ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

If you have ever been to a dedicated martial arts centre, you most likely will have come across one of these guys. Made by a company known as Century, they are the martial artist’s equivalent of the boxer’s punching bag. All fighting systems have some form of training dummy to practice against; whether it is a bag, a wooden plank (makiwara), or a more malleable dummy for wrestling or jiu-jitsu. It is useful for the serious practitioner to own such a training aid as it is not always possible to spar with an opponent. Ideally, it would be best to train with an actual partner as often as possible as there is no substitute for fighting a real-life person.

I’ll run through some pros and cons for both the Sparring Bob and a punching bag to help you reach a decision should you wish to invest in one of these training aids.

Sparring Bob

Pros

• Realistic shape to practice strikes against the body or head. There is enough detail to practice precision striking against the eyes, nose, and ribs. From a self-defense perspective, this allows you to practice hitting the jaw, grabbing and controlling the head and a whole assortment of other things that just isn’t possible to do with a regular punching bag. The realism also makes striking the Sparring Bob to be much more satisfying in my experience, whereas I am more likely to zone out when hitting a punching bag for a lengthy duration.
• The material absorbs most shock from strikes and gives good feedback. Roundhouse kicks are the exception (see cons). It’s solid but not so much that you end up injuring your fists.
• Adjustable. You can change the height of the sparring bob so you can practice attacks against different sized opponents. This is important again from a self-defense perspective to learn different strategies depending on the size of the guy you’re up against. Sure you can elbow someone your height in the face, but if the guy is a good few inches taller than you, you’re going to struggle with that, so you need to change your approach. The Sparring Bob helps you do this in a controlled environment.

Cons

• Expensive. You are looking at shelling out several hundred pounds to get one of these bad boys brand new. In my opinion, it is worth the cost only if you are very dedicated to your martial arts training. Otherwise, get a punching bag.
• Roundhouse kicks and any kick that makes contact with the instep of the foot are liable to receive a nasty sting upon making contact with the Sparring Bob. This can be mitigated by equipping the Sparring Bob with a body shield, but this adds an additional expense to an item which is already very expensive.
• If filled with water, I have found that powerful strikes will shift the base around. Ideally, fill it with sand, and that should keep it in place, barring kicks that penetrate the target front on.

Punching Bag

Pros

• Significantly cheaper than the Sparring Bob and punching bags have come a long way in more recent years. Companies have adapted and now you can purchase punching bags in various sizes and densities; there are even some punching bags which somewhat resemble the shape of a person, though of course nowhere near as detailed as the Sparring Bob.
• Variety of solutions for setting up your punching bag from ceiling mounted to ground-based. This added flexibility should allow you to find an ideal solution to where you could set up your punching bag.
• High-density bags remain relatively static even when subjected to powerful strikes. Low-density bags are much more forgiving on the body in terms of feedback.

Cons

• Lighter bags can swivel when hit repeatedly, especially with powerful strikes, which can become a nuisance when trying to practice continuous combinations. On the flip side, the moving target can better simulate fighting a moving opponent. So it comes down to perspective really, but I personally find it annoying when I am smashing up a bag and end up trying to counterbalance the swinging motion by meeting the bag with a powerful strike.
• Heavier bags may be too firm for some people to train with.
• You do need a fair amount of space to set up a punching bag, especially if it is ceiling mounted. Installing a ceiling-mounted bag is also not the most straightforward of procedures unless you are handy with a drill and can work comfortably on a ladder.

My Experience

I had the Sparring Bob for a year or so, but after moving house, I decided to donate it to a friend of mine as it would have been a hassle to take it with me. When I did train with it, I equipped it with the helmet and body armour used in Koshiki Karate as this allowed me to simulate sparring an opponent for karate competitions. It also provided me with valuable opportunities to condition my knuckles against the helmet visor which was fantastic, because I recall my first international fight, I ended up losing the ability to punch effectively mid bout due to painful, bleeding knuckles. Being able to practice striking the helmet in a safe environment was a beneficial development for my overall training.

Nowadays the dojo I train at has mounted makiwara posts which I spend a bit of time most sessions practicing my punching strikes. There are also a myriad of bags around the dojo which I often practice my combination attacks during kickboxing classes. I often end up training on the Fairtex Heavy Bags for the added resistance. 

Conclusion

Like I mentioned earlier, I believe any serious martial artist or fighter should frequently train against a dummy or punching bag but even more so, regularly spar actual opponents. The Sparring Bob or Punching Bag can never replace a real-life person, but in many respects, they come close.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.