Expert: Alan Kahn - 10/1/2007

Question
I have had a heavy bag now for about a year and lately it started breaking the swivel it hangs on, it's not much of a tall bag, so I think my knees / punches are sending it too high up and landing with to much pressure thus breaking the swivel it hangs from.. What should I do in your opinion? Are the heavier the bags, the taller and longer they are?

Answer
Hello Forest,

I don't think the problem you describe would be fixed by a bigger or "longer" bag.  Bag length and weight are really variable nowadays. If your upward kicks/strikes are making your bag and chain buck to the point of straining your swivel, I would suggest you add a heavy duty spring into your setup between the bag chainhooks and swivel  Here is one at Ringside boxing  http://www.ringside.com/DETAIL.ASPX?ID=24790   of course this will bring the top of your bag down the length of the spring, and if your need to keep the top of the bag higher above your head, then you will need a shorter bag to allow for the added hanging distance for the chain. Fortunately you can now get heavier, shorter bags. You can also probably find a similiar coiled spring at a lumber yard or hardware/department store.

here are some other bag heavy accessories
http://www.ringside.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=2385

http://www.ringside.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=2384

I hope this fixes you up and solves your bag problem.

Alan Kahn
author, The Speed Bag Bible