Many karateka only use makiwara, many karate classes use kick sheilds and focus pads, but on the other side of the coin, there are thousands of karate dojo, that hit nothing but thin air!
I am all for safe karate training, but there is a limit to how far you can take the whole safety element. Karate is a martial art, or more accurately, karatedo (the way of karate) is not just a shallow activity, that you practice every now and then, the martial arts philosophy should be present in your life, all day every day!
Now i’m not saying you need to practice full contact, knockdown karate every day, but what i am saying is, you need to know what it’s like to hit hard and the only way you are going to accomplish that, is to hit things and hit them hard!
Makiwara, kick sheilds, focus pads, etc, they are all good, but what we are talking about here, is the punchbag.
Free standing as in the picture and video below, or hanging, there are different sizes, colors, designs and weights. Start with a light bag, then build up to a heavy bag. The free standing bag we have used here is a great bag to start with.
Here are a few of the benefits, when using a punchbag. Stamina, strength, rhythm, speed,timing and fitness. Plus bag work is great fun! So add bag work into your karate training, especially if you are trying to learn karate at home.
In the video below, we are using a wavemaster XL. Ossu Linden.
