Re: Alternative speedbag uses.
Work in rounds and use real punches on the bag, throw jabs, straight rights, hooks and even some uppercuts. For the purpose of footwork it's better to have a platform built into a sturdy pole or pillar. Coordinate your hands and feet for every direction that you're moving in. Don't throw technique out the window in order to keep the bag in rhythm, in other words don't throw technique out of the window. Practice good technique, finish your combinations with a jab or left in order to get yourself back into position. Don't move helter skelter either, be deliberate and see what you're going to do before you do it.
Eventually with a little imagination you can work on different things such as imagining that you are punching into your opponents attack thereby disrupting and nullifying theirs. Perhaps from time to time you mix up the rhythm, this is not simply changing your pace but also changing the tempo of your punches. Let the bag hit the back of the board an extra time before you hit it again.
Practice long range range attacks, perhaps a quick shuffle forward accompanied by a jab everytime your left foot moves. Practice short punches as well.
Using the minute break in between rounds can give you the time that you need to catch your breath as well as figure out what you're going to do next.
My only complaints with the speedbag is that it feels strange to go after the bag rebounds that follow hooks. Landing uppercuts feel awkward as well. Nonetheless I feel that it's a good tool in sharpening your punches as well as developing your hair-trigger reflexes. Practicing with creativity and purpose in mind is a lot better than treating the bag like bicycle pedals for your hands.
If you hear a voice within you saying that I am not a painter, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.
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