Freestanding Heavy Bags

[ShotokanKid]

Has anybody trained with these? Do they do any good? I'm thinking about getting one, but I don't know if I want to spend the money on it if it's not that effective.

[SanShou]

if i'm thinking of the right thing then yeah i have one and its great

[pegasi]

I've got one of Century's Wavemaster freestanding bags, and with enough weight in it (water or sand) it works just fine, and is movable -- pull out to use and put back in corner when done.

[aefibird]

I prefer hanging bags to freestanding.

I was torn between getting a standing bag for home use or a hanging one, but I went for the hanging one after using a freestanding bag at a dojo I visited. I don't know whether their bag wasn't weighted down enough, but it seemed to move about a lot everytime someone did a technique on it.

[ShotokanKid]

Thanks... the only problem I have now is finding a place to hang a 60 pound bag.

[cheddr]

The real problem is paying for shipping on the 60 lb. bag! That's downright evil.

$50 for shipping on top of the item's cost... that suks.

[CQC]

I find you can focus on a lot more technique with a hanging bag. I've owned both a normal hanging heavy bag, and a martial arts heavy bag (which I use now). The MA one is great, as it has a "bungee" type cord on the bottom, allowing more movement and feedback, much like a human would give. It all comes down to personal preference and usuage, though. Great for kicks.

As for the freestanding bags, we have them at our dojo aswell. They're excellent for easy storage, and a great alternative if you don't have any place to put a real heavy bag.

I'd rather have a freestanding bag than no bag. Again, it's all about preference and what you're going to use it for.

[InsaneTigerCrane]

i have a free standing bag, and i have the base filled with water. i can punch the crap out of it and it will almost fall over, it moves around too much. also the height adjusts which i thought was pretty cool but if you hit it hard it will come off the notch and fall down to the lowest setting. the bag works, but i still prefer hanging bags.

[MASIsshinryu]

Free-standing: I ended up making a wooden frame, like a 2" tall square around the base with two "arms" extended behind the bag, which braces it against the side wall of my garage. That and a foam-type "welcome mat" under it seem to allow it a normal rocking motion, but not to get away from me. It does fall over fairly often, but the base stays in the right area...

If given my preference, I would get the hanging MA type, but I need something that can be moved out of the way frequently and quickly.

[aefibird]

The real problem is paying for shipping on the 60 lb. bag! That's downright evil.

$50 for shipping on top of the item's cost... that suks.

Yes, shipping is expensive for filled bags. I bought mine unfilled, so that Postage and Packing would be cheaper. Then I went to a friend of mine and creeped round her mum to get me some foam and material off-cuts (she works in a haberdashery shop). I chopped them up into little bits and stuffed them in my unfilled bag, along with other scraps of plastic and the like. It needs topping-up fairly often, but it works out way cheaper than buying a filled bag and paying for extra postage costs.