Thank you Alan

[Fuzzy_donkey]

First off let me say Hello..... New to the forums, but I am a long time fan of the speed bag central website, and Alan you have been a bit of an inspiration to me.
The first time I seen one of your videos I just kept replaying it over and over in awe. Within a week I went out and got a big old speedbag. (I mean this thing was a monster. Not sure but it had to be a 12 or 13" bag) But I figured that it would be a good starter bag to learn on.

Once I got all my hitting styles down, I started to concentrate on my rhythm and speed. Talk about an addiction....
A problem I ran into was the bag I bought was so big I had to power it so much that quickly I maxed out the speed on it. Does that make sense? I guess I'm saying I outgrew it.

I recently upgraded to an 8x5 and when I got it in I couldn't help but laugh at how small it was. I mean it looked like someone cut a football in half and sewed up the bottom.
When I got it home and installed it, I then realized I did make a good choice buying a bigger bag first. VERY CHALLENGING. I think because I had to power the bigger bag so much that now I can basically take my time with the newer smaller sized bag. It's basically all style now which is the funniest part of it all for me.

I'm sure if I went out and bought an 8" bag first I probably would have given up in frustration.
One problem that I'm still having is that the bag is sooo small that I can barely use my elbows. Is this common? I had no problem at all with the bigger one. I guess in time I'll get it. I still can't keep up with its speed but I’m having a blast trying. The coolest thing about the speed bags is they are as challenging as you make them.
Thanks again Alan your site is THE BEST BY FAR, and I admire how you are so willing to help people become more active, and help educate themselves in common interests.
Your one cool individual man...

[Speedbag]

Fuzzy's SpeedBag

Hi Fuzzy,

I'm glad you like my website and find it helpful. I hope it gives enough information, without being to technical. As you know - The Speed Bag has many layers, and the deeper you delve into it, the more amazing it becomes. Many people share my fascination with it, and my chosen task was to lay out a legitimate method to peel those layers back, in a logical manner. I eventually adopted a "path" of introducing the basic techniques and movements from the simple (beginning) techniques to the more complex. I approached it much like watching a top professional musician on his instrument, and then deciding you wanted to learn how to play. It takes more than "just doing it". All instruments (like most complex activities) have a well worn system or path to do that. The Speed Bag had none, so I devised the "The Speed Bag Bible" as an attempt to fill that void.

As for using the elbows on a small bag, To me it is a little more difficult on the tiny 7x4 or smaller. The fix is to raise the board up a little higher and bring the belly of the bag to your nose or eye level. This will give a little added room to get the elbows into the hitting area. The only problem I personally have is doing the downward elbow strikes on such a small bag. The outward and inward elbow strikes don't seem to be a problem. ( at least to me..)

Good luck with it. When all else fails, slow down, keep proper form and eliminate wasted motion. (Trust me, this works )