Design and Build a CHARGING OPPONENT. Make Your Heavy Bag Workout a Real World Workout

From Pendulum swing to Charging Opponent--The New Heavy Bag

This Instructable provides numerous photographs and finishes with a video demonstrating a transformational heavy bag motion device. This compelling device transforms a common heavy bag, that typically approaches trainees with pendulum swings from its single hook, and mutates that bag into a horizontal charging opponent, by enabling the center to move in response to your bag hits, in an 18" x 18" plane. The bag bounce-back is level with the floor, just like your motion. The training benefits are incredible, with this new heavy bag ushering a more real world experience into the training room.

The author has been practicing on a heavy bag in training to fight attackers, as a paying trainee to an online video trainer with pre-recorded clips.

--Wait! Ah, let me step in and say this: After three full weeks of training on my heavy bag, I observed that it moved in a limited fashion, and also upward when hit. But, when watching YouTube videos on street fighting, people move horizontally--you know, like back and forth. I have not seen too many fighters jump downward onto their opponents, except on computer games of course. So, to solve my issue, I decided to give my heavy bag increased mobility. By moving in a plane, the bag now moves away from me, then upward, then runs back toward me horizontally. I am looking forward to my fourth week of training on this new improved heavy bag.

Now, when you see my heavy bag, it is not the typical heavy bag. For example, it does not have a prominent brand name, nor even look like a heavy bag. In fact, it looks like a box. The reason is, that my home is not the place for heavy bag training. So, this means that work is the place, and as the owner, I have certain leeway. But, this must be balanced with appearances. And, vendors walking into the shop, and shipping people as well, should not see, in my opinion, a heavy bag. Thus, my heavy bag is constructed of two full cans of paint, housed in a PVC tube, with another half can, and a pine wood internal frame (bones), all wrapped in thick foam, inside a giant cardboard box, that is shrink-wrapped and strapped.

This heavy bag fabrication has performed well, as it hangs up high when not in use, and has only been questioned by one vendor--who was so shocked to see it (I think he thought I put a body in there), that I had to fess up to a heavy bag.

Without further bragging, I leave you to see the photos and video, with the aim that this method will re-invent, the heavy bag.

Copyright 2015 by Laser Power

This Instructable has dual instruction use. Primarily, it demonstrates a design method to fabricate a device that increases mobility (horizontal mobility) to a heavy bag. The reason that I say demonstrates a method, is because the components and parts that I used, were all laying around my shop, except for the mounting bolts (which cost me $2.90 at the hardware store—I live in a low cost-of-living region so the prices may be different from your locale).

If you ever read a US patent (regular type), the claims section (most important because this provides all the protection), has two types of claims. Either the sentence starts with “A method to…” or it explains how components go together. In summary, the *patent author is afforded the protection by either his method or the way he put together components in a novel way. This Instructable focuses upon the method and provides limited information on the particular components utilized.

In other words, you can achieve the effect of an increased mobility heavy bag in numerous ways, fabricating by using parts that you have laying around your house or garage, or in someone else’s trash. For example, the wood base shown, can be replaced with metal. The purpose of the base is to provide a sound foundation for the device. Many material types that are commonly found can perform this function. Use your mind, save your cash, as I did. $2.90 was my cash outlay. The project time took from Saturday noon to 7:10 pm without putting the tools away and sweeping up. It was fun, and exhausting. Good luck.

*This author participated as a co-inventor in the arduous exercise of US patent application leading to eventual award, then pursuit of commercial entities that knowingly encroached upon his claims. The novel machine disclosed utilized guideways mounted in an orthogonal direction.

Copyright 2015 Instructable account Laser_power. Patent Pending.

