Quote Originally Posted by Chris N.
By not pushing your punches. That's his reasoning, personally I prefer the bag to move. When you're fighting someone they're going to be moving away from you, or towards you and you're still there to hit them.
Quote Originally Posted by AdamGB
If bags did swing when you hit them properly... why would your opponents head move when you hit it? Why would his head moving be ultimately what KOs him? You don't knock people out with pushes do you?
Not unless they fall backwards onto their head...:P
I agree to an extent... a small fighter/fighter with a weak punch on a heavy probably won't have the power to make it swing... I suppose it's about being aware of whether it's power or strength making the bag move.

Sorry Adam, my bad. I didn't mean "pushing your punches", but getting the heavy bag to swing allows you to work on a lot of things that you can't do otherwise.

By the way, I've been reading Joe Louis's "How to Box" book lately and he shed a lot of light on why you want the bag to swing. An opponent isn't going to stand still so you that you can him them, and you can add this realism to your training on heavy bag as well.

This is what Joe Louis advised about hitting the heavy bag:

"After learning how to hit the bag while it is stationary, try giving it a slight push to start it slowly swinging. Then when it has started to swing away, hook sharply with the left or right in the direction of the swing of the bag. This is good practice as it accustoms you to hitting the side of an opponent who turns from a blow.
The heavy bag is also used to develop rapid hitting to the body which is called in-fighting. Crouch slightly forward with both feet in line together, and bring both hands upward in sharp, short blows to the bag. Treat the bag as you would your opponent. If the bag gives way, assume your opponent is retreating from your attack, step closer and continue punching away with both hands. Then assume that your opponent is holding, back away but quickly return to the attack with both hands. This will help you get more power behind your blows and teach you to stay in close, so that your opponent's blows are robbed of their force.
Punching the heavy bag should be timed into rounds, three minutes punching with one minute of rest in between.

Sessions with the bag help tune up your footwork, too. The bag keeps you shifting your weight around a good deal like you must when facing an opponent in the ring."

I agree with Louis on this. This allows you to deal with a deal with an on-coming or moving force as opposed to simply a stationary target.

So in general you'd want the back to swing a little when you hit it; This allows you to react to the bag, changing angles, shifting your weight, moving, and fighting in close.

Hitting a stationary bag has its own merits as well, as it allows you to work on particular things.


Quote Originally Posted by spaceballwon

btw, i can imagine a modern lightweight against the man in the picture, and running over him with ease. i can also picture him destroying a lot of modern lightweights. to say that todays fighters are junk is absurd and this tommy noel guy needs to leave his generational-ism at the door when trying to be journalistic. as a writer myself, i find it offensive.

and adam is right about the bag moving...its knowing power from strength that matters most.
This isn't journalism spaceballwon, the man is entitled to his own opinion just as it is your own right as well. By being your own writer you don't have to be a "blank canvass" as they say, you can write whatever you want without having to appeal to anyone. Does this mean you have to see things his way? No, I don't agree with him on everything, but I nonetheless appreciate his opinion.