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[BigAl]

Since some of you have asked about how to make one, I decided to create a thread explaining how I made mine and accompany it with some photos.

This is an easy to make striking target (probably costs no more than $5-10) that is ideal for karateka as when working your punches and hand strikes on the pad it simultaneously conditions your hands. You may not think a phone book is much of a striking target, but if you recall that paper is made out of wood, you can see that there's a potential for hand conditioning with this. I've only used this type of target for a few sessions now, but I love it and have a blast pounding away on the book with oi tsuki, gyaku tsuki, and shita tsuki. I'm sure it would work well for other hand strikes as well.

Now, how to make one. This will be continued over a couple of posts so I can fit in all the pictures.

(1) First off, the materials. Fortunately this is nothing that is going to break your bank. All you need is (a) a good sized phone book with some thickness to it, (b) a roll of duct tape, and (c) an old belt.



(2) Lie the phone book flat on a solid surface and wrap the belt around the phone book (don't add any tape yet) so you get one solid loop on top. Make sure the loop on top is big enough to go around your head. Length is up to you, I made mine a bit longer so other people could use it so I centered the phone book right on my solar plexus.



(3) Using four pieces of tape (one on each side), tape the first layer of the belt down to the phone book. Try to make sure the belt is nice and flat on each side and that you're keeping the phone book mostly square.

[BigAl]

(4) Repeat step 3 with the next layer of the belt, using this time to adjust the neck loop to the desired length you want it to be.



(5) Finally, wrap a single layer of duct tape to cover the entire book lengthwise, then repeat the same for the width. This way you should have no belt showing except a bit on the corners on the bottom and the neck loop.



(6) To use the phone book, simply place it over your neck and you can hold the sides with your hands for added support. It's now ready for training.

[Hangtime]

Hmmm. Very interesting BigAl. Thanks for sharing.

Can you elaborate on some of the drills you did with this pad?

OSU!

[BigAl]

Sure thing Hangtime. We mainly just use it like a focus mitt, with your partner holding it tight to their torso as you work punches on it. You're working your body punches for kumite as you hit it while simultaneously your fists are getting conditioned as it's a pretty solid target. There's some give to it and you can see it when you hit it right and it bends in the middle, but it's still pretty tough. Your partner holding it also gets some conditioning as when you're hitting with solid shots some of the power still goes through so if you don't stay tight and exhale with each blow, you can take a bit of a beating.

[Hangtime]

Thank you BigAl.

Reason I asked is for the person that finds this in the future. Excellent resource!

OSU!

[ashiharakaicho]

Osu,

In my teens, I used a phonebook - the yellow pages was normally thicker. What I did was to open it in the middle - take some duct tape and stick it (wrap it around the middle and the spine) and then take a piece of string and tie it in the middle and then hang. In our house then, the light switch was the old fashioned ones - sort of a round knob protruding - I would the hang the string around it. That was for low work - to get it chest height, a made a hole in the ceiling and hung it from the rafters.

That was basically for punching work and the low ones for chusoku.

Eventually the string would tear the spine. In the early years of our dojo, we would tie two books together and use it as striking pads for kicks or punches.

Got some pictures of that old phone book makiwara in the roof somewhere. Must take them out someday!

[sandman]

Thanks for posting this BigAl - repped! And to think I was about to throw out the phone book we got in the mail the other day!

[BigAl]

Hahaha! Mine actually came just the other day and I got excited as I instantly knew I could make one of these babies.

[Dent]

Osu!

Good sharing, BigAl! Repped for the thread!

Osu!

[Spirit]

We did the same thing only added a string (taped) along the bottom so one could tie it around their body...
so basically 1 (belt) around the neck to hang
1 (string) around the body, to keep book from moving (so much) side to side

Either way as Al said cheap and very effective, reps to you

[Olrac]

Without the attached belt, we have exactly the same in our dojo.
We just put it on the dojofloor and hit it with seiken gedan tsuki.

(we've made miracles with phonebooks and ductape )

[Deaken]

OSU, Shihan always used these in his dojo and I have done the same. Only difference is that I don't use anything incorporated to hang it and I wrap the book in box tape as I find its smoother so cuts the knuckles less. We typically use these individually or in partner drills as makiwari. When partnered, you can hold the book over your abs or thigh and let your partner strike it. It conditions both partners.

[nzproud]

Thats really cool bigAl. I love the idea of recycling for training.

[ashiharakaicho]

Osu,

Because of having striking pads, we don't really make use of phonebooks anymore, but before the pads, we used it a lot. You can actually take two phone books and put some foam in-between and then wrap a belt around it and it works well for a makeshift portable pad.

My original idea of using a phone book came from Stuart Booth - at that time the Seiwakai Goju Ryu representative and later Kenwakai. He had a picture of it in his book in 1977 and I think I started using it from around 1978.

See below for an example.

[FredInChina]

I tried with www.yellowpages.com & look what happened!?




Osu!

[ashiharakaicho]

Originally Posted by FredInChina

I tried with www.yellowpages.com & look what happened!? Osu!

Oh no, you didn't follow the instructions correctly - you forgot the fine print ...

[sandman]

Ha ha! Nice one Fred Too bad I've already given you too many reps lately

[Andre]

Cool idea with the phonebook. thanks
now i'm gonna build my own one,
but first I have to mark all the stupid people in my book.
it would be much more fun to hit.

[ashiharakaicho]

Originally Posted by Andre

Cool idea with the phonebook. thanks now i'm gonna build my own one, but first I have to mark all the stupid people in my book.
it would be much more fun to hit.

That's why we have so many "brilliant" guys around ... Hey, that is another brilliant idea - but most of the "stupid people" can be found on Google and then you gonna have a "Smashed in China" screen!

[Rod1TDi]

I know what im doing later.

Thanks for the tip