When punching hard, boxing gloves alone are not always enough to protect your hands. The purpose of hand wraps is to support your wrists, fingers, and knuckles during punches, as well as to protect the bones and joints of your hand from the vibration caused by punches.
It is often mistakenly thought that hand wraps are meant to cushion the knuckles – that is what boxing gloves do. Hand wraps keep the bones and joints of the hand in a tight package, which distributes the shock better throughout the entire hand. This also prevents the fingers from pressing into the palms, the knuckles from moving out of place, or the thumb from twisting to the side. In addition to providing protection, hand wraps make the boxing gloves fit better on the hands. Hand wraps should always be used when training in boxing, freestyle or other martial arts, but especially when using the hardest punches. Some people also like to use hand wraps in individual training, such as shadow boxing, as it brings posture to the hand position and helps to imitate the correct punching technique.
Hand wraps are usually about 4–5 cm wide, and the length can vary from three to five meters. The appropriate length depends on, among other things, the size of your hands and your own preferences. The best way to find the right length is to experiment. Long wraps can be wrapped to protect a larger area of your hands. Some wraps have a Velcro fastener and a thumb loop to make tying easier.
Alternatively, various types of handcuffs can be used instead of handcuffs. Under/inner gloves . Inner gloves work well for shorter workouts, for example, when there is little time to wrap your bandages. Some boxers wear inner gloves as an addition to their hand wraps, but this also depends on the size of your boxing gloves.
Elastic or non-elastic hand wraps?
Most often, hand wraps are made of cotton, which may be mixed with other materials, such as nylon, to provide elasticity. Elastic bandages fit the hand a little tighter and bring the bones and tendons of the hand closer together more strongly. You may also sometimes come across elastic bandages as “Mexican hand wraps”. With elastic bandages, you must be careful not to tighten them too tightly, as this will prevent blood from circulating properly in the hands. This problem does not exist with non-elastic bandages. Non-elastic bandages are often (but not always) made of a slightly thicker material.
Professional boxers tend to use elastic bandages, while non-elastic bandages are more popular among beginners. However, this is entirely a matter of taste, as both provide excellent protection for the hands. Even in competitions, either is acceptable.
Maintenance
Despite good ventilation, your hands always sweat during boxing training. That's why it's a good idea to wash your hand wraps after each use. This will also help keep your boxing gloves fresh for a long time. For active trainers, we recommend buying a few pairs, so you can take good care of your hand wraps between uses. Most hand wraps can be washed in your normal laundry with a mild detergent. However, always follow the washing instructions that come with the wraps.
Note: Allow the bandages to dry thoroughly before use, this will extend the life of both the bandages and the gloves. Using wet hand bandages will quickly cause bacteria to spread inside the boxing gloves.
How to tie handcuffs?
There are several different methods for wrapping hand wraps. The main thing is that the wrap covers 4 areas: the wrist, knuckles, thumb and between the fingers. Once again, practice makes perfect! The video below shows one easy way to wrap hand wraps, which you can take some tips from.
You can find the hand wraps in our selection from here .
If you have any additional questions, you can contact our customer service by calling 050 466 7269 (weekdays 8 am–6 pm) or by sending a message to asiakaspalvelut@treenikamat.fi.