The key functionality needed, when implementing this method
is:

1. A frictionless slider for one direction

2. Another frictionless slider for a second direction, that can be mounted 90 degrees off the first direction

3. A sound base to hold these sliders

4. A firm support structure that drops a line down to the heavy bag

Now, in the real world, there is no such thing as frictionless—but you can get close enough for the heavy bag project. And, whether you know it or not, you use frictionless sliders every day. Your drawers on the modern furniture use sliders. These sliders have telescoping metal guideways and the contact between these guideways is a row of greased bearings. For this project, most drawer sliders are inadequate to support the heavy bag, so you will need to acquire the industrial version—named the linear rail with bearing blocks.

Linear guideways and linear rails come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and to be safe, thicker is safer than thinner. Trying to do the mathematical calculations for the proper size is challenging—I do it for a living and it is no walk-in-the-park. So, just buy one that is at least a half an inch thick, and you are safe. eBay and second hand stores are where I go. The second hand shops received these parts removed from obsolete machines. You do not need a matching pair of linear rails, but you do need a linear rail paired with a bearing block that slides on it—so buy this set together so you do not risk a useless purchase.

To reiterate then provide more detail, the high technology in the construction of this device is the linear guideway. Linear guideways, or linear rails with blocks, are low friction devices that can handle large weights and high forces. In other words, these blocks, underneath the black aluminum plates in the photo above, slide almost frictionless on the rail. Very little force is needed to make them move. They can handle very large weights. So, hitting a heavy bag equipped with these will send it to one side, then after swinging upward at the end of travel, then it will return.

Two guideways are needed. They can be found on ebay or as used surplus online. I got this set second hand for about $25. Of course there are sellers that want much higher prices, but look for the deals. Look for matching rails and blocks (linear rails and bearing blocks). Get the length that you need, with the size adequate for your heavy bag. The ones shown here are about 22 inches long and 3/4" in height and width.

I got the plywood shown out of my wood box, and it was already a fairly good size to work with, so no need to saw.

The overall structure is a guideway running in one direction and a second guideway running 90 degrees off from the first. This enables the bag to move anywhere within the plane (in this case, it is an 18"x18" plane of motion).

Shown in the photo are plastic wheels with a metal base. The wheels serve the function to keep the upper guideway balance, and not twisting upward or downward. These cheap wheels were on my shelf and can be found in any hardware store.

As I used many parts laying around, and did not write down a plan prior to performing the project, there was a lot of checking and confirming the design as it proceeded, and these steps are repeated in the photos shown here-in.

Again, the approach of this Instructable is to train in the design process and general parts, rather than parts specifications and exact steps.

Loosely place the parts together in their intended positions (no need to fasten). Now examine for proper fit and seek out any problems that may arise.

See the top of my heavy bag with its centerline support. It has a single support connection to the steel angle-iron near the ceiling. This will be replaced with two metal supports, that hold the dual linear guideway shown in the previous step.

Two metal supports are needed to safely hold the guideways that move in a plane. I always look for things in the shop rather than purchase from the store. This support was hanging nearby and available for use.

Visually line up the wheels to make sure everything fits and will run smoothly.

Place the wheels in their appropriate position on the plywood for which they will be mounted. Use a sharpee pen to completely fill in the wood circles visible on the metal wheel base.

Measure twice, cut once is the rule of thumb. In this case, measure and ensure straightness, then mark the circles.

The circle markings should look relatively straight. It is attention to detail that will make this project run smoother than fixing problems later.

Carefully place the nail tip in the center of the circle. Tap with a hammer to make the center hole.

See the large diameter bolts, that just about match the hole diameter of the wheel base. You do not want the wheel base to become loose over time, and begin to rotate, then become even looser over time. Large diameter bolts prevent twisting of the wheel base.

This drill bit matches the bolt size. That means the bolt will be difficult to get through the wood. The benefit, however, is that the bolts will be firmly held by the wood, thus reducing the opportunity to become loose over time. We do not want to be fixing a problem at ceiling height (where this device gets installed).

