Thai Heavy Bag vs American

[dkm]

Noticed that the Thai one is more of a banana shape. What is the advantage and disadvantage of that?

[retired]

Sounds a bit rude or maybe political Thai Vs America???

[chalambok]

The banana bag is designed for many uses. It is 16"-14" in diameter to approximate the average shin size. It can be heavily-weighted on the bottom and soft in the middle to allow for longer training sessions. It can be angled with the bottom on the floor to allow down kicks, or up-down kick combinations; or pushed through the lean completely to develop power. It is tall enough to practice neck or head kicks, yet low so you can practice low-high combinations, as well as box. And it is heavy enough to make you actually develop timing and rhythm, because it won't swing too far away. It is leather so you cannot easily grab it with your hands (especially if they are sweaty or gloved), which will force you to learn how to grab an opponent properly, meaning you will have to reach around him and clasp your arms at the wrist. When you knee you can also use your heel on the back to simulate a calf attack. You can even head butt if that is your thing. You can also practice flying knees because it is tall. The bag didn't just end up being the size and shape it is. As with almost all Thai training equipment, the design was thought out and carefully modified over the years.

[retired]

Is it true that leather is better to kick than other materials?

[skilzkid]

Our gym has a leather and a nylon-coated vinyl bag (the one I just bought is also the nylon/vinyl). It feels to me that the nylon/vinyl bag is more solid to impact than the leather. Both give pretty much the same workout for me - the nylon/vinyl bags are always cheaper. I have heard a lot of complaints about canvas tho...freezes to a rock in the winter, can scrape your skin up, can tear pretty easily, etc., but I've never used one personally. The place I got my bag from say that they guarentee it for life...as long as it doesn't rip, I can deal with repacking it. As for which one is best to kick physically/medically...

[retired]

In my experience i found leather bags better for conditioning as the surface was tougher & it didn't stretch as you hit it especially the heavy ones, how about you?