Hitting a bag

[Gloi]

I've used the heavy bag down at the gym for a while, puching it while wearing bag gloves. Recently I decided to start practicing various punches and strikes against the bag with bare hands.

 

I'm having a problem when I try to punch jodan.

 

If I hit with a vertical fist I'm not too bad but if I hit with my fist horizontal I end up hitting with the knuckles further down my fingers instead of my main knuckles because of the angle. I can't seem to find a way to punch without either letting my elbow come right up so I end up hitting like the top arm of the U punch in bassai dai or ending up with a bent wrist.

 

I tried making a fist with the forefinger straight in the palm and that sorted it for the forefinger but still left me with the problem on the second finger hitting with the wrong knuckle (and it feels awkward)

[Ozaru]

Its always a good idea to wear bag gloves anyway, because all it takes is one mistake and you are missing a chunk of your knuckle, and this will probably affect your training for quite some time. If you dont like gloves try hand wraps instead

[kempocos]

try not to turn your hand so much have the fist in more of a 45 degree angle. Let your hand hang with the fingers touching your leg raise your arm and make a fist without turning it paralell with the floor. this is the natural positoin and will push the two main knuckles foward , support the arn, elbow and shoulder thru proper alignment. I find this works well.

[equaninimus]

Again, the Kyan 3/4 twist seems the best answer.

[LeaF]

if I were you I'd wear wraps and gloves... it is far to easy to screw your wrists up when the bag turns without them....

[Sasori_Te]

Kempocos and eq are talking about the same thing. Practice punching using a 3/4 turn instead of a full turn. Proper practice is the key. Don't start out at full power. Gradually work your way up to avoid injuries.

[Gloi]

I'll work on hitting it with the 3/4 twist.

 

I've been hitting the bag with gloves for a while and still do use gloves most of the time. I want to work on other techniques on the bag too now which I can't do with the gloves on , like haito and shuto strikes etc. trying to get feedback from the bag about when the strikes are effective.

[cross]

If you are punching correctly its nearly impossible to hit with just your main 2 knuckles.

 

Why do i say this? because when you punch you should be driving your fist through your target which means that nearly the whole surface of your fist will be touching the target.

 

Try not to think of just your main 2 knuckles touching, but rather these 2 creating a point that will pentrate your target and lead the way for the rest of your hand to strike through.

[SaiFightsMS]

It might be instructional to get a partner and just slowly punch to their head area and just touch the various targets and see how your fist lines up against the various areas on the face. That will let you see how your fist contacts them and might help your bag work.

[Rich_2k3]

even pro boxers wear bag gloves.