A vise is a great tool to rigidly hold your work, while you use your two hands to perform a task. Reduce the chance for mistakes by employing the vise. If no vise is available, then consider using C-clamps to hold the wood rigidly to a table then drill. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," said Ben Franklin.

The drill bit on the power drill slides easily into the nail impression, leaving little opportunity for hole misplacement. Also, using two hands it is easier to ensure that the hole drilled is perpendicular to the wood, rather than drilling an angled hole.

Four holes drilled show plywood de-lamination.

A large flat tipped screwdriver scrapes the wood fragments off the backside, but does press a few into the holes, causing the bolts to pickup sawdust and wood fragments when pressed through the wood in a subsequent step.

After drilling one, or in this case, four holes, attempt to insert the bolt to confirm that the drill bit you selected is the right diameter. If too large, get a smaller one for the remaining holes. If too small, get a larger one and drill again.

I probably rely on the hammer a little more than most in my projects. Perhaps this is because my strength is in the creative, over the mechanical. Use your hammer appropriately to insert the bolt while not inadvertently hitting the wheel.

Make lock-washers your best friend in projects where vibration is present. Prevent loosening over time with lock-washers. See the proper order for the washer, lock-washer, and nut. Fixing a device at ceiling level is no fun, and worse is a disassembly project at ceiling height.

No one likes using elbow grease. Use WD-40 and the nuts rotate on your finger tips until the wrench is necessary to finish the tightening. Use WD-40 on everything possible. Did you know one of its uses is a quick fix for arthitis?--spray on the skin and wait five minutes--yes sir, read it on the internet and I believe everything that I read.

Use two wrenches to tighten bolts. The crescent wrench is better held on the stationary side while the sized wrench makes for quick rotations.

Tighten until the plywood compresses. In this case, more than one of my cheap-metal bolts had thread failure during the final tightening turns.

The mounted wheels fit with a little extra room on the sides (in a later step this built-in extra room is invaluable to correct for an unexpected problem).

Put it all together loosely to confirm that each component is unobstructed and will perform its intended function. Move the bearing blocks assemblies by hand for the full range of motion. Seek out potential issues.

Do not just look from head height. Drop down and look at the contraption from various angles.

Time to mount the guideways to their wooden bases. Lining up holes, especially holes at a long distance is challenging for me. A good procedure to minimize wrongly placed holes, is to mark and drill a single side and bolt. Then, move the long part, in this case the guideway into the intended position then mark the second hole. Move the guideway away from the work area, then drill and put in position and bolt as required.

Again, the closer the match of the hole diameter with the bolt, the lower the probability for loosening over time. Remember, the heavy bag is throwing a lot of weight around and this jostling can loosen even the tightest bolts over time.

The end bolts, that mount the guideway will also serve at a physical stop for the bearing blocks. In other words, you cannot slide further than the bolts on each end of the guideway (assuming that your bolt heads reside on the surface as shown in this design.

Take a tape measure to measure maximum motion.

The center of the aluminum plate is where the heavy bag hangs from. So, this is one end of the measurement. Oh boy, that aluminum plate has some sloppy drilling and grinding from a previous job--no matter as the prior drilled holes will be used for our purposes and beauty is low priority to function for my heavy bag needs.

Now, center to center is the maximum motion for the heavy bag. So, it subtracts down to 18 inches of movement for this rig.

Assemble by hand and perform full motion. This project is beginning to take good form.

Drill holes larger than the bolt diameter. Use bolts whereby the head will fit below the surface of the linear rail. Use washers, lock-washers, and nuts.

In the unlikely event that this was not done prior to ceiling installation, then perform the following steps.

Tie the cord of the power drill around the end of the extension cord so that it does not become disconnected while you are up in the ladder.

Put on the safety glasses because the sawdust will be coming down near your head.

After drilling four holes, where the nuts on the opposite side could be accessed, return to ground level to retrieve the bolts.

