I spent about an hour beating my buddy Bob the other night. Punched him for so long, I couldn't type (or even fully open my hands) the next night because my forearms were so sore.
No, I wasn't beating up some hapless victim. It was 'Bob', that wonderful martial arts/self-defense/boxing training tool!
For the few of you who aren't familiar with Bob, let me fill ya in:
I'm sure that everyone here is familiar with the now ubiquitous WaveMaster bags? Water-filled base with a foam punching bag on it? Bob is pretty much the same deal, but rather than a punching bag, it has the head and upper torso of a man styled in rubber. The torso is fairly firm, but will give with a hard enough strike. The head is very soft (doesn't simulate the skull at all), but it does allow for the practice of eye and throat attacks (very fun!).
The torso bit of Bob is fairly dense, making the whole assembly heavier than your average WaveMaster bag. Also, Bob's back has some partly exposed hardware (big ol' bolts), so striking his back is probably a bad idea.
Pros and cons:
Pros: Hella lotta fun to hit. I can do hooks to his body all day long...I'll just feel it in my arms later. Eye and throat attacks can be practice with him. Can add some variation to your standard heavy bag routine. His 'body' takes abuse pretty well, provided you're just hitting him with hands and feet. Did I mention he was fun to hit?
Cons: Soft head is very unrealistic and can give newbies an inaccurate perspective on headstrikes ("How come I didn't break my hand when I punched 'Bob' in the forehead?") It's possible to punch Bob too hard. Giving him a good hook to the body, I punched 'through' the rubber and felt my hand strike the post inside. Didn't feel good. Also, it is possible to kick the whole dang thing over. Kind of embarrassing, really. We were training on the second floor, so when Bob went over, the noise as he hit the floor was pretty loud. One more thing: if you're like me, and like your leg and groin kicks, then Bob ain't gonna cooperate with you there. He's only upper torso from the belt level up, and he's got no arms, either.
I have no idea why I'm writing this. It's after 1am here and my brain is a bit fuzzy. If this is rambling, stream of conscious babbling, please forgive me.
Cthulhu
No, I wasn't beating up some hapless victim. It was 'Bob', that wonderful martial arts/self-defense/boxing training tool!
For the few of you who aren't familiar with Bob, let me fill ya in:
I'm sure that everyone here is familiar with the now ubiquitous WaveMaster bags? Water-filled base with a foam punching bag on it? Bob is pretty much the same deal, but rather than a punching bag, it has the head and upper torso of a man styled in rubber. The torso is fairly firm, but will give with a hard enough strike. The head is very soft (doesn't simulate the skull at all), but it does allow for the practice of eye and throat attacks (very fun!).
The torso bit of Bob is fairly dense, making the whole assembly heavier than your average WaveMaster bag. Also, Bob's back has some partly exposed hardware (big ol' bolts), so striking his back is probably a bad idea.
Pros and cons:
Pros: Hella lotta fun to hit. I can do hooks to his body all day long...I'll just feel it in my arms later. Eye and throat attacks can be practice with him. Can add some variation to your standard heavy bag routine. His 'body' takes abuse pretty well, provided you're just hitting him with hands and feet. Did I mention he was fun to hit?
Cons: Soft head is very unrealistic and can give newbies an inaccurate perspective on headstrikes ("How come I didn't break my hand when I punched 'Bob' in the forehead?") It's possible to punch Bob too hard. Giving him a good hook to the body, I punched 'through' the rubber and felt my hand strike the post inside. Didn't feel good. Also, it is possible to kick the whole dang thing over. Kind of embarrassing, really. We were training on the second floor, so when Bob went over, the noise as he hit the floor was pretty loud. One more thing: if you're like me, and like your leg and groin kicks, then Bob ain't gonna cooperate with you there. He's only upper torso from the belt level up, and he's got no arms, either.
I have no idea why I'm writing this. It's after 1am here and my brain is a bit fuzzy. If this is rambling, stream of conscious babbling, please forgive me.
Cthulhu