Homemade Training Equipment

[fuga]

I wanted to share some of the homemade training equipment that I've used and see what other folks are using to steal some ideas.

I've made a mace for swinging, similar to what Steve Maxwell did here.
http://maxwellsc.blogspot.com/2008/10/gitchy-gitchy-gada-ya-ya.html



Recently, I used this video as inspiration to make a bulgarian bag (though mine is even more low tech being a gi pants leg filled with sand and duct taped on either end.



Also, another Steve Maxwell inspiration, the push up board



Also, have played around with a pendulum for my weapons work.



What homemade training equipment do you use?

-pete

[ashe]

i like the bulgarian bag clip. that dude is yoked!

[bailewen]

Iron Palm bag. I actually don't use it much anymore because I now live on the second floor and when I whack it the whole apartment vibrates. Thinking about bringing it back into training though. There's a window sill where it doesn't seem to shake the house much.

1. Get a tire innertube
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174743&p=1

2. Cut out a section
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174749&p=1

3. Fold up on end tightly sealing it with rubber cement.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174779&p=1

4. Get a bunch of steel shot
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174822&p=1

5. Pour the shot into the bag
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174773&p=1

5. The bag can be hard to seal well so leave plenty of extra to fold over
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174761&p=1

6. Seal well with rubber cement taking care to get as much air out of the back as possible. This photo is of what will be the bottom of the bag, not the striking area.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174785&p=1

7. The top should be nice and smooth.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174791&p=1

8. Wrap it in canvas.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174797&p=1

9. My end product ended up being about 2 3/4 inches thick and about 10 inches square.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174809&p=1
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174803&p=1

[grzegorz]

I made a Bulgarian a few months ago. It's a solid workout. When I first starting doing these I was sweating like a pig.

I do these two alot. This first one has really helped me get out from underneath people and turn to my side more in jiu-jitsu.



This second one develops a killer grip. The cool thing about the homemade version is you can pull down the bag with both hands on one shoulder just like you're doing a shoulder throw and yanking down someone's arm. When you reach the bottom you really got to squeeze hard so it doesn't pop out of your hand since the sand really builds up momentum.

I wonder what they put in the real ones. Anyone know?

[johnwang]

There are so many TCMA training equipments that had been tested and proved to be effective to enhance your CMA ability in the past thousands years. I see no reason to invent new one. Try to think about what combat skill that you want to use your equipment to enhance instead of what muscle that equipment can help you to get strong.

You can bench press all your life, it will not help your "hip throw".

[fuga]

John,

What is some of your favorite TCMA training equipment? I remember seeing something similar to the mace in my post that you use for leg throws. What do you use to help with your hip throws.

Omar,

Thanks for sharing that plan for making the Iron Palm bag.

Greg,

That Bulgarian bag is deceptively difficult. Gets the heart pumping and the grip burning. I tried to do a 5 minute circuit of swings and over the shoulder throws. I gassed real quick, but at least I have a goal now with it.

-pete

[Areios]

nice stuffs there the buldarian bag is in my minde for now on.

[dragontigerpalm]

Iron Palm bag. I actually don't use it much anymore because I now live on the second floor and when I whack it the whole apartment vibrates. Thinking about bringing it back into training though. There's a window sill where it doesn't seem to shake the house much.

1. Get a tire innertube
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174743&p=1

2. Cut out a section
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174749&p=1

3. Fold up on end tightly sealing it with rubber cement.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174779&p=1

4. Get a bunch of steel shot
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174822&p=1

5. Pour the shot into the bag
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174773&p=1

5. The bag can be hard to seal well so leave plenty of extra to fold over
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174761&p=1

6. Seal well with rubber cement taking care to get as much air out of the back as possible. This photo is of what will be the bottom of the bag, not the striking area.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174785&p=1

7. The top should be nice and smooth.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174791&p=1

8. Wrap it in canvas.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174797&p=1

9. My end product ended up being about 2 3/4 inches thick and about 10 inches square.
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174809&p=1
http://photo.163.com/photo/bailewen/#m= ... 174803&p=1

I'm not sure that I understand the value/purpose of the inner tube. To lessen the house shaking I place my bag on top of a heavy bag which I have standing in a corner. The heavy bag absorbs not all but much of the impact.

[bailewen]

The inner tube is from direct instruction from Shifu. Straight iron shot from a TCM perspective (his anyways) is dangerous. I have to say that the innertube also gives it a very different consistency from just loose shot. It keeps the bag tight and thick. The palm slap make more of a dull thud that way. It also keeps the striking surface smooth and the bag does not tend to deform. I have no idea how I could get the bag that solid without it. I would need WAY more shot and well, I just don't think I could do it. I have another bag that is just a canvas bag filled with mung beans. Completely useless for iron palm. Not so bad for grip training.

Anyways, regardless of how I try to describe the effect, it's just a different striking surface and shifu says it's safer for the hand. He's always being careful about long term injury. Like if he hits me hard enough to take the wind out he always forces me to stop and do some special qi-gong things to remove the "evil qi" from the strike. He says you feel fine now and think you can walk it off but if your not careful, over the long term those things turn into either internal damage or sickness.

[dragontigerpalm]

Interesting. Maybe I'll try to retrofit one of my old bags and try it out.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

anything that does compound moveent is good for strength development.

things like the bag add to the compound movement by adding variable vectors instead of just using straight lines.

to be fair, stone locks, bean bags of varying sizes, pinch stones, jars/buckets and heavy bag throw work cover more than just strength and they are all very old methods.

I do like that bulgarian bag though and I am thinking about ways of getting the weight up in it.

Can you imagine working yourself up to tossing 200lbs+ around you like that?

I mean, not the lin kong jin shit...

[johnwang]

What is some of your favorite TCMA training equipment? I remember seeing something similar to the mace in my post that you use for leg throws. What do you use to help with your hip throws.

The equipment training that I do daily are:

- double heads weight bar
- single head weight bar
- water container holding
- Gon twisting
- pole kicking
- pole biting
- belt cracking
- bricks twisting
- weight pulley
- rubberband pulling
- stone lock (kelly bell)
- square bag throwing
- long bag throwing
- round bag throwing
- pole hanging
- tree sticky
- throwing dummy
- ...

The one that I used to train hip throw are the weight pulley, rubberband pulling, and single head weight bar. It's not easy to use my plastic throwing dummy to train hip throw. You may be able to use the leather throwing dummy to train hip throw but a leather throwing dummy will cost more than $500.

Can you imagine working yourself up to tossing 200lbs+ around you like that?

When you can pull a railroad wagon or life an ancient cannon, you will know that you are no longer a shrimp any more.

[wiesiek]

This bulgarian bag was unknown aparatus for me untill today
from vid. it looks that such workout cover
KBs and havy medicine ball training in one shot
so
it can be worth to investigate it a little bit.
however
i`m with Ockman/JW
- don`t multiply beens over nessesity
btw.:
John,
would be so kind and point out which traditional CMA aparatus/training will cover the same parts of our bodys?

[wiesiek]

PS
In polisch higlanders tradition
they use lambs instead bags

[Ian]

IMO the bulgarian bag is one of the dorkiest things to come out of this 'functional fitness' craze.