CCBall is a UK sporting-goods business developing a new form of home striking equipment for boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai and MMA.

CCBall is a ceiling-mounted striking trainer built around lightweight moving targets. The targets can be struck freely, while a suitable wall can optionally be used to create a stronger rebound and return them more forcefully into play.

Because the balls keep moving, they create constantly changing striking opportunities. The user has to perceive where and how a target is moving, judge distance and timing, and decide when, where and how to strike. This makes each exchange less fixed than repeatedly hitting the same stationary point.

Training can include punches, kicks, knees and elbows, as well as combinations, footwork and defensive movement. CCBall’s proposed three-target setup allows targets to be positioned at different heights, making it possible to mix strikes across different levels and practise a wider range of combinations.

The moving targets also change the demands of each exchange. Users may need to continually adjust timing, range, accuracy, speed and power while coordinating their strikes with movement. This places particular emphasis on reactions, eye tracking, precision striking, balance, control, movement coordination and perceptual decision-making.

CCBall can be used for deliberate drilling of individual techniques and combinations, while greater use of the rebound behaviour enables what CCBall calls Solo Sparring: continuous reactive striking exchanges in which the user perceives the return, times a response, moves, strikes and continues the exchange without requiring a training partner.

Compared with a traditional heavy bag, CCBall serves a different training purpose. Heavy bags are particularly valuable for power, technique, combinations and conditioning. CCBall is considerably smaller, lighter and more portable, while its moving targets place greater emphasis on perception, timing, precision, reactions and adapting strikes to changing opportunities.

CCBall is currently in pre-launch development in the UK and is being developed towards its first commercial release. More information about the product, its development and launch availability can be found at ccball.co.uk.