Wrapping your hands for boxing, MMA and Kickboxing are very important because it prevents injury to your wrists and knuckles while providing support as you throw and land punches. Wrap hands for boxing seem tricky at first, but after a few practices runs, you’ll be wrapping without looking!
Make sure you get wraps that are the appropriate length for your hand size. Smaller hands can use 120 length wraps while larger hands can comfortably use 140 or 160 length wraps. If your wraps are too long, the padding will make it difficult for your hands to fit into your boxing gloves. If you are unsure about the length of wrap to get, ask your trainer or request help at a sports equipment store.
Wraps come in many different colors, so pick your favorite one!
How to wrap hands for Boxing, MMA, and Kickboxing?
If you decide you do not like the process of wrapping your hands or you think it takes too much time, you can go for buy a pair of speed wraps. They are fingerless gloves that slide onto your hands and velcro at the wrists. They have a gel pack across the knuckles for padding and protecting, and they fit comfortably inside boxing gloves. Please follow below steps:
Step 1
Unroll the wrap to its full length. Leave velcro attached to itself so that it does not attach to the wrap or to your clothes.
Step 2
Fit your thumb through the loop at the end of the wrap. Make sure the wrap is laying flat on the back of your hand, and that the smooth side of the wrap is facing upwards. The double hem of the edge should be lying against your hand.
Step 3
Pull the wrap taunt (but not too tight) towards the wrist bone opposite your thumb. Wrap your wrist 2-3 times, depending on how much support you need. We will wrap the wrist again so don’t worry about getting all of the support you need in this wrap.
You should pull the wrap with the same comfortable tightness as you would an Ace bandage. Not too tight, but not loose enough to come undone and fall off.
Step 4
After you have wrapped the wrist, pull the wrap from the underside of your wrist (where the thumb is) and lay it against the top of your hand, forming an X with the length of wrap already there. Bring it to your pinky knuckle and then wrap the underside of your palm before bringing the wrap back to your pinky knuckle.
Step 5
Bring the wrap to the underside of your palm and then pull it down to the pad of the hand under the thumb. Wrap it around the thumb, bringing it between the pinky and ring finger. This provides support for your fingers and knuckles.
Continue this process, bringing the wrap between each finger (pinky and ring; ring and middle; middle and index), and pulling it through under the thumb’s pad. You will be making lines with the wrap that look like a backward slash from a keyboard (\).
After you’ve completed the middle and index finger space, wrap the top of the knuckles again, going over what you just did. Now you have a smooth piece of wrap covering your knuckles, and you can just see the loops you’ve made under it. You can wrap your knuckles one or two more times, depending on the type of punch work you will be doing.
Step 6
When the wrap is on the underside of your pointer finger, bring it over the top of the hand, continuing the X shape we made before.
Continue to follow the X shape on the top of your hand, alternating between wrapping your wrist and your knuckles. Wrap more where you want more support and padding (for example, if your wrist has been previously injured, you want more wrapping there). Continue the X until you only have a few inches of wrap left.
Step 7
Make sure there is enough wrap to go around your wrist again and undo the velcro. Pull the wrap around your wrist and then secure the velcro. It should lay comfortably and flat around your wrist, not crookedly or across the top of your hand. Make sure nothing is itching and that the wrap is secure. If it is puffy, coming undone, or sliding off, you will need to rewrap more tightly. If your fingers look white or if the wrap hurts, you have wrapped it too tightly. Undo the wrap and try again.
Your hands should feel comfortable in the wrap and your fingers should be able to flex easily. It is okay to see small patches of your palm through the wraps, but try to make your wrap more evenly distributed next time so that your entire hand is covered.
Then do the same thing on the other hand. And then enjoy your boxing workout!
Step 8
To care for your wraps, you can wash them in the regular wash. Just make sure to put them in a laundry or lingerie bag so that the velcro does not come undone and destroy anything else in the washing machine (or the wraps themselves!). Let them air dry for a few hours or overnight, and then they’re ready to be used again.
As long as you follow the X shape across the top of your hands and make sure the wrap continues to lay flat (don’t get it twisted up!), wrapping is pretty straightforward. Just remember that protecting your knuckles and your wrists are key to wrapping, and then it will fall into place as you go along!
There are many different ways to wrap hands, but this is the basic way to do it. Once you’ve mastered this one, you can change it up and try out your own style. If you can’t get it down after a few tries, ask your trainer to show you how to wrap.
