In my opinion the best heavy bag for muay thai beginners would be the Thai Bag or Banana Bag.
If you are starting out muay thai and are training at home solo or for extra practice outside the gym, there are different options for a good heavy bag for muay thai beginners.
The heavy bag in muay thai is an essential part of regular training for all muay thai practitioners.
For a beginner I would say that the heavy bag can be your most important tool for continuing to improve your muay thai.
If you are a beginner and want to spend some time using the the heavy bag I assume you are considering getting a heavy bag so you can practice at your home gym.
So then what is the best type of heavy bag for muay thai beginners and for home training?
Of all the available types of bags I would highly recommend the Thai bag or also known as Banana bag.
This full length heavy bag is about 6 ft in length. The main reason I would recommend this bag specially if you are training solo at home a lot is that you can practice low kicks on it.
Still, there are other types of heavy bags (discussed below) that are used in training and these can also be beneficial to a beginner if you have access to them.
If you are training at a regular gym then you should be able to access these bags to vary your training.
Standard Heavy Bag
The standard heavy bag for boxing is probably the easiest and most accessible option for people who are training mostly solo at home. In fact this bag is the staple in most Thai boxing gyms.
The best quality bags can last a long time and take a heavy beating for hours a day.
The video below shows a bag workout using the Top King brand of muay thai equipment which is high quality and reliable.
If you are just training mostly through self study and are not willing yet to fork out some cash to buy a good quality bag, there are some options available to you also.
These will allow you to get good quality training.
i) The sandbag is something I started with a long time ago from home just after finishing high school. It was basically a sack filled with sand and hung up to the ceiling in my garage.
I would not recommend the sandbag when your just starting out as it can be hard on your limbs.
Definitely get some good muay thai gloves to use with the sandbag. It may not be the best but its one of the easiest to get started with.
ii) The other option for a standard type bag to use at home is the tyre bag.
It’s not uncommon to see this type of bag in gyms in Thailand especially the smaller gyms with less resources.
Thai Bag or Banana Bag
Overall I would highly recommend a Thai bag AKA Banana bag for the main reason being you can practice your full weapons and include the low kick.
This is not possible with a normal size heavy bag or teardrop bag.
For beginners often hip flexibility is an issue and while you spend time working on your mobility and flexibility you can develop a really effective low kick through practicing it repeatedly on the Thai bag, as the low kick if often easier to learn and execute.
I bought my Thai bag off Amazon and it came unfilled so if you are buying an unfilled bag just note that it takes A LOT of filling to fill up a 6 foot bag.
I used a lot of old clothes, rags, old carpet liner which is soft and some bits of rubber too.
Check out Sean Muay Thai Guy Fagan showing a workout on the Thai Bag in the video below.
Teardrop Bag
The teardrop bag is great for kneeling and elbows and your regular punches.
It can be used to train the Thai clinch and kneeing from the clinch or from range as demonstrated in the video below.
Generally teardrop bags such as the Fairtex brand bag in the video below are more expensive and not the best option for a beginner.
This type of bag will be come very useful after you become more experienced.
The rounded shape of the teardrop bag more closely mimics an opponent for kneeing from range and in the clinch.
Best bag for muay thai beginners
Whether a beginner or advanced, if you have access to a regular gym, the chances are your heavy bag needs are covered.
But, if you want to get in extra training from home or you are a beginner without access to a gym in your area, then I hope this post will help you make a decision on the type of bag to use for training at home.
In my opinion the best heavy bag for muay thai beginners would be the Thai Bag or Banana Bag.
For me it is the best purely for the reason that I train mostly at home and love low kicks.
Without a partner to drill low kicks with shin pads or a trainer to hold the ‘Thai suitcase’ or low kick shield, the longer Thai bag is the best option for training low kicks solo at home.
For a beginner who has the money to buy a Thai bag and the space to hang it it’s probably the best option if training mostly solo.
At the same time, if possible, you could also buy or make a standard size heavy bag to focus on middle kicks and knees too.
This will add some variation to your normal solo training and drilling and help to keep it fresh and fun.
If you are just starting out with little cash to spare then the sandbag or tyre bag will be good options for you.
In the end, it comes down to what is available to you and what you can afford when training at home.
Make the best of what you have if you cant afford it right now and just get started with your training.
