What should I fill a striking dummy with?

Question

I made an empty striking dummy for my martial artist girlfriend by taking a very heavy-duty canvas material, cutting it into the shape of a man and sewing the pieces together. Now all I have to do is fill it up. I know she'll love it, but I have no idea what to fill it up with. It has to be sturdy enough to take her strikes, but light enough for her to carry from place to place. She weighs about 110 lbs. What material should I use?

Answer 1

fill with water or sand

Answer 2

Get large zip lock bags, fill them with sand, and use duct tape to make individual cells that you can feel the canvas up without all the weight sinking to the bottom.  That's probably the cheapest and most durable way I can think of.

Answer 3

Beach sand.

Answer 4

I don't guarantee it would work wonderfully, but take bamboo to create an internal skeleton (none at the joints), wrap it tightly with those "bamboo" beach mats (the woven kind with the small fabric border). I'd weight the feet and probably the hip-area with sand (just to stabilize it with weight). Should be able to get away with about 20 - 40 lbs...

That way, each limb and the core striking areas have density, can absorb strikes, and simulate a more realistic feel.

Another option (and I've used this for halloween decorations, not striking dummies) is that spray insulation stuff you get at home depot. With some sort of inner frame and some weight for stability, it'd probably give you some pretty good density at a light weight. Might need to remake it once in a while for health reasons. Check the can. Not sure how toxic that stuff is.

Answer 5

just take a bunch of foam and reinforce it with sticks or tubes inside the dummy, so when she strikes it, it wil be sturdy due to the support of the tubes, and at the same time, the foam will provide with a nice shell that's good for striking