because of its lighter weight. Most the time I prefer a bag with some swing, because I thing Heavy Bag training seldom utilizes enough footwork. But with this bag moving around, it becomes a game of cat and mouse, where you are circling and slipping and constantly timing the bag.
No matter whether you practice tethered or swinging, you will want to focus on good posture and stance while you drill. And you will want to strike with good technique and form. While working on different combinations, here are a few footwork drills you can try.
Follow/Retreat:
One drill I like is to follow the bag in and out as it swings. As It moves away from me I follow, and as it comes towards me I retreat. You can use a various footwork like “step and slide” or a “push step” or a “pendulum” step to make your footwork even more polished.
Clock work or 90* drill:
The idea here is to move 90* to the left or right while circling your opponent. When the bag comes towards you, you want to step with your outside foot and let you other foot follow. As your foot lands you want to pivot so that you can face your opponent and attack him where he is weaker, which is to his sides.
To get you started here is an example of some of the drills we practice to build coordination:
Boxing Series
- Jab (once, twice or three times)
- Cross (once, twice or three times)
- Hook (once, twice or three times)
- Jab, Cross
- Double Jab, Cross
- Cross, Hook
- Jab, Cross, Hook
- Cross, Hook, Cross
- Hook, Cross, Hook
- 4 Count series
- Jab, Cross, Hook, Cross
- Jab, Cross, Uppercut, Cross
- Jab, Cross, Body Hook, Cross
Kick Boxing Series
- Rear round kick to ribs
- Rear round kick to head
- Switch kick to ribs
- Switch kick to head
- Lead jab or hook, rear round kick
- Rear Cross, front switch kick
- Rear round kick, left hook
- Switch kick, to rear cross
These are just a few to get you started. If you would like to see more please let us know in the comment section, or reach me at my blog at www.mmacoachescorner.com or on our you tube channel www.youtube.com/raywhitemma