Take one screw in hand, and the allen key and wrench, then insert the washer, lock-washer, and nut into your mouth.

After climbing the ladder, place the tools upon the rig and push the bolt into place.

Next, using your tongue, slip the washer out of your mouth and place on the end of the bolt.

Next, do the same with the lock-washer.

Then the nut.

If the nut falls off the bolt when trying to thread, then press firmly into your figure to provide temporary adhesion, a you maneuver in place. Then tighten with allen key.

If the allen key fails to provide adequate grip for rotation, return to ground level and use a screwdriver style tool with the properly sized allen key insert.

Repeat for all four bolts, knowing that as you progress you learn and your technique improves, so that you do each one a little faster.

Note: If you do happen to leave a wrench or tool upon the apparatus after going down the ladder when done, no need to fret, because as soon as the new heavy bag begins motion, it will drop to the floor.

The large plywood may not be strong enough in the long run.

A nearby plank will add the necessary structure strength. I do hate to use my good wood, as these handy pieces are like old friends that have put in their time on many prior jobs--but the heavy bag project is worthwhile, and I do not want to spend my cash.

Cut to length, 24 inches and a small end piece saved for a future project.

Seeing is believing, for me.

The large plywood is to be screwed to the base planks.

Screwdrivers are handy, but sometimes the electric drill is the best choice to get the job done fast and almost effortlessly.

The hardware store bolts were long enough, and I did not pay close attention to the ramifications of the diameter. Luckily, the largest drill bit I had was a good size. And, as so large, it was not previously used so quite sharp--not so important for wood, but paramount for steel.

Always conscious of the risk of misalignment, four bolts are inserted. Note the head direction on three is opposite of the nut being turned by the wrench. This simple method allows a quick differentiation between completed, tightened bolts, and place-holder bolts. The place-holders were dropped down at the time of drilling from the top down, so bottom up was not an option as it would require moving the apparatus.

Confirm adequate mounting. Any more fasteners required?

Typically hex bolts are used on industrial linear guideways. As production and use is international in nature, the bolts utilized may be metric or English. In this case, the metric hex wrench is used to loosen the hex bolts.

Saving measuring, simply oriented the aluminum plate to the proper side (see the pre-existing holes offset, thus creating a proper side demand). Centered for alignment.

Mark all of the exposed wood, to ensure proper hole drilling.

Insert bolts with head side under the aluminum plate. The bearing block height exceeds the bolt head height so no clearance issues. Add lock-washers to the smaller bolts connecting the aluminum plate to the bearing blocks.

Oops, in hindsight, the template should not have been centered on the wooden guideway support. Rather, it should be centered on the guideway itself. Tight bolt holes are needed, so a safe distance from the empty holes was decided, then the template used again. Luckily, the extra space available on the sides of the wheels gave adequate room--thus saving what could have been ramifications of the problem and a lot of re-work time.

Cranking down on the bolts caused the guideway wood support to bow inward. Seeing the bow permitted the opportunity to correct by adding nuts (with lock-washers) on the underside, thus roughly matching all area bolt-head heights and rectifying the issue.

Tossed on the floor and moved the whole plane. Time to measure and confirm maximum motion capability, for adding mobility to the heavy bag.

Rather than trust measurements, especially when dealing with a bunch of old parts with their own idiosyncrasies, it is better to physically align and check then mark.

A table is sturdier than a ladder, but unfortunately shorter. So, use each as needed.

Be prepared for the ladder giving out. If you have to fall, maybe you can hang before you fall, or at least clear the floor so you do not land on your electric drill.

Make your criteria for your satisfaction. Know yourself and your requirements and resource availability to arrive the satisfactory balance for your heavy bag.

Have a rest.

Clean up.

GET TO WORK.

HIT THE HEAVY BAG.

NOW YOUR OPPONENT IS CHARGING.

FIGHT THAT ATTACKER WITH YOUR BEST MOVES!

WIN!

