How to Kick a Punching Bag

When you feel the urge to relieve some stress, kicking a punching bag is perfect for taking out your frustrations — while getting in a solid workout.

"Striking targets your entire body, as opposed to isolating a single muscle, like traditional weight training does," says Chris Gerhardt, master trainer and acting general manager at TITLE Boxing Club in Wichita, Kansas. "It's like doing a one-rep max [the heaviest weight you can lift] with every rep."

There's just one snag: If you want to reap the benefits of kickboxing — and win any fights — you have to learn how to land your kickboxing kicks powerfully and effectively.

Whether you're a kickboxing beginner or a seasoned boxer, read on to learn how to kick a punching bag, as well as common mistakes to avoid.

The front kick (also called a teep kick in Muay Thai) is the most basic of the three and appears in kickboxing for beginner's classes. It's a long-range style that involves striking and pushing the punching bag with the ball of your foot, Gerhardt says.

The front kick also tends to be the safest kickboxing kick. Just remember not to kick the bag with your toes.

"That's the only way you can really hurt yourself, and you would know it right away because it doesn't feel right," Gerhardt says.

If you're a fan of martial arts flicks, you may recognize the roundhouse kick. If not, imagine this: A fighter twists their hips to one side, raises their front knee and extends their leg to strike their opponent with the top of their foot.

The roundhouse is one of the most common kickboxing kicks, but it's also the one that tends to create the most problems, Gerhardt says.

For example, if you watch other forms of martial arts, like Karate or Taekwondo, you might notice fighters use the tops of their feet to strike the target (i.e., their opponent). Do this with a heavy bag, however, and it's a recipe for injury.

"The top of your foot has a bunch of very small bones," Gerhardt says. "It's not smart to hit a 100-pound bag with full force at that contact point." Instead, strike the bag with the top of your shinbone at the center of your leg.

The roundhouse also tends to create problems for knees, "because you can potentially rotate your knee in, and that would not be good," Gerhardt says. (We'll get into this shortly.)

Gerhardt calls the knee strike the upper-cut of the kicking world, as it's the strongest, most powerful kick you can generate. Simply use the top of your knee to drive right into the middle of your bag — or an attacker.

"If someone were to grab a hold of you and their hands are already physically on your body, a knee strike is a really good reaction to that," Gerhardt says.

While your knee acts as a point of contact, rest assured this kick doesn't typically cause knee pain. So long as you don't feel any pain or sensitivity when you touch or push on your knee, you shouldn't have any problems with a knee strike, Gerhardt says.

The only issue you may have is a good old-fashioned friction rash on your knee. According to Gerhardt, this can happen if your knee slides up the bag after making contact. But thankfully, it's an easy fix.

"You need to learn how to poke the bag, where the knee goes straight in and then straight out so that sliding and friction doesn't take place," he says.

‌Want to practice your kickboxing kicks? This 15-minute kickboxing workout for beginners will help you build your skills — and body.‌