Abstract:
The present invention provides for exercise apparatus which can comprise general fitness or self-defence training apparatus ( 10 ) having a base member ( 12 ); means arranged to define a first elongate member ( 18 ) and a second elongate member ( 20 ) extending upwardly therefrom; the first elongate member ( 18 ) and the second elongate member ( 20 ) being joined at, or by way of a target portion ( 24 ); wherein the base member ( 12 ) is weighted relative to the elongate members ( 18,20 ) and the target portion ( 24 ) so as to seek to keep the elongate members ( 18,20 ) in a substantially upright position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to training and fitness apparatus and in particular to self defence training apparatus and equipment particularly for use in skill training for striking specific areas of the human body. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A wide variety of exercises and equipment are used in the general improvement in fitness and/or to assist with weight-loss and to assist in learning and improving skills and techniques for a variety of sports, particularly in the field of contact sports, martial arts and self defence, when physical contact is required. 
         [0003]    In particular, when learning and practicing striking techniques, for example kicks and punches, it is advantageous to use equipment which is designed to absorb the impact of a strike. Such equipment is typically in the form of weighted punch bags, or protective pads which can be carried or worn by a third person. 
         [0004]    However, it is often desirable that the learnt techniques are practiced in an environment that more realistically simulates a real life scenario. To this end a variety of dummies, or mannequins, have been developed which simulate part, or whole of a human body so that the self defence techniques can be practiced and improved without potentially harming others. 
         [0005]    For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,079 describes a kick-boxing exercise device which includes a weighted base unit which supports the target section, the target section having the appearance of a head, neck and torso of the human body. 
         [0006]    All such known apparatus is designed primarily for use in martial arts and boxing training, which focuses on strikes to the head and torso. However, self defence training, and particularly basic self defence training for women, includes several strikes which are not permitted in sports or competitive martial arts. One particular example of this is a self defence technique which involves a strike, normally in the form of a kick, or swift upward movement of the knee, to the groin of an assailant. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,315 discloses a device for use in self defence training, as in karate and the like, which includes a life-like articulated training dummy supported in an upright position on a post and having a plurality of separate pressure receptors disposed at various target locations in the dummy, including the groin. The disadvantage of such a device is the distribution of weight in the device and the position of the supporting post which makes kicking strikes to the groin difficult to achieve. 
         [0008]    The present invention seeks to provide for exercise apparatus having advantages over known such apparatus and traditional training protocol. 
         [0009]    In particular, the present invention seeks to provide exercise apparatus having the potential to more effectively train and practice self defence techniques which involve a strike to the groin area of the male human body in particular. 
         [0010]    According to the present invention there is provided exercise apparatus comprising: at least one base member; means arranged to define a first elongate member and a second elongate member extending upwardly therefrom; the first elongate member and the second elongate member being joined at, or by way of a target portion; wherein the base member is weighted relative to the elongate members and the target portion so as to seek to keep the elongate members in a substantially upright position. 
         [0011]    Advantageously, the base member has a substantially convex undersurface, so that the apparatus will naturally return to a substantially upright position after being struck when in use. 
         [0012]    Preferably, the apparatus has a first and a second base member comprising: a first base portion having a substantially convex undersurface, and means arranged to define the first elongate member extending upwardly therefrom; and a second base portion having a substantially convex undersurface, and means arranged to define the second elongate member extending upwardly therefrom. Having a two bases, one for each elongate member, means that there is nothing obstructing the path between a users striking foot and the target portion. 
         [0013]    Advantageously, the centre of gravity of the apparatus is below the top surface of at least one of the first or second base portions. 
         [0014]    In a preferred embodiment, the first elongate member is shaped to have the appearance of a first human leg and the second elongate member is shaped to have the appearance of a second human leg. 
         [0015]    It should be readily appreciated that the exercise apparatus can be adapted to comprise fitness exercise routine apparatus or a self defence exercise apparatus. 
         [0016]    The target portion is preferably shaped to have the appearance of a human groin. 
         [0017]    In order to make the apparatus look more like a human, the target portion preferably includes a third portion which is shaped to have the appearance of part or whole of a human torso. 
         [0018]    Advantageously, the first base portion and the second base portion are movable in relation to each other, and preferably are arranged to be movable towards each other for storage of the apparatus. The first base portion and second base portion are preferably arranged to pivot about the target portion. 
         [0019]    The first base portion and the second base portion can be made of a solid weighting material, but preferably are hollow and arranged to receive a quantity of weighting material. 
         [0020]    In order to minimise the size of the apparatus when not in use, it is preferable that the third portion is inflatable. 
         [0021]    The first elongate member and the second elongate member may also be inflatable, or alternatively they can be rigid, or hollow and arranged to receive a weighting material. 
         [0022]    The whole of the apparatus may be inflatable, or alternatively the whole apparatus may be solid. 
         [0023]    Advantageously, the apparatus has a weight less than the weight of an average male human adult. 
         [0024]    In one embodiment the first elongate member and the second elongate member preferably comprise means for causing the apparatus to jump off the ground in response to a strike of the target portion, for example coiled springs in the first elongate member and the second elongate member. 
         [0025]    In addition to a groin target portion, the apparatus may also include a throat target portion. 
         [0026]    Preferably only the target portion is padded. 
         [0027]    Also, a head portion can be provided with facial features such as at least a pair of eyes. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]    The invention is described further hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0029]      FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of an illustrative example of apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of an illustrative example of apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of an illustrative example of apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of an illustrative example of apparatus according to a forth embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0033]    As it will be appreciated, the present invention provides for exercise apparatus and in the illustrated embodiment a self defence training exercise apparatus serving to assist in the training of techniques generally only used for fending off an assailant, in particular a male assailant. 
