Quote Originally Posted by Hellbore
thanks for the advice, you're so helpfulÂ

What other types of body shots are good? I don't really know how to do straight shots to the body, I only can think of hooks... When I try to hit the bag with a straight punch lower on the bag, it feels very awkward, especially since the bag is hard as a rock down there. I can manage to hit it with a right hook but you said that's not a very safe punch right?


As for the fist thing... When I first got the bag Sunday a week and a day ago, I hit it without gloves for a few minutes  I learned a painful lesson... I tore off a piece of skin from my middle finger knuckle, a round piece of skin about 1/2" around, I hit the bag with a right hook on the firm bottom of the bag and the skin grabbed onto the vinyl and tore right off, I was bleedingÂ

It is healing slowly due to me hitting the bag every day.
well there are 4 types of punches (mainly, but several different versions of each)
jab, cross, hook, uppercut

straight shots are very effective to the body
jab to hold them still (or to keep them at distance, break rythum, etc), crosses are used to hurt them. body shots will be very effective if you are sparring a novice because they will only block their face and their arms arent use to the motion of coming down and blocking so they will be easy to hit there

in close (or while moving in) hooks are great to the body