Learning a New Strike

Training Session Outline

This is a simple workout aimed primarily at beginners to guide them through the process of learning some of the basic punches used in Speed Bagging… but the principles of this workout can also be useful to more advanced baggers when learning a new punch.

Overview

When learning a new punch or strike, you are MUCH better off doing a number of short training sessions over a number of days than a single Long training session – i.e. 5 x 3-minute sessions over a few days, are likely to be MUCH more effective (and less frustrating) than a single 15 minute session… this is because learning to use a Speed Bag is largely a cognitive process – i.e. exercising the brain.

Once you have “learned” the basic skills and your brain has filed away “how” to do it, hitting the bag becomes a semi-automatic process and you can start to train muscle memory.

Workout

The process of learning ANY new punch is pretty much the same, whether it is a basic strike or a more complicated combination (note you will probably need to spread this process over a number – perhaps many – different sessions) :

• Start Slow – start with gentle, slow punches to get a feel for the rhythm. Once you have the basic feel of the punch, start to speed up a little (it is often easier to punch a speedbag at a medium pace rather than too slow).
  tip: try learning new punches bare handed, so you can see/feel what is going on better, and you minimise mishits caused by seams or lumps in your warps/gloves
• One Hand – once you have the basic punch dynamics right, concentrate on a single hand (probably your lead hand – but whatever is most comfortable) and do 100 consecutive strikes. Once you can consistently get 100 strikes with few or no mishits, move on
• Other Hand – once you are comfortable with one hand swap over, and work on the other … again building up to 100 successful consecutive strikes.
• Alternate Hands – once you are comfortable with either hand, start to alternate them… initially with 10 punches on each hand, but gradually reducing this number down to single alternating strikes on each hand.
• Speed Up – Increase the power and the speed of your punches… There is usually a “sweet spot” (which varies depending on the type of punch and your bag setup) where the power/speed feels most comfortable and creates a sustainable regular rhythm
• Bonus : once you are comfortable with alternating punches switch your leading foot and practice so you are equally comfortable with either hand no matter which foot leads.