Historically Baggers have primarily hit the SpeedBag using a “Square” Stance i.e. facing the bag straight on with feet equidistant to the bag. For some styles of SpeedBagging this is clearly a good idea… however, for a variety of reasons, the traditional boxing stance might actually be a better option. This post compares and contrasts the different stances and discusses why we believe the fighter stance is a far better choice for most bagging styles…
Square Stance
Face the bag with your feet apart at about shoulder width. Your whole body, from your feet to your head, should be facing the bag, with your shoulders squared up with the bag.
You should be close enough to the bag that you don’t need to extend your arm more than a few inches to hit it, but far enough from it so that it won’t hit you in the head on the rebound.
Advantages
- Both hands are equidistant to the bag – making it easy to strike with either arm, without having to move or stretch too much
- Relatively easy to strike any part of the bag (left/right/back) without having to move feet too much
- Good Lateral (side to side) movement
Disadvantages
- Awkward to move forward or away from bag
- Not a natural stance for boxers
- Tendency to stand flat footed
- Restricts foot movement
Boxing Stance
The boxing stance is designed to optimise balance, mobility and body shape.
- The feet should be a little more than shoulder width apart, with the front foot pointing towards the bag and the back foot pointing at approx. 45%.
- Remain on the balls of both feet, with knees slightly bent (to maintain mobility).
- Ensure that your body weight remains central or slightly on the back leg.
Advantages
- Standard boxing stance
- Good Lateral (side to side) movement
- Good forward and back movement
- Better mobility (easier to duck, weave, stretch and slip)
- Encourages good balance
Disadvantages
- Need to Stretch/Reach for Right handed (orthodox) strikes
Bagging Styles
The Table below outlines the 4 most common bagging “styles” (or reasons for speedbagging), along with our Stance recommendation and reasons :
Bible Style
Recommended Stance : Square
Reasons : Central balance makes it easier to reach/strike any part of the bag
Boxer Training
Recommended Stance : Boxing
Reasons : Better mobility and can use same stance as traditional boxing training, so skills more easily transferrable
General Fitness
Recommended Stance : Boxing
Reasons : Better mobility encourages more movement. Stretching is better for core
MultiBag
Recommended Stance : Boxing
Reasons : High mobility required to strike 2 or more bags – Square Stance not an option
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