Century BOB XL with Base Unit (Body Bob or just BOB for short, although I’ve called mine a few not very nice names when I’ve used it… gotta get that aggression out!) is a very popular piece of kit amongst martial artists and self defence 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 getting disillusioned with that kind of training so I began to train in Combatives, which is a very no-nonsense form of self defence, made up mainly of simple power strikes. I would often practice pre-emptive striking on the hanging bags but found they were not very good, mainly because of the shape of them and the high risk of injuring the wrists and hands.
So I began to wonder if there was a more suitable piece of kit out there for practicing these techniques on. I did a bit of research and eventually stumbled across the Century BOB. As soon as I seen the pictures 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 Rating
I had found the perfect piece of equipment for practicing my striking techniques, and especially my pre-emptive strikes. Because the Body Bob has a real “purdy” face (not really, he actually looks like he’s having a shit) it gives you something to focus on and makes your experience of striking it that bit more realistic. It’s features are anatomically correct so I was able to target specific areas to the head and body, and do all this without wrecking my hands and wrists. It is also fairly portable, so I could set it up anywhere around my home.
The Century BOB gets a four star rating from me. Why not a five star? Well, despite being such a great product, like all products the punch bob has it’s draw-backs, as I’ll explain shortly. Next we’ll look at the positive aspects of this famous rubber man called BOB, but first, watch this video as this guy put BOB through his paces.
Century Bob Pros
1. His Anatomically Accurate Features
Like I mentioned, unlike other punching bags, the body bob is shaped like a real human being, being it has a featured face and torso, and this is good for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it helps with target accuracy. Unlike hitting a standard punch bag where you are just targeting a featureless spot on the bag, with the BOB you can target specific parts of the face and torso. You can palm strike under the nose or chin for instance, or jab to the eyes. With punching techniques you can also target the jaw, which is where you would target on a real opponent. Repeated practice with this kind of accuracy can really help when you come to do these strikes for real (and having been a bouncer for many years, I can testify to this fact).
It’s also difficult to properly practice open hand strikes like palm strikes on a hanging bag because you are essentially 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 how the strike would feel. With the body bob, your fingers naturally curve over the head, as they would do on a real opponent. And because the fingers don’t get pushed back like they do on a standard bag, your wrists and digits 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 a wall obstructing you on one side, which makes it difficult to get 360 degree movement. With the BOB you will have no such problems, as you can move freely around it. This also makes it easy to practice chokes and holds from the rear as well.
The features of the punch BOB’s face will also make it easier for you to get into that combative mindset. When you stand in front of the BOB it is easy to imagine that you are facing a real person, unlike with a featureless hanging bag. This also works out great for situational control (practicing the fence technique) and even verbal de-escalation, since you have a person-like object to focus your words on.
Lastly, if you are an instructor like me, the punch bob is great for teaching students exactly where on a person they should be striking and how to do it, which is difficult to explain with a featureless hanging bag.
2. Ability To Add Garments For Added Realism
Yes, BOB is also Barbie Bob, as you can if you wish, dress the big fella up in whatever clothes you feel like. You can put a T-shirt on him, hats, glasses, whatever. Aside from the opportunity to amuse yourself with ridiculous dress-ups, there is also a serious side to this, because it only adds to the realism, making it even easier to imagine that you are facing a real opponent.
3. Adjustability
You can make the Century BOB taller or shorter according to your needs, which is good if you want to practice against different sized opponents. If you’re into kicking this is a good way to practice your high kicks (or head kicking the more vertically challenged amongst us… not that you would do that, of course).
4. Portable Versatility
The Century BOB is quite easy to move around, unlike most heavy bags that are chained or secured to ceilings. BOB sits atop that wobbly base, so you simply twist him off and roll your base to the new location before setting BOB back on again. I have a couple of different bases around my gym and home, so rather than have the hassle of moving the base all the time I just disconnect the lighter BOB instead. Very handy indeed.
5. Long Lasting And Easily Cleaned
The body bob is made of high strength plastinol, which means it is very tough 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 repeated abuse. It is also very easy to clean. Just wipe with a damp cloth.
Century BOB Cons
1. The Dodgy Base
As I said, the Century BOB is mounted on a plastic base that you will have to fill up in order to keep BOB grounded. You are supposed to fill it with water, but I find if you fill it with water then it isn’t very well grounded and it can move around a lot. If you batter it hard enough and for long enough it can fall over, which may do great things for your ego, but it’s a pain in the ass having to pick the thing up again. If you are going to keep your punch bob in one place, then I suggest you fill it with sand instead, or even small pebbles. This will add more weight to the base and it will be much more secure.
2. Legless
The body bob has no legs, which means practice of low kicks are out. Yes, you could simulate the kicks, but if you make contact with the plastic base you’ll probably hurt your leg and also damage the base, which will make it difficult to disconnect BOB if you need too.
3. Marks Easy
BOB is obviously made of rubber, so anything that can mark rubber will mark him as well. Kicking him with shoes on will do that, as will having rings on your fingers or hitting him with weapons like sticks or nunchucks. The odd battle scar on BOB doesn’t bother me at all. He is there to be abused after all, and the damage is merely cosmetic and doesn’t affect the functionality at all. If you are OCD about that kind of thing though, then be careful how you hit him.
4. Big Softy
Despite his hard man image, BOB is really a big softy, in that the rubber he is made out of is very pliable. It doesn’t have the same firmness that a heavy bag would. His face crumples when you hit him. This is good for protecting your hands, but bad if you want solid impact. The torso is a bit more firm, so you can go town a bit more down there. The punch bob has enough features to make up for this lack of firmness though and it really isn’t that big of a drawback.
Final Analysis
As mentioned earlier, I have chosen to give the Century BOB a four star rating. I think it is an excellent training tool and it’s great for practicing your strikes on. It has a few drawbacks yes, but these are minor compared to the benefits you will get from having one of these in your tool kit.
The punch bob certainly will not replace the heavy bag, and nor was it ever meant too. It is what it is however-and that’s the best striking dummy on the market.
If you’re a martial artist, MMA fighter or self defence practitioner, then I highly recommend that you invest in one of these as it will add to the quality of your training without a doubt.
