Why are hand wraps with boxing gloves necessary?
Do you wear hand wraps under boxing gloves? – The short answer? Yes! Possibly you were told in your beginner training that you need to get the best boxing hand wraps to use under your Boxing gloves for Muay Thai, MMA, and other combat sports.
At Infinitude Fight, we understand the importance of a quality hand wrap and acknowledge that hand wraps make your hands secure, but how? – Many people still don’t know how exactly hand wraps make your hands safer.
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How are hands harmed in Boxing?
If we were to dissect every combat sport down to its basic levels, we could safely agree that the hands take most impacts in two ways.
The first one is obvious – striking, where the hand inflicts harm to the rival. Mostly, this is done through punches, but that is not always the case.
The second way hands are impacted is by stopping. This could be knees, punches, elbows, or kicks – most of which are extremely powerful. It’s not always the back of the hand that gets hit while blocking. Occasionally it is the side of the hand, or even the palm, due to deflections or parrying.
Take Muay Thai long guard as an example, where the palms face the opponent – it is clear how a strike could impact the hand wrong.
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No matter how padded they are, the padded gloves can’t always do a lot to protect from these blows. Consider the boxing gloves and hand wraps as one unit, one protecting your opponent and the other layer protecting you. When you decide to buy boxing gloves, you should buy a quality hand wrap pair with it too.
The natural anatomy of a human hand is tricky – a hand forms with 27 small bones, all of these take immense shock with every hit. A pair of tight and well-fitting hand wraps will keep everything in place and minimize the possibility of a fracture.
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Types of Hand Wraps
Hand wraps come in two main types, training hand wraps and professional hand wraps. Professional hand wrapping is mostly for fights but can be seen with high-level boxers in their training routines. Professional hand wraps are made of thin layers of gauze and tape, applied by a trainer or a cornerman.
Mostly what is referred to as hand wraps are used for training, the kind that you wrap up by yourself.
Hand Wraps Types for Training
Training hand wraps are further broken down into a few different kinds. Some of the hand wraps will have some stretch (elasticity) – mostly Mexican hand wraps have stretch to them – this means they will fit the hand tighter and often set the shape of the hand a lot closer.
Then comes the hand wrap type, which is not stretchable at all – these hand wraps are sometimes made with a thicker material – but not always.
Both of these types work excellently and will keep your hands safe and secure, so it boils down to your preference. At infinitude Fight, we prefer stretch wraps, yet both options are viable.
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Hand Wrap Length
The second quality of a good hand wrap is its length. Hand wraps are primarily made in two sizes, 120” – 3 meters and 180” – 4.5 to 5 meters in length. At Infinitude Fight, we have hand wraps that measure up to 180 inches.
It is highly advisable that with a strapping new pair of Boxing gloves, you buy a hand wrap pair that has a longer length, as it provides you with extra protection and lets you cover the thumb and between all fingers. At the same time, the shorter lengths are – sometimes – too short.
Our team at Infinitude Fight prefers hand wraps that are made from thinner material, and these guarantee a better and tight fit. Remember, hand wraps can vary a lot, so always do your research before you buy hand wraps and also when you buy boxing gloves – a combo, when well researched, will give you optimum results in the boxing ring.
Inner Gloves with Boxing Gloves
Inner gloves can also be an excellent option to consider, especially when starting a short training session – easy on and off saves time in a rush. While inner gloves can be a good alternative to hand wraps when you are in a hurry – but they can never be as effective as a good pair of hand wraps.
Inner gloves are also paired with hand wraps by some fighters who want the best of both worlds – yet this depends on the size of your boxing gloves.
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How to wrap your hands properly for Boxing or training?
Remember the 4 crucial areas of your hand while wrapping – the wrist, knuckles, the in-between your fingers, and the thumb. Each person wraps their hands differently, yet the basics of doing it remain unchanged. As it gets with everything else – after a while, with the help of your muscle memory – you will be able to wrap your hands perfectly without even thinking about it.
When do you need to use Hand Wraps?
The short answer? Every single time!
It is advisable or better yet imperative to use a good pair of hand wraps every time you are wearing boxing gloves – making sure that you always have optimum protection – irrespective of the type of training you are doing.
Do you wear hand wraps under MMA gloves?
Wrapping hands with boxing gloves in the USA should be very obvious – some people do not give it much thought when it comes to MMA gloves. Regardless of being smaller in size, you can easily fit hand wraps underneath your MMA gloves.
Wrapping your hands with MMA gloves is crucially important for your safety as MMA gloves are made with a lower amount of padding than a typical boxing glove.
For MMA, you should always use a hand wrap that puts extra emphasis on staying clear of the palm, as this will make grappling easier. Purchasing a shorter-length hand wrap can also be a viable option to minimize bulk, yet this will also reduce the protection.
How hand wraps actually make it all safer?
When you consider the unpredictability and angles of blows and punches, the wrist, the fingers, knuckles, thumb, and the entire hand need protection. Obviously, good protection is achieved by utilizing a suitable wrapping method; however, a quality hand wrap will;
- Offer extra padding to safeguard knuckles from impact
- Stop knuckles from smashing together
- Minimize sudden thumb movements
- Stop fingers from pushing into the palm
- Provide an extra layer of padding to the back of the hand, minimizing the shock from impact and reducing the extent of vibrations caused by strikes on the knuckles
- Aid to keep the wrist straight and hinder the risk of sudden uninvited movements
At the end of this guide, the Infinitude Fight team hopes that you are more informed about the reasons why you should be wearing hand wraps while boxing or training and the injuries they help prevent.
Hand wraps will not make you immune from injuries, and accidents can and will happen, but it is good to know that you have reduced the risks of an injury as much as you could.
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