Do You Hit Things?
As karate is primarily a striking art, it is important to hit things like a punch bag, focus pad, kick shield and makiwara, training. One objective of a new and experienced karateka, is to encourage them to hit fast and hard.

Not only is this an essential part of a striking art, such as karate, it's also good fun!

A striking bag can be used to practice ground striking. It can be punched, kicked, kneed and elbowed. Used correctly it can improve the power of your striking and gives a great cardio workout as well, but if used improperly it can cause injuries. Make sure you use proper fists that are tight so you don't hurt your hands.

Avoiding bad practice
Often when people train on a bag their proper technique goes out the window. Feet come off the ground, the body is badly aligned, they wind up their strikes like a baseball pitcher. Don't exaggerate your movements and keep your techniques correct. Apart from the risk of injuries, your practising of these bad techniques will result in incorrect 'muscle memory' and so when you use your techniques against a real opponent, you will leave yourself open to counter attack.

Telegraphing of your techniques
Telegraphing means you make obvious preparations to throw a technique, cocking your fist back before throwing a punch is a good example. As the bag doesn't fight back people often forget the importance of being able to strike your opponent without signalling your intention to do so.