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Punching Bag

 
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Punching bag
 
 
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A punching bag is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched
Punch (strike)

A punch is "a thrusting blow, esp. with the fist." In some sports and disciplines, such as boxing or martial arts, where punches are regularly practiced, hand wraps or other padding such as gloves may be employed to protect athletes and practitioners from injuring themselves....
, for use in physical exercise
Physical exercise

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that raises the heart rate above its resting level and enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health....
 or stress
Stress (physics)

In continuum mechanics, stress is a measure of the average amount of force exerted per unit area. It is a measure of the intensity of the total internal forces acting within a body across imaginary internal surfaces, as a reaction to external applied forces and body forces....
 relief in order to improve one of three areas: physical strength
Physical strength

Physical Strength is the ability of a person or animal to exert force on physical objects using skeletal muscle. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training....
, aerobic fitness
Aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise refers to exercise that involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body. Aerobic means "with oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen in the body's metabolic or Adenosine triphosphate-generating process....
, or punching technique.

hing bags have been used in martial arts
Martial arts

Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. While they may be studied for various reasons, martial arts share a single objective: to physically defeat other persons and to defend oneself or others from physical threat....
 and swordplay for as long as there has been a written history of military training. Similar apparatus in Asian martial arts include the Okinawan makiwara
Makiwara

The makiwara is a padded striking post used as a training tool in various styles of traditional karate. It is thought to be uniquely Okinawan in origin....
 and the Chinese mook jong
Muk Yan Jong

The Muk Yan Jong is a wooden dummy used in Chinese martial arts training.It is associated with the martial art of Wing Chun and other kung fu styles of Southern China....
, which may have padded striking surfaces attached to them.

In martial arts and combat sports such as Karate
Karate

or , and often mis, is a martial arts developed in the Ryukyu Islands from indigenous fighting methods and Chinese martial arts kenpo. It is primarily a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands and ridge-hands....
, Taekwondo
Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. It is the world's most popular martial art in terms of the number of practitioners....
, and Muay Thai
Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a form of hard martial art practiced in large parts of the world, including Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. The art is similar to others in Southeast Asian such as: pradal Serey in Cambodia, lethwei in Myanmar, tomoi in Malaysia, and Lao boxing in Laos....
; heavy bags, standing bags, and similar apparatuses have been adapted for practicing kicking and other striking maneuvers in addition to developing punching technique.

hing bags are often filled with grains
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
, sand, rags, or other material and are usually hung from the ceiling or affixed to a stand.






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A punching bag is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched
Punch (strike)

A punch is "a thrusting blow, esp. with the fist." In some sports and disciplines, such as boxing or martial arts, where punches are regularly practiced, hand wraps or other padding such as gloves may be employed to protect athletes and practitioners from injuring themselves....
, for use in physical exercise
Physical exercise

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that raises the heart rate above its resting level and enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health....
 or stress
Stress (physics)

In continuum mechanics, stress is a measure of the average amount of force exerted per unit area. It is a measure of the intensity of the total internal forces acting within a body across imaginary internal surfaces, as a reaction to external applied forces and body forces....
 relief in order to improve one of three areas: physical strength
Physical strength

Physical Strength is the ability of a person or animal to exert force on physical objects using skeletal muscle. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training....
, aerobic fitness
Aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise refers to exercise that involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body. Aerobic means "with oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen in the body's metabolic or Adenosine triphosphate-generating process....
, or punching technique.

History

Punching bags have been used in martial arts
Martial arts

Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat. While they may be studied for various reasons, martial arts share a single objective: to physically defeat other persons and to defend oneself or others from physical threat....
 and swordplay for as long as there has been a written history of military training. Similar apparatus in Asian martial arts include the Okinawan makiwara
Makiwara

The makiwara is a padded striking post used as a training tool in various styles of traditional karate. It is thought to be uniquely Okinawan in origin....
 and the Chinese mook jong
Muk Yan Jong

The Muk Yan Jong is a wooden dummy used in Chinese martial arts training.It is associated with the martial art of Wing Chun and other kung fu styles of Southern China....
, which may have padded striking surfaces attached to them.

In martial arts and combat sports such as Karate
Karate

or , and often mis, is a martial arts developed in the Ryukyu Islands from indigenous fighting methods and Chinese martial arts kenpo. It is primarily a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands and ridge-hands....
, Taekwondo
Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. It is the world's most popular martial art in terms of the number of practitioners....
, and Muay Thai
Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a form of hard martial art practiced in large parts of the world, including Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. The art is similar to others in Southeast Asian such as: pradal Serey in Cambodia, lethwei in Myanmar, tomoi in Malaysia, and Lao boxing in Laos....
; heavy bags, standing bags, and similar apparatuses have been adapted for practicing kicking and other striking maneuvers in addition to developing punching technique.

