Perfect your uppercuts by learning how to hit the aqua bag!
The aqua bag is filled with water, so it absorbs your punches, allowing you to hit harder and longer with less strain on your body.
It’s almost like throwing hooks and uppercuts on a real opponent, as the human body is mostly water.
Keep reading for our guide on how to the aqua bag.
How To Hit The Aqua Bag
To hit the aqua bag:
- Throw Balanced Punches
- Focus On Good Breathing
- Practice Your Uppercuts
- Roll Under The Bag
- Get Physical With The Bag
Throw Balanced Punches
First, throw balanced punches with good technique when hitting the aqua bag.
- When you throw a jab, snap it. Throw double or triple jabs, while changing their power and rhythm.
- When you throw a cross, sit on the punch and use the rotation of your hips for power.
- When you throw a hook, use the rotation of your hips for power.
Focus on the flow of your punches, rather than power.
If you put all of your power into one punch and miss, you will be off balance and lose control of the aqua bag.
Practice good technique and balance first; power can come later.
Focus On Good Breathing
Next, focus on good breathing when hitting the aqua bag.
Many beginners think that they will get more power by clenching their body and holding their breath. If you hold your breath, you won’t last two rounds while sparring.
Instead, breathe out with every punch.
This will make your punches sharper and force you to breathe in, increasing your endurance and making you feel more relaxed.
Practice Your Uppercuts
Next, practice your uppercuts on the aqua bag.
Because beginners usually focus on the heavy bag, we’ve found that they tend to focus on their hooks, but not their uppercuts.
The height of the aqua bag allows you to get a good impact with your uppercut, unlike the heavy bag where your uppercuts hit at an angle.
Roll Under The Bag
Next, roll under the aqua bag.
After throwing your combination, you can practice your roll once you see the bag coming towards you.
The height of aqua bag allows you to roll under the bag, unlike the heavy bag where you are forced to step around to get to the other side.
Get Physical With The Bag
Lastly, get physical with the aqua bag.
Sometimes you throw jabs and crosses from a distance, while other times you have to fight close distance.
Put your arms in a high guard, push back the aqua bag, and try these:
- Release and with each step back, throw an uppercut to the body.
- Release and throw a check hook to either side as you step out of the way.
- Shift the aqua bag from shoulder to shoulder as you roll under its weight.
Benefits Of Using The Aqua Bag
Some of the benefits of using the aqua bag include:
- The Aqua Bag Improves Your Uppercut
- The Aqua Bag Teaches You To Fight On The Inside
- The Aqua Bag Improves Your Rolls
The Aqua Bag Improves Your Uppercut And Body Shots
First, the aqua bag improves your uppercut and body shots.
It gives you the perfect opportunity to train your power shots, since the heavy bag’s weight will keep it in place.
Unlike the heavy bag, the aqua bag absorbs your shots and stays in place whenever you land a power shot.
This makes the aqua bag great to practice power-shot combinations.
The Aqua Bag Teaches You To Fight On The Inside
Next, the aqua bag teaches you to fight on the inside.
You can practice:
- Clinching
- Rolling the bag from shoulder to shoulder
- Using your forearms to push the bag back
We’ve seen that many beginners are afraid to grab their opponents, even though it’s an essential technique.
Using the aqua bag will help you get used to fighting in this range.
The Aqua Bag Improves Your Rolls
Lastly, the aqua bag improves your rolls.
You can’t roll under the heavy bag after throwing a combination; you can only slip, pivot around, or disengage range.
On the other hand, the shape of the aqua bag allows you to practice your rolls once it swings back to you after throwing a combination.
Conclusion
Now that you know the basics, add the aqua bag to your training routine!
Combine it with the other bags: the double-end bag to increase your accuracy and reflexes, and the speed bag to improve your timing and rhythm.
If you want to take your uppercut to the next level, train on the wall bag!
Watch the video below to see how Canelo Alvarez trains his hooks and uppercuts.
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