Expert: Alan Kahn - 5/14/2005

Question
Mr. Kahn,

I recently got your SPEED BAG BIBLE Book and DVD and it is awesome!  I never imagined there was so much that could be done on a speed bag! Your book really covers a lot of things, and your personal teaching video has to be one of the best teaching videos I have ever seen.  You make it look so easy, and the slow motion really helps.

I am ashamed to say when I first started a few months ago I got the "cheaper book" by Dale Walters, called THE GREAT SPEED BAG HANDBOOK.
Boy was that a disappointment! Even for a beginner, I think it is a horrible book! It only shows things for a boxer, which I am NOT, and only covers a couple of punching combinations. There is nothing to it, especially in comparison to yours. He doesn't show hitting from behind the bag, or how to use the elbows, or use if for martial arts. Any one of your chapters (twelve I think..) covers more than that whole book!      What a waste of money.

Anyway, I am very glad I now have your much better program. I am wondering if you could explain a little more about how to hit the speed bag to music, and what you mean by "straight" punching and "syncopated" punching, and how they relate to punching "on the beat". I really want to start using the bag beat with some of my favorite songs and would appreciate any insights you could give me personally.

thank you very much.

Suzanne E.  

Answer
Hello Suzanne Elizabeth,

Thank you for the remarks about my training materials. I am very happy that they are helping you.  Concerning the other book, I have received numerous emails and letters stating opinions very similiar to yours. I have seen that work and it appears to be written as a basic beginners guide for boxers. As you noticed, the focus of my materials are much more comprehensive in scope and speed bag usage.

Concerning hitting the speed bag to music, Punching in "Straight Time" or "Syncopated Rhythms" has to do with how the beats of the bag match the particular song you are hitting with.  In "straight time", your main fist contacts hit the bag directly ON the beat of the music.  So, when you tap your foot or clap your hand in time to the beat, every time your foot taps, an fist makes direct contact on the bag, creating an "accented" or loud rebound.  You will feel this speed bag beat hit "ON the beat" of the song. When punching from the front of the bag, for every four beats of the song, you would punch four times - hitting ON the beat with the music.  Just time your punches to do this. the triplet rhythm of the rebounding bag does not change this, but adds color to your "drum" beat with the bag. There are several variations you can do to this, depending on the size of your bag, your skill with it and your ability to sense the music beat. For instance, for every measure of music with four beats, you could also punch twice as many times (8 ) or half as many times, (2) and still be ON the beat. Basically, music beats are evenly spaced apart. In between two music beats, there is a "half" beat that is still ON the beat (8th notes) or double that to 16th notes. Fortunately, on the bag you only have to 'sense the beat' and not worry about music structure. Very similiar to dancing. For punching in Straight Time, Think of March Music. All the instruments and accents of the song are evenly perceived and fall strictly on the beat. You March to it, but not dance to it.

A slight, but more difficult variation is punching in syncopated rhythms.  This means performing speed bag combinations that have main punching beats fall on a particular beat of the song, and many of the other speed bag accented beats land "around" or just off the music beat. In doing this, You may hear 6 speed bag beats, but ONE of them falls directly with the song, keeping your rhythm in time with the song.  Think of dixie land jazz, or Bluegrass music. Lots of notes heard, all around the beat, but enough fall on the beat to make it all work.  

You can go from straight time to syncopated punching very easily on the bag by changing your punching speed. If you are in straight time, you will have to either speed up or slow down your punching speed to find the correct syncopated punching speed, and vice versa.

I hope this shed some more insight for you. I cover a lot of this, with specific written syncopated punching combinations in part of the Speed Bag Bible. To me, hitting to music is the "artform" of speed bag, and allows for a huge amount of creative expression.

thank you for your interest and question.

sincerely,

Alan Kahn
author, The Speed Bag Bible