Punching bag

A punching bag is a sturdy bag designed to be repeatedly punched. A punching bag is usually cylindrical, and filled with various materials of corresponding hardness.

History

Punching bags have been used in martial arts and swordplay for the entire written history of military training. Similar apparatus in Asian martial arts include the Okinawan makiwara and the Chinese mook jong, which may have padded striking surfaces attached to them.

In martial arts and combat sports — such as karate, taekwondo, and Muay Thai — "heavy" bags, standing bags, and similar apparatuses have been adapted for practicing kicking and other striking maneuvers in addition to developing punching technique.

Construction

Punching bags are often filled with grains, sand, rags, or other material, and are usually hung from the ceiling or affixed to a stand. Other bags have an internal bladder to allow them to be filled with air or water. The design of a punching bag allows it to take repeated and constant physical abuse without breaking. The bag must also absorb the impact of blows without causing harm to the user.

Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua, MBE (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer. He is the current Commonwealth, British and WBC International heavyweight champion. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the super heavyweight division at the 2012 Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships. Joshua is currently ranked #9 at heavyweight by The Ring magazine, and currently boasts a 100% knockout ratio.

Early life

Joshua was born in Watford to a Nigerian mother and a father of Nigerian and Irish descent. His cousin is fellow unbeaten professional boxer Ben Ileyemi. The pair made their professional debuts together in 2013.

Growing up on the Meriden Estate in Garston, Hertfordshire, Joshua was called 'Femi' by his friends and former teachers at Kings Langley Secondary School, due to his middle name 'Oluwafemi'. He excelled at football and athletics and broke the Year Nine 100m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.

Amateur career

Graham Norton

Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by the stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish television and radio presenter, comedian, and actor based in the United Kingdom. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show. Previously shown on BBC Two, it took the prestigious Friday night slot on BBC One from Jonathan Ross in 2010. He also presents on BBC Radio 2 and is the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest, which led Hot Press to describe him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan". Norton is known for his innuendo-laden dialogue and flamboyant presentation style. In 2012, he sold his production company, So Television, to ITV for around £17 million.

Early life and career

Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. His family are Protestant. His father's family were from County Wicklow, while his mother was from Belfast. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in West Cork, and then University College, Cork (U.C.C.), where he spent two years studying English and French in the 1980s but did not complete his studies. In June 2013 he received an honorary doctorate from University College Cork; he occasionally mentions this in order to win on-air arguments on his BBC Radio 2 show.

The Graham Norton Show

The Graham Norton Show is a British comedy chat show broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. It was shown on BBC Two from February 2007 to May 2009 and has been on BBC One since October 2009. Presented by Irish comedian Graham Norton, the show's format is very similar to his previous Channel 4 programmes, So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton, both of which were also produced by So Television.

Programming

BBC Two

The show mirrors So and V with strong adult humour along with Graham's monologue at the beginning of the show and often a musical guest to play out over the credits. Although the rude objects in "Graham's drawer" did not survive, the phone calls and hidden camera surprises have. These surprises are sometimes based around the guests, such as Sarah Beeny's dating website, a TARDIS on the South Bank when David Tennant appeared and a wine-tasting group drinking Gérard Depardieu's wine whilst he was on the show. Some of the surprises, such as the wine-tasting, have been arranged through ideas submitted by viewers, stating where they will be when the show is recorded.