More heavy bag work and then tree hitting.

[drop bear]

I don't understand how I am pushing the bag. The more force I put into any strike the further away it is going to go. Even in the videos you put up the bag is moving quite a bit aside from the bottom one.

OK. What would happen if you punched the bag two inches from your face.

Would the bag go backwards?

 

[Buka]

If I had a nickel for every time I've been punched in the face I'd buy a new car, probably a blue one, always wanted a blue car.

It's nice when you're pushed back from getting punched in the face. It gives you a bit more distance, like good footwork would do, and it avoids a lot of combinations from piling up. (Combinations make funny sounds inside your head.) When a good puncher hits you in the face there's a stagger to what you feel. Sometimes right away, sometimes a second later. Those delayed ones are the worst.

When you punch the bag, there should be sort of a pop more than a swing of the bag, there's a little bounce to the bag from a good punch, less so than a sway from the chains. An old trainer showed me something with hornets. He'd catch a hornet with one hand and punch his other fist into that hand - then separate his hands quickly. He would do that and say, "Speed in, speed out, that's how punches work."
The hornets never said anything. And I never saw him get stung.

 

[Danny T]

When punching correctly the bag will swing slightly but will dance more than swing.
A lighter bag will probably swing more however this more due to the range you are punching from. A light bag will dance too much vs swinging too much.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Regardless he seems to be short changing his power generation. And that is because he is sideways before he extends that kick.

He can't go forwards from when he starts that kick.

If it is that side kick then he needs to chamber that knee.

That's basically what I meant when I said he's rotated too far for a back kick, not far enough for a side kick. I'd say he was too close to the bag, too, but that's a lesser issue.

 

[JR 137]

Thank you, I think it is happening when sparring though, I sometimes take some mean hits during my strikes and that may be the reason why. Also we don't really use a punching bag often in the dojo, it is there but we often do not use it during class, so I think he is catching me do this in sparring, that or the wavemaster maybe?

If there's a heavy bag in the dojo, ask him if he can watch you hit it and evaluate what you're doing before or after class. A lot of teachers like helping students individually before or after class more than teaching a group class (not that they don't like teaching class by any means). As a school teacher I like staying after school and helping a student better understand concepts. It gives me a chance to focus on him/her and their specific concerns. All they have to do is ask. I feel like more of a teacher during this time than any other time.

 

[Kickboxer101]

As usual be mean, be brutal and more importantly be constructive, I feel like I have gotten better as of late and a big part of that is because of the constructive criticism I get from this place.

WIP2.avi

On your spinning back kick it looks like your kind of not telegraphing but your shuffling sort of maybe as an adjustment before you kick

 

[Ironbear24]

I tried some new things and took video of just my feet when practicing. On my roundhouses I was not pivoting enough. I was trying pivot the foot to 6 o'clock during the roundhouses and they endes up being more 9 o'clock. That is probably what the issue was. Kicking the heavy bag pivoting all the way made the power generation night and day, the bag doesn't fly back more but there is a much louder sound of impact and the bag shakes violently.

I am also able to put more of my body into the kick much easier now. As for the lunches I asked a guy who was hitting the bag at the gym to give me some advice. His technique and form were poor but he seemed to be able to make his punches pop naturally.

He seemed very cocky and arrogant about it but I ignored that and was just focused on what he was doing to make his fists bounce of the bag easier.

I tried it and I am getting better at it but the bag still ends up going back pretty far.

 

[drop bear]

I tried some new things and took video of just my feet when practicing. On my roundhouses I was not pivoting enough. I was trying pivot the foot to 6 o'clock during the roundhouses and they endes up being more 9 o'clock. That is probably what the issue was. Kicking the heavy bag pivoting all the way made the power generation night and day, the bag doesn't fly back more but there is a much louder sound of impact and the bag shakes violently.

I am also able to put more of my body into the kick much easier now. As for the lunches I asked a guy who was hitting the bag at the gym to give me some advice. His technique and form were poor but he seemed to be able to make his punches pop naturally.

He seemed very cocky and arrogant about it but I ignored that and was just focused on what he was doing to make his fists bounce of the bag easier.

I tried it and I am getting better at it but the bag still ends up going back pretty far.

Yeah it still will. Hitting the bag and then continuing to push is wasted effort. Which is a tiny technical difference to punching past the target.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I tried it and I am getting better at it but the bag still ends up going back pretty far.

Have you tried to tie the bottom of your heavy bag on the ground?

 

[Ironbear24]

Yeah it still will. Hitting the bag and then continuing to push is wasted effort. Which is a tiny technical difference to punching past the target.

I think maybe that was what made me push too much. I was always told to pinch beyond the target and I guess I was over compensating trying to do that.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I was always told to pinch beyond the target

You might have misunderstood the meaning. It doesn't mean punch beyond where your target is standing. It means that you should try to pick an area inside of target and aim for that. If I'm hitting a heavy bag, I want to try and punch the inside of the bag and not the surface of the bag. If I'm punching someone in the head, I'm not trying to hit the head, I'm trying to hit brain. If I punch someone in the chest I'm not trying to hit the chest, I'm trying to hit the lungs or the heart.

