What Is the Right Height for a Kick Bag?

Before you step into the ring against an opponent, spending countless hours working the heavy bag will help you hone your skills as a kickboxer. If you're setting up a kick bag to help you work out, the height is important, but not as important as in the case of a traditional boxing heavy bag, given that most kickboxing bags are long in length.

Length

It's common for kickboxing bags to be around 6 feet in length, which takes most of the guesswork out of hanging them. If you have an 8-foot ceiling and a 6-foot bag, it's logical to split the difference and hang the bag so that its top is a foot from the ceiling and its bottom is a foot from the floor. Long kickboxing bags are ideal because they provide you with a sizable target to practice your strikes.

Variations

If you don't have a 6-foot kickboxing bag, the position in which you'll hang it requires a little more planning. Hang the bag so that it simulates the height of an opponent. If you typically fight kickboxers who are around 6 feet tall, give or take a few inches, the bag should hang with its top at least 6 feet off the ground. Because low kicks aren't permitted in kickboxing, as they are in such sports as mixed martial arts, the bag doesn't need to be close to the floor.

Hanging

Many kick bags come equipped with a bracket, mounting chains and hardware, making the process of hanging them quick and easy. All you'll often need is a drill and a wrench. The key to hanging a kick bag successfully is attaching the bracket to a ceiling or wall stud if you use a wall-mount bracket. Kick bags can often weigh more than 100 pounds, making it necessary to use a stud.

Other

When you punch and kick a heavy bag, it can often jump around, making it difficult to line up your next shot. Although this movement somewhat mimics the movement of an opponent in the ring, many people anchor their bags to the ground with a bungee cord. A quick, easy alternative to sinking an anchor into the concrete of your garage is to place a heavy dumbbell beneath the bag and run a bungee cord from the weight's handle to the metal loop on the bottom of the bag.