so you hang it up and hit it?

It is used to "perfect" the snap or retraction of your hit and was used by Bruce Lee. Ted Wong has a really old video on it I saw on you tube. It hangs and you are to punch and retract just as you hit. It helps speed and eventually when you can retract faster than extend as you hit you can tear the center of the paper. It is extremely difficult. There are other training methods he used with paper all focused on increasing speed and ability to stat totally relaxed until the hit then relax again as fast as possible. People will probably say its BS but I guarantee they can't rip the paper if they tried. They can punch thru the paper but that takes no skill whatsoever.

I fully agree that learning should be done only under a qualified instructor. Self training never worked for anyone I ever heard of or have seen. And I have met my share of idiots that think they are training themselves well to fight. That said Paper target drills can be useful, but must be done correctly and it should never be the focus of a persons training. At best it is a supplemental and should not take time away from regular training.

This is a very good example of someone that is small but pack a very powerful punch from proper Makiwara training and paper target drills. If anyone reading this tends to be lazy and not look at the video links that are often seen posted in Y/A, I suggest you take time to see this whole video. That is if you believe at all in the old traditional training methods for Karate. Note: this is a totally different way to develop striking than can be learned using a heavy bag. This is why I never use a heavy bag and only use the old ways for this....