Punching Bag

Tis the season for many things: friends, family, etc. For some people, this can be a very stressful time of the year where they may have a little extra steam to blow-off. This steam may cause someone to want to beat something…One of my pastimes is martial arts; it's a great way to get some exercise and learn something. The one problem is that it's hard to really practice kicks and punches at home without something to kick or punch. Shadow boxing, so to speak, doesn't quite do it as you end up inadvertently teaching yourself to hold back your blows.

I didn't realize how expensive punching bags were until I went to the store to check them out. Since punching bags are quite expensive, I wondered how hard it would be to make one, and so I did. I went to a fabric store and picked out some heavy duty, black, leathery material. I bought a yard of this material and some heavy-duty straps.

To fill my punching bag, I went to the hardware store and got a bag of tube sand and some carpet padding. First, I sewed up the punching bag by making a cylinder with a round bottom; I then sewed the straps onto the bag to hold it up. After that, I added some hardware to bring the straps to a hook. I then took the carpet padding, wrapped it around the tube of sand, and slid this into the bag. Once I hung this on my ceiling, I gave my project a good beating. I have had this for a few years now and it has worked for me as good any punching bag should.

So if this time of year starts to stress you out, take it out on something that isn't going to get you into trouble or give you a hangover.

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