GSI Performance L3 Grapple Bag

The Grapple Bag is part of The GSI Performance Technical Training Range and can be used in isolation or as part of the full system of products. This piece of equipment has been specifically designed to isolate accurate body height and the immediate tackle follow-up technique of body shape, strong stance and balance in and out of the tackle action, isolating specific wrap and arm movements within the action. As a player, using this piece of equipment helps  train accurate body height, arm wrap and grip, reaction speed & balance. The bag can be used to develop a single, or double, player contact depending on what defensive tackle techniques are being trained.

The Senior Grapple Bag is made up within a formation of five cylinders. The frontal cylinder is 30.5cm/12inch width and the supporting cylinders are 20.3cm/8inch widths, they are all attached to the central cylinder which is the centre point of the training aid. The grapple bag comes in the three tackle levels at Senior level.

• 140cm (h). Weight 35kg
• Coaches should require varied approaches regarding angles and speed from players. Do not always give the player a straight approach to the bag (i.e. hit ground and up, hit ground and roll then back to feet, get the player to evade the coach then make the hit… never make it easy!) The key coaching point on The Grapple bag is that we want the player to hit square (“Square is Strong”). The front cylinder is a different colour to the rest of the cylinder and it’s a different width, this is the target we want players to make initial contact with.
• Coaches can work on a straight hit or fatigue the player first then carry out the tackle so that the hit puts the player’s skills under pressure.
• Players should keep eyes on the target all the way through the initial hit, strong arm clamp and initial shoulder contact, grip work then lock in. On making the connection with the Grapple bag the player will have to work hard to gather all the back cylinders together or it won’t be a successful connection.
• As a coach, look for speed of movement of the player using their “acceleration feet” after the tackle, look to keep hips low and square and finish the tackle off – don’t slip off!!
• Make sure the player connects with same foot same shoulder with feet the correct width apart to bring about outstanding stability and balance in controlling their own body weight throughout entry into and out of the tackle.
• Coaches can call different commands relating to the player wrapping and gripping the bag. The width, height, and weight of the bag and the cylinder placement has been purposely designed to make the practice difficult and game-like – this ensures that the transition to “live” practice assists in making the movements easier.
• Make sure the players work on different grip techniques on the bag and always finish in a strong end position.