Patent Pending. All Rights Reserved. Laser Power.

Copyright 2015 Laser Power.

No photographs or video may be reproduced or copied without the express written permission of the author.

Send me an email. It's free!

Training Log:

13 Apr 2015: Lunch time: Began training on the New Heavy Bag One minor ceiling fix (no fun) and we are underway.

Oh my gosh! This guy's an animal! He's attacking me from all angles!

This New Heavy Bag is attacking me from all directions! I began by starting the workout (you know on the video course, a hundred of this move, a hundred of that)--but no way! He is not taking it swinging like a pendulum. This guy is moving back, over, then rushes me! After my next hit, he is doing something different--totally random from any direction. That rushing means his acceleration and speed are all over the place. He is slow and circling at one moment then bolting after me! And, the 18"x18" area of movement is at the ceiling. By the time you add in the angle of the hanging support rope he is moving in a larger area. Well, my old drills are out the door now! I have to do the stance change (learned the basic stance and pivot last week in my video course), and had to use it to hit him from the other stance with a horizontal elbow. He has me wanting to do combinations just to stop his attack. It's like the bag is on steroids. I can't stand in one place to execute so many reps--it's not going to work: I have to move forward and to the side to attack, and defend! Hey, there is no timing this guy, he seems to dwell in one place for a moment one time, then rush me, then not dwell another time. Well, feels like I progressed to advanced attack and defense. At least I am on Week 4 now, and that's refreshing. Go!

14 Apr 2015

Well, it took a good night's sleep to figure out what is going on with the New Heavy Bag. By the way, overnight my banged up elbow grew to the size of a golf ball--must have hit his bone, so I'll have to lay off the right horizontal elbow today. Be wary the danger with the New Heavy Bag: He is a forceful opponent.

So, I figure it's like this. The New Heavy bag is swinging back and forth after one of my moves, like a hop-knee kick. Then, as he moved back and over and is mildly twirling about, the steel supports above him (about 5 feet on each side of the device are bouncing up and down). This un-harmonic conflict between the steel supporting beams and the twirling bag are just like you--after you got hit and are building up a rage (getting really mad--I am not going to take that hit, you're thinking, I am going to knock this guy out!"), then all of the sudden the bag lunges into resonance, you know--harmony between all the frequencies that hits an extreme high. Then he is out of the corner like a charging bull!

No sir.--I am not going to take a big hit from a stupid mindless heavy bag--that's for sure! I am going to whale this bag with my moves and send him flying again--eh, even if he does jar me back a little. Did I step into a cartoon?

During the lunch-time sets, making new progress now (underway, on a break to report in). Repetitious drills can be done in several methods. The one I settled in on is hitting the bag around the perimeter, and completing a single stance style strike. When, that gets tiresome, I can drive to the through the center, job to the outside and reverse the bag, like drawing a cross through a square. These moves really rely on a good stance, and I need to work on that, and also the bag is more difficult to target, so setting a strike squarely in the center is more challenging, as he turns his bag in retreat on occasion. My hop-knee hit a corner, and started swelling, so that drill was cut short. This new ballgame, so to speak, is more complex and I have to learn the rules (and also how to play).

Had to get up to the ceiling to fix an issue. One of the four steel rails was making a racket as is rubbed against the neighboring steel. I found a 3/8" thick square piece of foam, and using a long flat head screwdriver, pryed the steel back then wrapped with foam and tie-wrapped the foam. This solved the problem for 20 minutes then a previously inserted piece of foam under the flat bottom of this angle iron dropped and it made a bigger racket, so up the ladder again with the screwdriver, and this time inserted/wrapped with a thin strip of solid rubber--did the trick. Time for more sets!

15 Apr 2015 Lunch training. I find that for strong strikes like the hop-knee The New Heavy Bag moves in a variety of unpredictable directions, so that when executing drills (lots of the same reps) then the setup for the subsequent strike takes a bit longer, and a bit of consideration as well.

