On Saturday morning September 22nd at about 11:50 I was working the speed bag at the end of my boxing session at the karate school where I coach boxing. I have been told that I have the best bag work in the school; something that I, as a coach, do not want to hear for long. The fact is bag work is just that. It is a tool for preparing to fight. Just because I can work a bag like a pro doesn’t mean I could fight one. In fact my ability with training apparatus and my footwork has gotten me hurt in gyms, because younger more dangerous fighters look at me doing drills I have done for over thirty years and think I’m far more dangerous than I am, then unload on me in sparring out of fear.

That morning a ten-year-old karate student came up beneath and behind me in his uniform and said, “Wow! How can you hit that so fast? How did you ever learn to do that?”

Not wanting to give false impressions I continued to work the bag and told him my harrowing tale, “You see, I wasn’t always so good at this. But one day, after my men and I were captured by the Mongols, The Khan made me work the speed bag; and every time I would miss the bag or slow down he would have one of my men beheaded. So, that’s how I saved my men, by hitting the speed bag until nightfall.”

The MMA pro behind us said, “Come on James! Really?”

My new disciple was now having doubts, “Really, you were captured by Mongols?”

I decided to come clean and stopped working the bag and turned to look at him, “Well, I made up the part about the Mongols. It was actually the Apaches. But I wasn’t sure if we had any Native Americans in the dojo and I didn’t want to offend anyone.”

The MMA pro said, “That is so wrong James” even as the excited boy ran over to tell his grandmother about my Indian Fighting days. Grandma turned out to be part Cherokee, and soon made me feel like I belonged on the Twenty Dollar Bill with Old Hickory.

The speed bag is the second least used piece of equipment in the gym. The least used piece is the maze ball. Because of its name people believe it is a tool for measuring and developing speed. It is actually many things. I will outline its uses below, citing them in the descending order of importance to a competitive boxer.

1. Balancing out shoulder development and reducing ‘rounded shoulder’ problems

2. Developing the ability to relax the shoulders while keeping the hands high

3. Exercising the eye muscle

4. Inculcating an ‘instinct’ for rhythm to facilitate counter punching

5. Permitting the fighter to push his cardio after his shoulders are blown from heavy bag work

6. Developing ‘quickness’ being punch initiation, not overall speed

7. Practicing head movement by using it like a maze ball

The speed bag is actually older than the heavy bag, and is perhaps the oldest tool in the gym. In many ways it represents the training mindset of early small-glove boxers who fought more like martial artists than modern boxers. Below are some suggestions for speed bag use by martial artists.

1. Development of the rear deltoid for fast-twitch backhand actions like stick-fighting backhands, back fists and hammer fists.

2. Practicing elbow slashes

3. Practicing finger jabs, shutos, thumb jabs and other strikes meant for soft targets that could injure the hand if done on heavier equipment

4. Practicing head butts

To become proficient at working the speed bag takes the average person 6 hours of work. A gifted natural athlete can become skilled in its use in as little as twenty minutes. I use the speed bag to measure two things: a fighter’s solo discipline or training patience; and his/her level of mechanical adaptability. How long it takes you to learn the speed bag, if you possess the dedication necessary, is an indication of how much training time it will require for you to pick up punching combinations and adapt in sparring and competition. Hitting the speed bag is my ‘coachability’ test.

The basic method is to stand square with the elbows raised before your ribs. The bag is pawed with the finger joints of the lead hand and then hammer-fisted with the same hand. The second strike sets up the paw with the other hand, to the hammer with the other hand. Hit it easy and let it take three bounces at first. Then let it take two bounces and work from there. Hitting it on a single bounce is somewhat useful for quickness, but basically amounts to a parlor trick requiring a lot of tension and minimal movement. Do not begin hitting it harder until you are ready for it to move faster.

The key is not dropping your hands. You are not punching as if you are fighting. This is simply an exercise. Relax your shoulders to avoid fatigue and muscle spasms. Hit the speed bag as part of a bag rotation, ideally just after working the heavy bag.

Oh yes—watch out for Geronimo!