hand wraps

**LX8VD69** · Posted On: 7/23/2007 11:27am

hello i wonder if some one can give me a logical answer to my question, ive been boxing for about a month and no body can explain to me why some boxers/kickboxers,etc will wrap their hand wraps between their fingers as well as their wrist and palm. any one got any ideas/ reason for and against?

cheers adam

**spirez** · Posted On: 7/23/2007 12:15pm

Wrong section, but i run them between the fingers once to hold them together better. It's just personal preference, nothing wrong or right with either way as long as the wrists and knuckles are adequately protected.

**theword** · Posted On: 7/23/2007 8:52pm

I feel like when I run the wraps through my fingers I get a little extra knuckle protection.

**GIJoe6186** · Posted On: 7/23/2007 9:43pm

Just a preference, it can stop the wraps from moving.

**ThaiBoxerShorts** · Posted On: 7/23/2007 10:02pm

I prefer to wrap between each knuckle. Mostly to anchor the wraps in place a little better. I'm not as concerned about the extra padding on the knuckles; that's what gloves are for.

**theword** · Posted On: 7/24/2007 5:01am

Originally Posted by ThaiBoxerShorts

II'm not as concerned about the extra padding on the knuckles; that's what gloves are for.

To each his own. I unfortunately have hands like a delicate flower.

**PPlate** · Posted On: 7/24/2007 5:42am

Originally Posted by LX8VD69

hello i wonder if some one can give me a logical answer to my question, ive been boxing for about a month and no body can explain to me why some boxers/kickboxers,etc will wrap their hand wraps between their fingers

Put on your wraps without doing that.

Then put on your gloves and take them off 5 times. Then put on focus mitts and take them off 5 times. You'll get your answer pretty quick. (Everything comes loose.)

BTW, I've seen some guys in my boxing gym wrap between the fingers first, then go round the thumb, then knuckles, then wrist. That doesnt make any sense to me (going between kunckles first).

IMO, wrapping round the fingers should be the last thing you do, after that the wrap goes straight to the wrist to finish off. This will keep everything in place.

Wrapping between the fingers after you've wrapped the knuckles will also tighten up the cloth on your knuckles, and it makes everything stay in place better and I feel it protects the small bones better.

as well as their wrist and palm. any one got any ideas/ reason for and against?

You wrap your wrist so that your wrist will be firm and tight when you hit the bag or pads. It helps prevent your fist from turning up or down upon impact, which will hurt you.

My primary art is muay thai, and I was taught to leave the palms unwrapped, so I do it that way. The only cloth on my palm is under the base of my fingers, which I'll then tuck in to form a grip for my fist.

The boxing guys do wrap their palms because they like to go in an "x" pattern from the knuckles to the wrist, but I really see no point in wrapping the palms.

If you're interested, this is how I do mine:

- loop on thumb, wrap goes over back of hand and around wrist. Wrap around the wrist 3 times, you want to wrap the portion where your hand bends.

- next, wrap the thumb, 3 times. Assuming your palm faces the floor, go from below the wrist to the top of the thumb joint, around the thumb, and across the back of the wrist. This constitues 1x.

- next go to the knuckles, I only cross the wraps on the back (non-palm) side of my hand, never the palm side. Wrap the knuckles 4x, making sure the wraps land exactly over the centre of your knuckles (they drape a little over the fingers).

- go back to the wrist, one loop, then start wrapping between the fingers. I go over the top of the back of my hand, between the index and middle finger, and it comes out between my index and thumb, then goes back to the wrist for 1 loop.

- next do between the middle and ring finger. Again, wrap goes in over the back of your hand between the fingers, but comes out between the index finger and thumb.

- repeat for between ring and pinkie. Then finish up on wrist.

My wraps are Fairtex ones, and I'm told they're longer, so if yours are shorter you might want to try reducing the number or wraps round the thumb to 2x and around the knuckles to 3x.

**AeroChica** · Posted On: 7/24/2007 6:40am

Wow - thanks PPlate! Those are the best wrap-up instructions I've seen yet. Very easy to follow.

Why do you wrap your thumb so much? I really haven't bothered to wrap my thumb before for boxing - is that a Muay Thai thing?

And yes, the Muay Thai wraps are miles longer than regular boxing wraps. I think Muay Thai ones are 5 metres and regular ones are 3 metres.

Now on to the next wrap question - stretchy or not? I prefer not stretchy, so I get more firm support for my girly weak wrists, but the stretchy ones conform to the contours better and stay put. Is there a rationale for each type?

**PPlate** · Posted On: 7/24/2007 7:13am

Why do you wrap your thumb so much? I really haven't bothered to wrap my thumb before for boxing - is that a Muay Thai thing?

Not really a Muay Thai thing, it's quite easy to injure the thumb. I have a permanent injury on my right thumb (where it joins the wrist), and I'm not the only one in the gym.

It was quite a long time ago so I can't be positive, but I think I injured it when I threw a hook and it connected at a bad angle to the heavy bag.

**ThaiBoxerShorts** · Posted On: 7/24/2007 7:04pm

Here's a video showing the method I use:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMmEVQrAVjk

I like that it doesn't use the thumb loop. Makes it a little trickier to put on, but you get the hang of it pretty fast, and it's much more comfortable once it's on. They don't wrap the thumb in the video, but it's pretty easy to modify the technique to include the thumb.

You're going to want long wraps if you use this method. At least 180" (fairly standard Muay Thai length -- Western boxing length seems to be either 160" or 170") . Grant Boxing has the longest wraps I know of -- Their Mexican wraps are a whopping 200".