Is Your Heavy Bag Swinging?

If your heavy bag is hanging from something and not totally rooted to the ground, you will notice that it moves every time you strike it. The heavier and longer the bag, the less it may swing depends on the way you punch, kick or whatever.

How much should it be swinging while boxing? There are several variables here too, but I can say very generally that the answer is “not too much” for just general boxing training. And it is also likely that if your bag is swinging a lot after punching it, this is due to your punch being more of a push than a punch. Once the punch lands and full extension or rotation has been reached, the goal is to then get that hand back as quickly as possible. Even quicker than the punch itself if you can manage it. Leaving your hand on the bag for an extra millisecond in terms of making it swing. Thus, the bag is actually a good teacher here. It tells you that you aren't getting your hands back fast enough by swinging.

This does not mean, however, that we shouldn't strive to punch through the target. Yes, we want to whip those hands back but only after the punch has reached it's final destination. Only exception here might be a jab to the face, here the snap back is what makes the punch sting as opposed to pure force of the punch. Otherwise, make sure you never shorten the motion of the strike just to not make the bag swing. Again, the punch itself does not need to change, it is the speed that you retract your hand that we want to increase.

Another big factor on how much the bag swings is if you are moving around your bag while you punch. This is not inherently a bad thing to do but it can lead to some bad habits, including the thing I just described involving leaving your hand on the bag too long after your shot lands. I would recommend really having rock solid punch fundamentals before doing this. You can circle around all you want but when you are ready to strike, plant your feet and punch before moving again.

If your movement is straight forward - as in moving closer to the bag behind each punch - you will naturally get more swinging, no matter how fast you get your hands back because your forward momentum is being transferred, driving the bag back. This is not a bad thing either and we can even use it to incorporate drills and develop good boxing habits.

No matter how or why your bag is swinging, I generally advise people to either steady the bag with their own jab after the combo or don't do anything special at all. Just keep on doing your thing unless it is swinging a whole lot. What you DON'T want to do is stop entirely to steady your bag in any way that breaks your boxing rhythm (holding it, kneeing it, kicking it, etc.). Did a video once about this too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8NUErTFuuY

There are also ways you can use/initiate the swing to incorporate specific boxing drills like...

1. Getting your bag to swing back towards you and stopping it with your straight punches. This is a good way to ensure that you get good shoulder rotation and skeletal alignment because if you don't, the bag will likely push you backwards. It also somewhat simulates an opponent coming towards you.
2. Pushing the bag out, getting in to the space it previously occupied and throwing a quick couple of punches as it is moving out, then getting out before it comes back. Good for working on both hand and foot speed.
3. Getting the bag to swing (by pushing or just your own punches) and circle out to find a new angle before throwing the combo. Builds more realistic boxing footwork and coordination as well as better simulates an opponent.
4. Same as #3 but you add some punches to your bag moving laterally. This can be good practice for hitting a moving target but of course the heavy bag will move very differently than a person and doing to much of this, especially early on in training, can lead to some bad habits and slow down the development of your basic punch mechanics. If you are looking for better authenticity in this department, a double-end bag might be a better way to go.
5. While it's not so much swinging, you can use the lean of the bag for multiple drills where the goal is to keep it up and not let it swing back through rapid and strong punches

So whether you are using a bag as a coach to tell you when you aren't getting your hands back fast enough or using it for drills to simulate an opponent or work on specific skills or something else entirely, the heavy bag remains the greatest single training tool for fitness (boxing or otherwise) and does more than just hang there and get punched.

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