Why Should I Wear Hand Wraps

Other than Gloves a good pair of hand wraps are an essential piece of equipment. Your hands and wrists are quite fragile, so it’s important to have a pair of high-quality hand wraps that will offer you enough support and protection.

Any martial artist or boxer who is hitting a heavy bag or sparring needs to wrap their hands properly in order to minimize injuries and prevent fractures of the delicate bones in the hand and wrist. Wearing gloves when training or competing isn’t enough, hand wraps need be worn under the gloves.

Hand wraps help to keep the fist in proper shape and support the wrist by keeping it aligned while you’re delivering a punch. They also help prevent fractures and sprains and keep the thumb in the proper place to prevent injury. Hand wraps are mostly used to keep the fist tight, so you can hit with a greater strength and power.

If you want to injuries, make sure to always wrap your hands correctly before starting your session. Keep in mind that your hand wraps will absorb a large amount of sweat during your training session, which means that you will have to buy a few pairs.

While we dont have a video on wrapping hands this video from Tiger Muay Thai shows how we like to have wraps done.

Different Types of Wraps

Cotton Hand Wraps

There are several styles of hand wraps that are commonly used.

These hand wraps which are used for training are made of cotton and they can be washed after each use. Cotton hand wraps are a great choice people training multiple times a week because they’re inexpensive and last a long time. They usually feature a thumb loop on one end and a Velcro fastener on the other end.

Gel and Quick Wraps

Gel hand and Quick Hand Wraps were designed to meet the needs of martial artists and Boxers. Some are made to be worn under boxing gloves or MMA gloves. Gel hand wraps are suitable for use only during light sessions. Cotton hand wraps offer a lot more hand protection than the gel wraps are less expensive and longer-lasting.

Tape and Gauze

Many professional and amateur fighters are required to have their hands wrapped with adhesive tape and plain, inelastic gauze. Tape and gauze are used to wrap the hands for competition and for fight prep training sessions. However, due to the expense and inconvenience (you will need to have someone who can assist you in wrapping your hands), this is not a good option for daily training.

How to Take Care of Your Hand Wraps

Your hand wraps should be rolled up for storage which also makes them much easier to put on next time.

However, hand wraps shouldn’t be rolled immediately after use because they are soaked with sweat so they will become smelly or mildewed. Hang the hand wraps to dry as soon as possible after training. In this way, your hand wraps can be worn a few times as long as they are allowed to dry completely after each training session.

Aside from gauze, any type of hand wraps needs to be washed once in a while. Place your hand wraps inside a pillowcase to minimize tangling.