The good new is that the video instructor told the trainees to do some air strikes to simulate a missed strike (cannot expect 100% of strikes to hit the opponent). With the New Heavy Bag, I do not need to practice in a second area--as I miss a few strikes because my Charging Attacker is also a good retreater, and quite quick on his feet.

16 Apr 2015 Lunch training. Wussied out of training with the rationalization that my inflamed right elbow region needed a rest. C'mon, we all know that there is no excuse for a day off. And, myself being of the older sort, that means that tomorrow will be that much harder to begin as the remaining muscles will stiffly complain during warmup and the first few minutes of training. Really will require mind over matter. Got to keep full momentum, else risk the entire video-fighting program. But, I did wake up enthusiastic about hitting the electronics market to fabricate an immediate feedback device to be utilized during workout for my sloppy stance (hindering good technique, and because many hours of bad technique just mean that when the pressure is on, bad technique comes out, not winning technique--and that is unacceptable)--time for a new Instructable shortly!

17 Apr 2015 Lunch workout. A word-of-caution--this bag is a mean one. Today, I am more motivated for training as the video trainer sent out a video clip showing a champion fighter in the ring having a mighty heart to maintain and win his match while incurring a dislocated shoulder. I myself, beaten heartily by the New Heavy Bag, have had my inflamed elbow inflamaition progress down to the wrist--but no matter as I demonstrate my heart. My belief is that what you practice, you will execute under pressure (you know, the real thing).

Really need to perfect the basic stance. The New Heavy Bag is knocking me left and right in his various attacks. Yesterday I hit the electronics market and picked up the components to assure proper balance and ball-of-feet only, but still need the distance setting apparatus. All this of-course, must provide either prevent mistakes or instantaneous feedback for correction. Because, my video subscription issue now is my stance, my feet are flat on the deck, I lean forward out-of-balance to strike, and his return attack knocks me aside--and with no live coach barking colorful language, it leaves automation in the form of gear and facility to step in and fill this gaping training hole. Hope to devise on Saturday and post a new Instructable.

23 Apr 2015 During the lunch workout (log has continued on Heel Coach device), the New Heavy Bag had a different sound to it. Looked up after the first sets to see that the plywood was delaminating on one side. 35 minutes to glue and add two screws on lower linear rail. See photo for details.

28 Apr 2015 Lunch New Heavy Bag training. The bag dropped early into the sets, as the strapping broke. In the process of tying it up again, I looped the strapping twice, side-by-side to ensure that it lasts longer. The aluminum holder that it was chaffing on is not sharp, but the edges could be rounder if grounded in that manner.

Patent Pending. All Rights Reserved. Laser Power. Copylright 2015 Laser Power. No photographs or video may be reproduced or copied without the express written permission of the author. Send me an email. It's free!

4 May 2015 Let the New Heavy Bag down for lunch workout then about one minute later heard a loud crack. The plywood deliminated where I had repaired it with glue. Well, no choice but to get to work and fix the problem. As it was coming down from the ceiling, I might as well fix the gap from the wheels at the same time. See the photos and video for details. Job started at 12:45 and ended at 5:10 pm after sweeping up and putting the tools away.

6 May 2015 Getting more powerful hits in during lunch practice. Bag dropped because two supporting straps snapped. To remedy, added three straps, used two on top of the three, and made an X pattern on top. 25 minutes fix.

11 May 2015 Lunch workout. Lots of clanging again, as the foam had dropped out from underneath the metal support bars during the major fix. So, got out the ladder and took the foam that was used previously and inserted on two legs. On the remaining two, cut two strips of rubber from an eighth inch thick mat that I had and inserted them. Insert means straddling the top of the ladder, lifting the heavy bar with the head while pushing and cramming the material both underneath and along one side. Fix took less than 20 minutes, was a dirty process, and the result is a much quieter workout.