So I work ridiculous hours that prevent me from going regularly to take martial arts lessons. That said, I've always been very interested in them, and when I was younger I did take some Judo lessons.
I really want to learn some more practical arts, but at the same time I find myself so fascinated with all the various forms of martial arts and I can't seem to pick one.
Anyways, the point of the question is I want to start practicing at home, since I don't have the time (and my work hours are inconsistent, so I can't even commit to a set time every week to take a lesson). I am thinking I should get a heavy punching bag, to practice kicking and punching to at least get started in training. I was wondering what kind of bag I should be buying? There are so many options, and as a beginner I don't know what I need. If it helps, I want to also learn how to use a sword, which might mean I should get some sort of staff to practice hitting the punching bag?
Other stuff that might help: I'm 5'11", more of my height is in my legs, and the ceiling is 105 inches above the floor. I also live in an apartment, so the quieter the better, but that said it's a pretty sound-proof apartment so it's hard to hear (I can play fairly loud music without any complaints) through the walls.
Irrelevant stuff: I realize the benefit of training with an instructor and I intend to look around my area to see the different places I could go take lessons. I will find out which ones have flexible hours, and which martial art styles I actually am interested in learning, and will likely start taking lessons as well. But this type of training at home I can do every day, and start to build the muscles, skills, and toughness I will need to succeed. Also, feel free to point in me the right direction for some online learning or proper at-home training techniques.