Century BOB XL with base unit (Body Bob or just BOB for short, although I’ve called mine some not very nice names when I’ve used it… gotta get that aggressiveness out!) is a very popular piece of equipment. among martial artists and self-defense enthusiasts. And for good reason. Let me tell you how I came to have one.
Several years ago, after 25 years of traditional martial arts training (I’m a Jujitsu black belt), I found myself becoming disillusioned with that type of training, so I started training in Combatives, which is a very sensible form of self-defense. , composed mainly of simple power shots. I often practiced preemptive swings on the hanging bags, but found they weren’t very good, mainly due to their shape and the high risk of injuring my wrists and hands.
So I began to wonder if there was a more suitable equipment to practice these techniques. I did some research and finally came across Century BOB. As soon as I saw the photos I knew I had to have one. It was exactly what I was looking for. That same day I ordered one and haven’t looked back since.
my ranking
I had found the perfect piece of equipment to practice my striking techniques, and especially my pre-emptive strikes. Because the Body Bob has a really “purdy” face (not really, it actually looks like he’s shitting) it gives you something to focus on and makes your hitting experience a bit more realistic. His features are anatomically correct, so I was able to target specific areas of the head and body, and do all of this without breaking my hands and wrists. It’s also quite portable, so I could set it up anywhere in my house.
The Century BOB gets a 4 star rating from me. Why not a five star? Well, despite being a great product, like all products, the punch bob does have its drawbacks, as I’ll explain shortly. Next, we’ll look at the positives of this famous rubber man named BOB, but first, watch this video as this guy puts BOB to the test.
Century Bob Professionals
1. Its Anatomically Accurate Features
As I mentioned, unlike other punching bags, the body bob is shaped like a real human being, as it has a prominent face and torso, and this is good for several reasons.
First of all, it helps with aiming accuracy. Unlike hitting a standard punching bag where you just aim for a featureless spot on the bag, with the BOB you can target specific parts of the face and torso. You can palm your hand under the nose or chin, for example, or poke the eyes. With punch techniques you can also target the jaw, which is where you would target a real opponent. Repeated practice with this kind of precision can really help when you get down to hitting these shots for real (and having been a goalkeeper for many years, I can attest to this fact).
It’s also difficult to properly practice open hand strikes like palm strikes on a hanging bag because you’re basically hitting a flat surface. The human head is not flat, so when you hit a standard punching bag you don’t get an accurate representation of what the hit would feel like. With the movement of the body, your fingers naturally curve over the head, as they would with a real opponent. And because the fingers don’t push back like they do on a standard bag, your wrists and fingers are much less prone to strain and injury.
You can also vary your angles of attack with the body bob. With most hanging bags, you tend to have an obstructing wall on one side, making 360-degree movement difficult. With the BOB you will not have these problems, since you will be able to move freely through it. This also makes it easier to practice chokes and holds from behind.
The face features of the BOB punch will also make it easier for you to get into that combative mindset. When you stand in front of the BOB, it’s easy to imagine that you’re facing a real person, as opposed to a featureless hanging bag. This also works great for situational control (practicing the fence technique) and even verbal de-escalation, as you have a person-like object to focus your words on.
Lastly, if you’re an instructor like me, the punch bob is great for teaching students exactly where to hit a person and how to do it, which is hard to explain with a featureless hanging bag.
2. Possibility of adding garments for greater realism
Yes, BOB is also Barbie Bob, since you can, if you wish, dress the big guy in whatever clothes you want. You can put a t-shirt on it, hats, glasses, whatever. In addition to the opportunity to have fun in ridiculous costumes, there is also a serious side to this, because it only adds to the realism, making it even easier to imagine facing a real opponent.
3. Adjustability
You can make the Century BOB higher or lower depending on your needs, which is good if you want to practice against opponents of different sizes. If you like kicks, this is a good way to practice your high kicks (or head kicks, the more vertically challenged among us… not that you do, of course).
4. Portable versatility
The Century BOB is fairly easy to move around, unlike most heavy bags that are chained or secured to the ceiling. BOB sits on top of that wobbly base, so you just flip it over and roll your base to the new location before putting BOB back on. I have a couple of different bases around my gym and home, so instead of having the hassle of moving the base all the time, I just unplug the BOB igniter. Very useful indeed.
5. Long lasting and easy cleaning.
The body bob is made from heavy duty plastinol which means it is very strong and durable and can withstand years of brutal punishment from you unlike some heavy bags I have owned in the past which tend to rip after of repeated abuse. It is also very easy to clean. Simply wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Cons of Century BOB
1. The doubtful base
Like I said, the Century BOB is mounted on a plastic base that you’ll need to fill to keep the BOB grounded. You’re supposed to fill it with water, but I think if you fill it with water then it’s not very well grounded and can move around a lot. If you hit it hard enough and long enough, it can fall off, which can do great things for your ego, but it’s a bummer having to pick it up again. If you are going to keep your punch bob in one place, I suggest filling it with sand or even small pebbles. This will add more weight to the base and make it much more secure.
2. No legs
The body bob has no legs, which means low kick practice is out. Yes, you could simulate the kicks, but if you make contact with the plastic base you will probably hurt your leg and also damage the base, which will make it difficult to disconnect BOB if you need it too.
3. Easy mark
BOB is obviously made of rubber, so anything that can mark rubber will also mark him. Kicking him with shoes will do that, as will having rings on his fingers or hitting him with weapons like clubs or nunchucks. The weird battle scar on BOB doesn’t bother me at all. He is there to be abused after all, and the damage is purely cosmetic and does not affect functionality at all. However, if you have OCD from that sort of thing, be careful how you hit it.
4. Big squishy
Despite his tough-guy image, BOB is actually a great soft, as the rubber he’s made of is very flexible. It doesn’t have the same firmness that a heavy bag would have. His face wrinkles when you hit him. This is good for protecting your hands, but bad if you want a solid impact. His torso is a bit firmer, so you can go to town a bit more down there. However, the punch bob has enough features to make up for this lack of firmness and it really isn’t that big of a drawback.
final analysis
As mentioned above, I chose to give the Century BOB a four star rating. I think it’s an excellent training tool and great for practicing your shots. It does have some drawbacks, yes, but these are minor compared to the benefits you’ll get from having one of these in your toolkit.
The punch bob certainly won’t replace the heavy bag, and it wasn’t intended to either. However, it is what it is, and that is the best flashy mannequin on the market.
If you are a martial artist, MMA fighter, or self-defense practitioner, I highly recommend investing in one of these as it will certainly increase the quality of your training.