 

[Kickboxer101]

May I ask what your style is

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

If I'm hitting a heavy bag, I want to try and punch the inside of the bag and not the surface of the bag. If I'm punching someone in the head, I'm not trying to hit the head, I'm trying to hit brain. If I punch someone in the chest I'm not trying to hit the chest, I'm trying to hit the lungs or the heart.

Agree! You want to create a fast "vibration" inside of your opponent's body. In order to do so, how fast that you punch out should be also how fast you pull your fist back. I had experience on this once in my life. My opponent punched at my chest, he then pull his fist back, that create a vacuum between his fist and my T-shirt. When he pulls his fist back, my T-shirt was flying toward him.

When you hit on your heavy bag, if you punch fast and

- also pull your fist back fast, your bag will not swing.
- leave your punching arm straight and freeze into the thin air, your bag will swing away.

Here come an interest question. Is it wrong that when you train your solo drill (or form) to extend your punch, freeze into the thin air at the end of your punch?

 

[drop bear]

Agree! You want to create a fast "vibration" inside of your opponent's body. In order to do so, how fast that you punch out should be also how fast you pull your fist back. I had experience on this once in my life. My opponent punched at my chest, he then pull his fist back, that create a vacuum between his fist and my T-shirt. When he pulls his fist back, my T-shirt was flying toward him.

When you hit on your heavy bag, if you punch fast and

- also pull your fist back fast, your bag will not swing.
- leave your punching arm straight and freeze into the thin air, your bag will swing away.

Here come an interest question. Is it wrong that when you train your solo drill (or form) to extend your punch, freeze into the thin air at the end of your punch?

What tactical reason would there be to do that?

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

What tactical reason would there be to do that?

If you punch me and I move back, most of your punching force will be cancel out by my body backward movement. If you use the shaking kind of punch (fast punch, fast pull), even if I move back, you can still hurt inside of my body.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Here come an interest question. Is it wrong that when you train your solo drill (or form) to extend your punch, freeze into the thin air at the end of your punch?

I think the only form that I practice that freezes the punches in the air is Gong Li Quan. It's not a part of Jow Ga but we practice it to help us to be big with our punches. From time to time our big punches get smaller so that form is what stretches us out.

All of our other forms don't leave the punch extended unless we are simulating an arm grab. For example, if you see me leave my arm out the next move will most likely be an escape from someone grabbing the arm. You can watch any Jow Ga form and almost literally call out when we will do an grappling escape. If the arm stays out then get ready for a grappling escape or a grappling technique. In terms of striking and not simulating a grab, everything comes back just as fast as it went out.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Agree! You want to create a fast "vibration" inside of your opponent's body. In order to do so, how fast that you punch out should be also how fast you pull your fist back. I had experience on this once in my life. My opponent punched at my chest, he then pull his fist back, that create a vacuum between his fist and my T-shirt. When he pulls his fist back, my T-shirt was flying toward him.

When you hit on your heavy bag, if you punch fast and

- also pull your fist back fast, your bag will not swing.
- leave your punching arm straight and freeze into the thin air, your bag will swing away.

Here come an interest question. Is it wrong that when you train your solo drill (or form) to extend your punch, freeze into the thin air at the end of your punch?

By the way the pose that the fighter is doing look like it's straight out of Gong Li Quan. It's one of those forms where there's like 50 variations out there.

 

[JowGaWolf]

 

[SenseiHitman]

I really like that bag you are using. It is for serious training. Now as far as advise, I can't tell from the video, but I suspect you are not synchronizing your breath with your actions. Once you get your breath working with your strikes they will burn less energy and have more power. Slow down and make sure you are getting a good breath in before you do your strikes then when your lungs feel full and they want to push the air out, let them, and let that synchronize with the beginning of the strike you are throwing. This is to practice at the pace of your breath rather than force your breathing to catch up with your practice. By practicing slow you will be more aware of the mistakes you make that cost you power and telegraph the strike. After you have practiced the action many many times and it is playing on a loop in your brain you can speed up the strikes but do not rush the breath take a nice deep breath before you strike. Of course this it to develop the habit of synchronizing your breath with your actions. Once the habit is deeply set, speed up your practice to keep it real. By then, you will have removed a lot of the mistakes the others have pointed out before me. For example the lines of force, the telegraph, not snapping blows back, not taking advantage of all the torque available, etc.

As far as the tree goes. when I was training I did use a tree for punches kicks elbow knees etc. I also struck it with weapons. I never struck a tree so big, I used small one that would give when I struck it and I was very careful to avoid striking till blood was drawn. I did not strike beyond the layer of bark with any weapon and I only tapped the tree with my knuckles. I did this so they would get some callous so they would not get cut if I hit the wrong surface area in a self defense situation. Find a little tree that bends and slow down and make sure you are synchronizing your breath with the blow.