Construction

Punching bags are often filled with grains
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
, sand, rags, or other material and are usually hung from the ceiling or affixed to a stand. Other bags have an internal bladder to allow them to be filled with air or water. The design of a punching bag allows it to take repeated and constant physical abuse without breaking. The bag must also absorb the impact of blows, without causing harm to the user.

Types of bag

There are different types of punching bags, with different names based on their size, use and mounting method. Almost all punching bags are covered with leather
Leather

Leather is a material created through the tanning of rawhides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses....
 or synthetic materials such as vinyl
Vinyl

A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group , −CarbonHydrogenCovalent bondCH2. These are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group....
 which resist abrasion and mildew
Mildew

Mildew refers to certain kinds of mold or fungus. In Old English, it meant honeydew , and later came to mean mildew in the modern senses.*The term mildew is often used generically to refer to mold growth, usually with a flat growth habit....
. Canvas
Canvas

Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain weave cloth used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required....
 is also used as a bag material where there is lower use and humidity
Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in a Air parcel of air to the saturated vapor pressure of water vapor at a prescribed temperature....
.

Speed bags are small, air-filled bags anchored at the top to a rebound platform parallel to the ground. Speed bags help a fighter learn to keep his hands up, improve hand-eye coordination and learn to shift weight between feet when punching.

Double-end bags or Focus bags are light, round bags, often anchored to floor and ceiling with elastic or semi-elastic materials. These types of bags are used to practice mobility and accuracy on a moving target.

Maize bags are not punched with great force but are used in boxing training
Boxing training

Boxing training is the training method that boxers use in order to get more fit for their sport. This training method is often cited by medical doctors, boxing trainers, and writers as one of the most spartan forms of sports training....
 to improve the athlete's head motion and ability to evade an opponent's punch, their name deriving from the fact that traditionally they are filled with maize
Maize

Maize , known as corn in some countries, is a cereal domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents....
.

A heavy bag is a larger, cylindrical bag, usually suspended by chains or ropes for practicing powerful body punches.

Pedestal bags or tower bags are heavy bags mounted on a weighted pedestal rather than being hung from above. Other variations on the standard heavy bag include horizontal suspension from both ends to practice uppercut punches and non-cylindrical shapes.

Punching Bag Man
Body-shaped training aids such as the modern "body opponent bag" are made primarily of synthetic materials, and punching bags are sometimes mounted on a weighted pedestal rather than hanging from above. These are not punching bags in the strict sense, but modern versions of apparatus such as the wooden man apparatus
Muk Yan Jong

The Muk Yan Jong is a wooden dummy used in Chinese martial arts training.It is associated with the martial art of Wing Chun and other kung fu styles of Southern China....
 of Chinese Wing Chun
Wing Chun

Wing Chun , also romanization as Ving Tsun or "Wing Tsun" is a Chinese martial arts that specializes in aggressive close-range combat.The characters "forever spring" are also associated with some other southern Chinese martial arts, including Jee Shim Weng Chun Kungfu and White Crane Weng Chun ....
, the medieval quintain
Quintain

Quintain , was a war game during the Middle Ages which involved striking a wooden target with a weapon, on foot or horseback. The term was also used for the instrument itself, and could be used to practice for the jousting....
 and target dummies used in modern bayonet
Bayonet

A bayonet is a knife-, dagger-, sword-' or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle barrel or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear....
 training. Large inflatable balloon
Balloon

A balloon is a flexible bag filled with a type of gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide or Earth's atmosphere. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were sometimes made of dried animal urinary bladders....
s with weighted bases are another kind of punching bag, often painted with a picture and sold as a children's toy.

The upper cut punch bag started showing itself towards the beginning of the century. We so many different variations of bags and training equipment for boxing taking off, the upper cut bag was and is still a common sight in clubs and gyms. Designed for upper cut practice, jabbing, curl punching and low quick burst of high and low punching practice. It allows the fighter to punch at different lengths, different speeds and different forces compared to the standard average 4ft straight pu (polyurethane) punch bags.

Safety precautions

Powerful strikes to the heavy bag are not recommended for younger athletes, lest they risk damage to their still-developing bones. Adult athletes who strike the bag with full force are encouraged to use hand wraps and bag gloves to avoid injuries such as the boxer's fracture
Boxer's fracture

A boxer's fracture, also known as the brawler's fracture, is the common name for a fracture at the neck of the fifth metacarpal bone....
 of the fifth metacarpal.

Turn of phrase

A "punching bag" is a name used for a person who is the victim of bullying.

External links