         [0034]    The invention is particularly advantageous insofar as the apparatus is specifically designed to focus on the training of striking a region of a human that is not traditionally allowable in martial arts, namely the groin region, but which is a technique commonly taught in basic self defence classes for its effectiveness. 
         [0035]    The figures described herein are illustrations of specific embodiments of a self defence training apparatus according to the present invention. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not so limited to the embodiments as illustrated since it can be made from a variety of materials as appropriate, can include a variety of weighting means whether for the selected mounting of solid weights or otherwise and, while having a generally elongate form can be provided with extension portions that extend at any appropriate angle relative to the central portion. 
         [0036]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the training apparatus  10  preferably is in the form of a dummy or mannequin which has the appearance of the whole of, or at least the lower half of, a human adult male body. 
         [0037]    The apparatus  10  comprises a base  12  having a lower surface  14  and an upper surface  16 . A first elongated member  18  and a second elongated member  20  extend from the upper surface  16 . The first and second elongate members  18 ,  20  are preferably shaped to resemble human legs. The first and second elongate members  18 ,  20  are connected to a third member  22 , which in this example is shaped as a complete upper body including a torso, head and arms. There is also provided target region  24  on the third member  22  which is located in the region of the groin of the dummy. The target region  24  is typically made from softer material than that of the rest of the apparatus  10  for the comfort of the user. 
         [0038]    An additional target region may also be provided in the neck region of the apparatus  10  for assisting in the training and practicing of another commonly taught basic self defence strike to the wind pipe of an assailant. 
         [0039]    Although in this illustrative example the third member  22  comprises a torso, head and arms, it should be appreciated that the essential feature of the third member  22  is the target region  24  representative of a human groin. 
         [0040]    The apparatus  10  is arranged to be self standing. The base  12  is weighted so as to keep the apparatus  10  in a generally upright position when in use. The base  12  can be solid and made from any suitable material, for example wood or metal. Alternatively the base  12  can be hollow and arranged to contain a sufficiently weighted fluid or a solid, for example water or sand. 
         [0041]    The lower surface  14  of the base  12  comprises a convex rounded surface. This shape is advantageous in that it allows the apparatus  10  to automatically return to its normal, vertical position after being pushed or struck by a user, provided that the base  12  are sufficiently weighted to keep the centre of gravity of the apparatus above the base  12 . The lower surface  14  in  FIG. 1  is illustrated as being semi-spherical in shape, but in practice any rounded shape could be used. 
         [0042]    It is preferable that the centre of gravity of the apparatus  10 , when in use, is below the upper surface  16  of the base  12 . This feature, in combination with the rounded, or spherical convex shape of the lower surface  14  of the base  12  advantageously means that the apparatus  10  will not only be self-standing, but it will also always return to an upright position regardless of the force exerted on the apparatus  10 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 2  illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention wherein the apparatus comprises two separate bases  26 ,  32  rather than a single base. The apparatus  10  comprises a first base  26  having a lower surface  28  and an upper surface  30 , and a second base  32  having lower surface  34  and an upper surface  36 . The first elongate member  18  extends from the upper surface  30  of the first base  26 , and the second elongate member  20  extends from the upper surface  36  of the second base  36 . 
         [0044]    The present invention is designed provide a more realistic experience of striking the groin area of a human than previously know apparatus. In this regard, when the apparatus is in use, the bases  26 ,  32  are positioned at a distance apart from each other approximate to the distance between a typical human&#39;s feet when standing. This allows the user to raise their foot between the elongate members  18 ,  20  representing legs without being obstructed by the bases  26 ,  32 . Preferably, the distance between the bases  26 ,  32 , and therefore the angle between the elongated members  18 ,  20  can be adjusted to vary the difficulty of striking the target  24  with the user&#39;s foot. It is also preferable that the first base  26  and the second base  32  can be arranged adjacent to one another for storage of the apparatus  10 . 
         [0045]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of a third embodiment of the present invention having features identical to those of the lower half of  FIG. 2 . In this example, the third member  22  comprises only the target section  24 . This is advantageous in that the physical size of the apparatus  10  is reduced enabling easier storage and it would also be cheaper to produce because less material is used in manufacture. 
         [0046]      FIG. 4  is an illustration of an inflatable apparatus  10  according to the present invention. The principal components are the same as those shown in  FIG. 2 . The only difference in appearance is that the two elongate members  18 ,  20  representing the legs cover the entire surface of their respective bases  12 ,  18 . This advantageously increases the strength of the elongate members  18 ,  20  and prevents them from undesirably bending when inflated. 
         [0047]    The present invention may also include one or more means for making the apparatus automatically move in response to a strike of the target area  24 . The force required to automatically move the apparatus  10  can be generated using any known moving means, for example one or more electric motors or coiled springs in the base  12 ; 26 ; 32  or elongated members  18 ,  20 . The moving means can be triggered either mechanically or electronically by sensors in the target  24 . 
         [0048]    The self defence apparatus  10  can be formed of any appropriate material, either as a unitary moulded member or otherwise. Advantageously the apparatus can be made partly or wholly from leather or canvas material such as that used for conventional punch-bags. The apparatus  10 , or a section of the apparatus  10  can also be inflatable for easier transportation and storage, for example just the third member  28  comprising the target region  30  could be inflatable, or alternatively the elongate members  24 ,  26  can also be inflatable. 
         [0049]    Of course any appropriate configuration and limb size and shape can be provided for the apparatus and the invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment.