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Which Century kickboxing bag is best?
The Century martial arts supply company sells a variety of training and safety accessories for martial artists. Their most iconic products by far are their standing practice bags, padded cylinders designed to help kickboxers practice striking with the hands and feet.
The Century Wavemaster XXL is a great practice bag for kickboxers, capable of absorbing punches and kicks from high and low angles. Other Century kickboxing bags work well for more specialized regimens such as self-defense drills, workouts with boxing gloves and so on.
What to know before you buy a Century kickboxing bag
Protecting hands and feet from injury
If you’re planning on using your kickboxing bag daily, take steps to protect your limbs from damage. Hand wraps, padded sparring gloves or full-on boxing gloves can keep the bones, ligaments and muscles in your hands and wrist intact during extended exercise, as will ankle wraps or sleeves for your feet.
Using water or sand to weigh the bag down
Most standing kickboxing bags come with a hollow base that you can anchor to the ground with the weight of sand or water. Water can be easily drained from the base of kickboxing bags but can cause a mess indoors if it leaks. Sand is less likely to cause a mess but is harder to extract from the base completely when the need arises.
Kicking and boxing fundamentals
Punching bags and kickboxing bags are excellent tools for solo practice, letting athletes and martial arts improve their skills through the process of repetition and experimentation. Every martial art, combat sport and self-defense system has its own unique approach to unarmed strikes. Still, there are a few universal fundamentals every martial artist novice should keep in mind when “working over” their bag. Wrap your thumb over your fingers when making a fist. When punching or kicking, engage your whole body by pushing off the ground and turning your waist. Use slow movements to fine-tune your punches and kicks, then work your way up to full-speed strikes. Instead of embracing a natural, fluid motion style, don’t overextend or contort your limbs in painful directions.
What to look for in a quality Century kickboxing bag
Durable materials with a bit of give
Ideally, the owner of a kickboxing bag should be able to pummel, smash and shove it around for years on end without hurting their limbs or breaking the bag. To this end, the materials of a kickboxing bag should be tough enough to withstand the daily assault and flexible enough to give slightly under the blows of a kickboxer.
The right ratio of sway and stability
A kickboxing bag is supposed to mimic the weight and resistance of a human body, recoiling from the strikes of a kickboxer but also resisting blows that aren’t delivered with the right level of strength and accuracy. Different punching bag products sway to different extremes. Kickboxers practicing footwork and dodges in an open area may prefer bags with a lot of sway, while kickboxers cultivating the power of their strikes in a cramped area might want bags that sway less.
A height and width that matches your martial arts routine
Every kickboxing style has its own eclectic collection of kicking and punching techniques, frequently well-suited to the body type, age and temperament of the expert who created the martial art. Martial artists with lots of high kicks in their repertoire can practice their routines using bags with padded surfaces at the chest or head level. However, martial artists focused on self-defense tend to rely more on low kicks directed towards the legs or waist and may prefer kickboxing bags with padding that corresponds to those parts of the body.
How much you can expect to spend on a Century kickboxing bag
The base-supported kickboxing bags sold by the Century martial arts supply company range from $150-$380 depending on the size and the age category for which they were designed.
Century kickboxing bag FAQ
What other products does Century sell?
A. Besides bags for punching and kickboxing workouts, the Century martial arts supply company also sells products such as sparring gloves, safety equipment, uniforms and certain kinds of weapons.
What’s the difference between kickboxing and other martial arts?
A. Kickboxing can refer to any martial art that focuses exclusively on punches or kicks in the context of athletic competition. Most kickboxing schools in the United States and Japan are a blend of boxing and karate techniques, but fighting systems such as the French art of Savate or Muay Thai from Thailand can also be described as “kickboxing” sports.
What’s the best Century kickboxing bag to buy?
Top Century kickboxing bag
What you need to know: This large-sized practice bag has the durability and size needed for martial artists to practice hundreds of kicks and punches.
What you’ll love: This Century product stands 69 inches tall and has a high-density foam interior with a vinyl cover. The length and height of the bag is great for practicing both high and low kicks.
What you should consider: This kickboxing bag sways noticeably with each hit and can generate noise on hard surfaces whenever it’s struck.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top Century kickboxing bag for the money
What you need to know: This punching bag is resilient and stable against different kinds of kickboxing routines but is also easy to reposition in exercise spaces.
What you’ll love: The height of this punching bag product is adjustable, varying from 47 to 68 inches tall. When filled with sand or water, it can weigh up to 250 pounds.
What you should consider: This punching bag tends to sway around more compared to other similar products.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Century kickboxing bag worth checking out
Century Bob Torso Training Bag
What you need to know: The human torso-shaped mold of this punching bag is great for martial artists learning how to target specific points in the human body.
What you’ll love: This torso part of this punching bag can be adjusted to accommodate kickboxers with specific heights. When filled with water or sand, the product weighs around 270 pounds and holds up well after repeated use.
What you should consider: The padded torso mold only comes in one color and lacks a portion for practicing low kicks.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Coleman Gailloreto writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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