What's Better To Use For A Wave Master Standing Punching Bag, Water Or Sand?
I have experimented with both and prefer water for freestanding bags. I only had two bases crack on me and I always kept a wet/dry vac at my school just for taking care of things like that and any other issues I might have that involved liquids, rain and storms blowing runoff up under the door of my entry way, etc. Water in them allows them to be moved about more easily since the water shifts more readily than sand does. I can understand using sand though if you are going to keep yours someplace where freezing might occurr and would recommend that over water then. Also if it is on concrete that's not good as the concrete will wear down the surface of the base more quickly. Working out and moving and bouncing around on concrete is not good for the base or you for that matter and then I would put a cheap piece of indoor/outdoor carpeting or an area rug under it if I were you.
How do I increase punching power?
In order to increase punching power, you have to increase the function of your fast-twitch muscles. Usually, these fast-twitch muscles are the ones that aid in the speed and explosiveness of a punch. In order to train these, you have to do many repetitions of fast push-ups because push-ups are the exercises that use your arm's fast-twitch muscles to the maximum increasing shoulder, forearm, bicep, triceps, and wrist power and support. I prefer the close-grip push-ups, the normal push-ups, the clap push-ups, and the explosive push-ups for push-up routines. Lastly, do mid-speed fist push-ups on the ground until failure. The knuckles will not only harden, but it will also be one of the parts that will support the heavy up & down movement of the push-up exercise which will also increase arm speed and power. Don't do too much weights. Weights are slow lifts only increasing your carrying strength but not punching power. It will only strengthen slow-twitch muscles used for lifting, supporting, or providing stronger leverage. I also believe in the use of technique to increasing punch power. Mike Tyson knocked people out not just because he is a physical boxing specimen, but he also used his legs, position, angle, footwork, and shoulders to deliver a massive superman-like punch towards the opponents he fought, and surprisingly, he knocks the lights out of them.
Using Punching Bag without Gloves?
I would use gloves just to be on the safe side. I have seen more than one black belt develop problems with their hands because they did not take a careful approach to this. The problem is that the damage is cumulative so you don't know or realize till down the road that you did to much or went about it the wrong way and then it is oftentimes to late. I would recommend using gloves for bag work and some of the more traditional methods of push-ups on the first two knuckles and finger tips and wrists along with gentle work on a makiwara for toughening hands. For improving power and speed I would suggest a combination of plyometrics and circuit weight training along with your bag work and I have attached a web site for you to look over. http://www.myfit.ca/fitnessprograms/view...
Knuckles bleeding from punching bag, is it my technique or gear?
Everything you're doing is wrong. You should not punch the heavy bag without gloves on. You should not punch the heavy bag without proper technique. You should not punch the heavy bad without an instructor's supervision (unless you really know what you're doing). Above all, it is pointless to train on the heavy bag without gloves on. There's a lot of misinformation out there, you may have seen this on TV but no professional boxer does this as part of his training. The reason is simple: You'll be gradually damaging your wrists in ways you can't imagine while you get nothing in return. You don't really build punching power because you can't go all out with bareknuckle punches. If you don't like gloves then you don't like boxing, period. If you really want to do some light bareknuckle training you should use the Wing Chun wooden dummy. If you want some serious boxing training you should get some high quality mexican-style wraps (at least 3m in length) and some high quality leather gloves (8-10 oz if you don't want them bulky). I use 14 or 16 oz gloves on the 150 lbs bag. My knuckles always bleed. When you hit hard, you will bleed no matter what you do. 14 oz may be considered 'bulky' for bag training, but it has helped me build powerful and explosive punches while keeping my wrists safe. When I wear the 10s I feel as if I'm going bareknuckle, this is a huge advantage over my opponents. So there is a payoff with big gloves, you just need to be patient.
Does punching a punching bag without the use of gloves, cause athritis?
Arthritis can be caused by different things... translated it simply means inflamation of the joint this can be caused by simple trauma such as striking with or without wraps or gloves or even by an autoimmune response which is a whole other can of worms... when someone maintains a flexed(bent) position for >15 minutes they are also adding to arthritis... so keeping a fist for a looooooooong period may be tough on the joints too... if your knee is hurting don't put a pillow under it keeping it flexed for > 15-20 minutes.... Wearing wraps and gloves help to reduce trauma by.... maintaining good technique via wraps..i.e. keeping joints in alignment to prevent stretched ligaments/tendons/muscles... striking with 2nd(70%) and 3rd(30%) metacarpal heads... for basic seiken(normal fist) strikes gloves... reducing friction on contact as well as adding weight to increase resistance of your workout or against your opponent; gloves can also prevent trauma by preventing some misalignment too like the wraps.. if the unfortunate does happen and you do get arthritis or other pain... you can often try: RICE! R -- rest I -- ICE (no more than 20 minutes) C-- compress E -- Elevate Hope that helps some! Good luck training! Happy New Year Everyone!