I am a total boxing newbie and have bought a punching bag (not heavy) for the children and myself. It's really fun to hit it (with boxing gloves). I'm afraid I'm not doing it right, I don't know the technique or the sport at all. Can I do any damage to our health? What are the risks?
With a web search I could only find the dangers and risks of semi-professional athletes, not those of total amateurs. We don't have an opponent either, just the standing punching bag.
Yes, it is certainly possible. The odds go down with the lighter bags, but there are still possible injuries. The most likely are:
Most of these will be the result of hitting at bad angles, or with your joints in bad position. Almost every striking art that I know of (Boxing, karate, tkd, etc) one of the first things they teach is how to make a fist (Fingers in tight, thumbs wrapped over the fingers rather than inside the fingers), as we well as joint alignment and the direction the punch should go.
If you just strap on gloves and go to town, with that light a bag there is very little chance of injury. However, if you train with bad form and ever go hit a regular or heavy bag, your chances of hurting something go up. As an N=1 I have been certified martial arts instructor for the past 20 years.
