Fight Fast Blog

If you have every tried to train with a speed bag you know that it’s a lot harder than it looks. Without someone giving you pointers training with a speed bag can cause hours of frustration.

I’m going to be honest, I never could get the hang of it until I saw Scott break it down while I was at this video shoot. To keep the video short and to the point I had to cut out the clip where he was really going to town on that speed bag, but I can assure you he definitely has got some serious skills.

As Scott explained in the video there are a few important things to keep in mind when training with a speed bag.

First, with a speed bag you don’t make full punches (that’s what a heavy bag is for). This is not a strength exercise; it’s meant to develop speed, rhythm, and hand-eye coordination. So don’t kill it, just let your fist roll over the bag.

The second most important thing to remember is to deflate the bag a bit when you are just starting out. A fully inflated speed bag comes back at you much faster and will bounce around much more. So don’t make yourself suffer, just let a little air out. Your speed bag skills will improve faster that way.

Finally, be sure you are striking the speed bag on the lettering.

So if your gym has a speed bag try it out the next time you are there. Or you can pick one up from a sporting goods store.

You may be asking yourself “what does a speed bag have to do with self defense.” Well as your self-defense skills get more advanced you will want to train on a moving target so that you can develop your hand-eye coordination.

Targets are crucial in self defense, and if you can’t hit your targets you are at a real disadvantage.

But there’s another reason I’m sharing this video with you.

Let’s face it, being able to work a speed bag is just damn impressive, especially when your buddies try it out and end up frustrated, cursing, and looking like a fools.

Stay Smart and Stay Safe,
Bob Pierce
Head Honcho, Fightfast.com