How to wrap hands for boxing?

Boxers put on the hand wraps beneath the boxing gloves before entering into the ring.

Among the tricks and the trades of business, the hand wraps are commonly known by all the boxers. But the hand wrapping technique is one of the well-guarded secrets. Everyone knows that hand wraps are tied across the hand before putting on the boxing gloves.

But the function and technique are not commonly known to all. The motivation behind the article is to tell the readers about the significance of the hand wraps and the clever technique for wrapping.

Before starting on the guide on how to wrap hands before boxing, you need to have little acquaintance with the hand wraps and its types.

Why is it important to wrap hands?

The first thing to clear is that the hand wrap is not a cushioning agent for your hand. This is a greatly perceived misconception. The boxing gloves are meant for this purpose. The hand wraps are for protecting and securing your hand bones and wrist joint.

The human hand is anatomically sensitive in the context that they are made up of many small bones. These small hand bones, knuckles (the joints), and the wrist bone are most susceptible to breaking and dislocating.

These hand wraps, fix and lock the delicate bones in place, thus decreasing the probability of the fracture, and surely increase the impact of the punch.

A firm hand wrap is beneficial for you in two ways.

• It improves the comfort level of the trainee. The fist forming is easy and secured. So the trainees can carry the workout safely.
• It improves the confidence level. Because a tight and apt hand wrap can ensure the trainee to punch with maximum force without hurting the knuckles or wrist joint. And the impact of the punch determines your success in boxing.

Selection guide for hand wraps:

Selecting a hand wrap aptly will help you to obtain the maximum of it. There is a brief guide about the types of hand wraps commonly used by the players worldwide.

As there are many options available in the market, so the choice is made on the type of boxing you are doing and the size of your hand.

This article will brief you about the four most commonly used hand wraps:

Commonly used hand wraps types:

• Gel wraps
• Cotton wraps
• Competition wraps
• Mexican wraps

Now have a look at the individual type.

Gel hand wraps:

Unlike the conventional wraps, these are not wrapped around the hand. Rather they are worn like gloves without fingers. So, they can be additional supporting gloves. According to most of the reviews, these gloves don’t provide much support to the wrist of the hand.

So, these are not the best choice of professional boxers. However, if you are convenient with the gel wraps for daily practice, then you can opt for this. These are slightly expensive than the cotton wraps.

Cotton wraps:

These wraps are used commonly for training. All the cotton wraps have Velcro at the end. This helps in keeping the wrap secured on your hand. Due to the common usage, these wraps are available for almost every hand size.

Mexican wraps:

Structurally and functionally, these wraps are more similar to the cotton wraps, but they have infused elastic fiber. This makes it easier for them to wrap around the hand. However elastic fibers may get stretched with time, so these wraps are not as durable as the cotton wraps are.

Competition wraps:

Structurally they contain tape and gauze. In simpler words, they have slight padding for keeping the hand safe. However, if you are going to use them in competition then check the instructions, the competition setter sets the standard of padding amount to keep equality for all competitors.

Since they are for single time use, so they are not economical for daily practices.

How to wrap hands for boxing?

Here is the stepwise guide for wrapping hands before boxing. Follow the instructions to protect your hands in the best possible way.

Stepwise guide:

Take a pair of hand wraps. They can be of any material with which you are comfortable. Ensure to buy the hand wraps according to your hand size.

Typically they are available in 180” and 120” for larger and smaller hand sizes accordingly.

Now let’s get started.

1) looping the thumb:

In the first step, make a loop around the thumb. This will keep the wrap secure. Always remember to loop the thumb and tie it on the backside of the hand. If you wrap in the forward direction then it will surely irritate you while forming a fist.

There is a greater probability of loosening the wrap in this configuration.

Cotton hand wraps are now come with Velcro, which will save you from making the loop manually. This will also keep the wrap secured throughout the workout.

If you are into boxing, then you must have experienced how obnoxious it is when hand wraps open in the middle of the workout.

2) wrapping around the wrist:

The wrist joint should be secured properly before practicing intensive workouts. The wrist joint is susceptible to dislocation. A good hand wrap tightly wrapped around your wrist can save you from a painful situation.

The next step is wrapping the hand wrap around the wrist. For this wrap, the hand wraps around your wrists three-time tightly.

3) wrapping around the hands:

Now coming to another sensitive anatomical structure. Now wrap it around the hands three times to ensure safety.

Don’t keep much focus on the knuckles and fold the wrap behind the thumb.

4) forming X through fingers:

Now coming towards securing the knuckles and fingers. Make the crosses through the fingers at the back of your hand. Forming these X helps in supporting the knuckles in their position.

For the first X fold, the wrap between the ring finger and your pinky then bring the wrap to the side of the thumb and then fold it on the backside of the hand. You are done with the first X.

Now for the second one, bring the wrap from back down of hand to the upfront of the hand. Form an X between the middle finger and index finger.

Then for the last step, repeat the whole activity for the index and middle finger.

Now all the fingers and knuckles are secured In their place.

5) secure the thumb:

Fold the wrap once around the thumb, now come to the front side of the hand to lock the thumb. Go to the palm direction for securing the wrap and don’t fold much around the thumb. Focus on securing the wrap.

6) back to knuckles:

Previously you have secured knuckles by forming X, now go in a circular motion and wrap it three times to provide additional protection.

7) final finish:

Now heading to the last step, if you still have some wrap left, then form a final X around the whole hand. Don’t wrap much in a circular motion; else your hand will find difficulty in fixing in the gloves.

How is it looking?

Surely perfect!

Congratulations, you have learned how to wrap hands for boxing.