How can I be a silent (and compact) ninja?

July 3, 2007 5:31 PM

Having recently moved to a small flat with little outside space, my free-standing kick-boxing bag is of no use. Even if I had room to hurl myself at it, I'd annoy the neighbours. What sort of equipment can I use to practice Thai boxing and grappling at home?

I'm surrounded by neighbours on 5 of 6 sides, and the 5th wall has precious little space for mounted equipment because there are windows in the walls. Anything I get will either need to be relatively unobtrusive, or easily stowed away. So far I'm thinking of investing in:

1. Grapple dummy.
2. One of those flat, wall-mounted sandbags for punching.
3. Elastic-mounted speed-ball for speed punching.

Does anyone have any experience of purchasing or using these things? Are those wall-mounted sandbags really bad for joints?

One real problem is how can I practice kicks? I'd prefer something that can take a good solid impact.

Any other suggestions? I have plenty of other kit (skipping rope, gloves, weights, Thai pads etc) and I do get to train in a gym, but I'm specifically interested in training I can do by myself, in my own lounge. I can mount things on one wall, possibly, but I really need to insulate whatever I'm using so the sound won't travel. I think a grapple man on a thick wrestling mat might be the best I can hope for. Shame I can't punch it without the lights falling out of the ceiling in the flat below.

Any creative suggestions most welcome :-)

posted by ajp to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 answers total)

Join a gym, use your house for fine motor tuning and meditation.
posted by cior at 6:20 PM on July 3, 2007

Also -- does your apartment have an outdoors? Store your equipment, then drag it out into the courtyard to impress the neighbors. Summer is perfect for this sort of thing.
posted by cior at 6:21 PM on July 3, 2007

Do you have a younger brother?
posted by Nabubrush at 6:56 PM on July 3, 2007 [3 favorites]

The standing bag works pretty good for me. I filled the base with sand and it works well (vs. filling it with water) especially for kicks. Check out this link but you might want to look around for the best price.

http://www.karatedepot.com/wavemaster.html
posted by bkeene12 at 8:05 PM on July 3, 2007

Specifically, this one...

http://www.karatedepot.com/tr-bg-02.html
posted by bkeene12 at 8:52 PM on July 3, 2007

If you dont have a pad holder, then shadow boxing and conditioning/cardio work (burpees, jumping squats) are your best bet. A speedball is a great training tool - and one that wont annoy your neighbours.

I dont have much time for standalone bags - i seem to spend more time repositioning them than kicking them. Smacking the traditional swinging heavy bag on its return is good for timing too.

If you've got a pad holder then you're laughing. Work combinations and a 10 kick, clinch/20 knee, 20 punch, burpee circuit is a great conditioning tool. Do it in 4-5 minute rounds (always train as you'll fight).

It's possible to work MT alone, but you should really keep your training 'alive' as much as you can, and this requires a partner.
posted by the cuban at 3:07 AM on July 4, 2007

An uppercut wall pad may be a good investment. They're a common sight in Thai gyms and can be used for knees too.
posted by the cuban at 3:10 AM on July 4, 2007

Thanks for the comments. Regarding recommendations for kick bags, training partners, outdoors space, and joining a gym........ I did specifically mention all those things in the original post - and they're not what I'm looking for.

:-)

To recap: this is for indoors, solo training, in a confined space, with minimal noise, and is to complement my existing training (in a gym with plenty of equipment and other people).

The uppercut wall pad is a possibility, although we have one at my gym, and it's noisy. No matter how securely it's attached to the wall it bangs around, especially with hooks. Might give it a go though.
posted by ajp at 8:19 AM on July 4, 2007