Why Every Muay Thai Fighter Should Wear Hand Wraps – If you’ve gotten past the basics of Muay Thai and can’t wait to get started on bag and pad work, there’s an important piece of gear you’ll need to get. These are the hand wraps that need to be applied before you slip into your Muay Thai gloves.
Hand wraps come in many different types, from the cotton fabric ones used in training gyms everywhere to the tape and gauze that pro fighters will apply before heading into a big match. If you’re unsure of why wearing hand wraps is important or what they do, keep reading to learn all about how they keep your hands safe during Muay Thai training and sparring.
Why Muay Thai Fighters Wear Hand Wraps
Your hands are made from 27 small bones and two groups of tendons that all need to work together to provide their complete range of motion. In Muay Thai, your hands will play a vital role in both offense and defense. Your fists will always be in play, to strike an opponent with your fists as well as block their incoming attacks. Some of these attacks will be from elbows, knees, and feet, which can deliver quite the impact on your hands.
No matter how great your technique is, your hands could receive a heavy blow at an awkward angle. This could result in a sprain or your bones suffering a fracture, which can be very painful. There is also the potential for nerve damage when repeatedly taking hits over a long period without adequate protection. Although both inner gloves and hand wraps offer protection, wrapping hands can help prevent this better as inner gloves focus more on convenience instead of higher protection against injuries.
Muay Thai gloves can provide some protection from their high-density foam padding, but you will always need something extra to ensure the fragile small bones of your knuckles and wrists are properly held in place to avoid injury. When properly applied, Muay Thai hand wraps provide your hands with that much-needed support to keep punching harder and longer while keeping your hands protected.
How Hand Wraps Work
No single part of your hands, including the knuckles, fingers, thumbs, and wrists, is expendable. Hand wraps can’t guarantee you’ll never get injured, but they can definitely minimize the risk every time you strike with a jab or use your hands to block. A good set of Muay Thai hand wraps do this by properly aligning your joints and compressing your soft tissues, providing increased support every time you make a fist.
Furthermore, hand wraps provide extra padding for your knuckles, allowing them to take more powerful impacts while making sure they stay in the right position while punching. Hand wraps will also make sure your fingers won’t dig into your palm and your thumb doesn’t suffer any sudden movement. Finally, the best Muay Thai hand wraps can dampen vibrations that come as a result of your knuckles coming into contact while also keeping your wrist straight during a strike.
The Types Of Muay Thai Hand Wraps
There are different types of hand wraps used by Muay Thai fighters during training and competing. These can be categorized as cloth wraps, elastic bandage wraps, as well as tape and gauze wraps. The main differences between them stem from the type of material, length, elasticity, and thickness.
While hand wraps can be used interchangeably for any of the martial arts, including boxing, Muay Thai, and MMA, fighters should make sure their hands, when wrapped, can fit into the gloves of their chosen sport. Therefore, hand wraps must be taken into consideration when selecting your Muay Thai or boxing gloves.
Cloth Wraps
Cloth hand wraps are what you would be using in a training gym or even at home if you’re practicing with a bag. Cloth wraps can be applied by yourself and can be washed. Cotton hand wraps feel comfortable on the skin, are durable and can be washed, allowing you to keep reusing them for a long time. As a result, cloth hand wraps are the most affordable.
Furthermore, cloth wraps are easy to put on and remove, giving you the convenience of switching quickly between different exercises and bag work during training. It is the best choice for a Muay Thai student or beginner.
Elastic Bandage
The Elastic Bandage hand wraps, also called ‘Mexican hand wraps’ are made from semi-elastic cotton or spandex. They are capable of stretching to fit your hands better and do not loosen during an intense Muay Thai workout. Many professional fighters prefer this type because of its better fit and breathability over cloth wraps. Elastic wraps are also great for training sessions.
Tape And Gauze
The best protection you can get from wearing hand wraps is by using tape and gauze. These are used by professional athletes during fighting tournaments to maximize protection while keeping their hands light. Since they require a trainer or cornerman to apply them, tape and gauze hand wraps cannot be wrapped by yourself. It takes time to apply and cannot be reused after removing it at the end of a fight.
While highly inconvenient to apply, you can greatly control how much tape to apply and get the perfect thickness to fit comfortably into your gloves. This is why tape and gauze is preferred over other hand wraps in major Muay Thai tournaments.
How Not To Wrap Your Hands
Every fighter will develop their own slightly different wrapping style, and after some time, it will become second nature to you. The important thing is to make sure that all the crucial areas, including your wrist, knuckles, thumb, and between the fingers, are covered. However, there are some things you need to avoid when wrapping your hands. Let’s look into those now.
Wrapping Too Tight Or Not Too Loose
The first sign that you’ve wrapped your hands too tightly will be the discomfort. Later, you will realize that your blood circulation is also affected, which can cause further problems. Wrapping too loosely will mean the hand wraps could easily come off during training. This can be highly inconvenient for you, requiring you to remove your gloves and start again after reapplying the hand wraps. It is important to focus on your wrapping techniques to make the most of your hand wrap.
You will also need to make fists with your fingers at certain points during the wrapping to make sure it stays snug in your hand. For detailed step-by-step instructions on hand wrapping, check out how Muay Thai world champion Penaek Sitnumnoi does it.
Wrapping With Inadequate Wrist Support
To avoid spraining your wrists during a punch, you have to make sure that they are supported properly when you apply your hand wraps. The wrist can be supported and kept secure by applying a sufficient number of loops while wrapping. You should take care when choosing a hand wrap that is long enough to allow this.
Using The Wrong Side Of The Hand Wraps
If you start wrapping with the wrong side up, you’ll get to the end and realize that you have to now flip over the Velcro strap or clip to fasten your hand wraps. This is not ideal, and it’s best to start wrapping with the brand logo facing away from you to use the correct side. You’ll end up with a neater wrap that will fit better into your boxing gloves.
Wrapping Up
It should be fairly obvious by this point that you need to keep your hands safe during combat sports like Muay Thai. A good quality pair of hand wraps is absolutely the way to go. They will keep your fists supported and safe as long as your wrapping technique does not include any of the items we advised you to avoid.
If you’re ready to buy and want to know our recommendations for Muay Thai hand wraps, be sure to checkout Best Hand Wraps for Muay Thai Fighters, where we go through all the best brands and their hand wrap products.
Remember to take your chosen hand wraps if you’re browsing for a new pair of Muay Thai gloves. Gloves and hand wraps will need to be compatible for you to make the best of them. Finally, don’t forget to wrap up properly before putting on those gloves.
Need some help deciding on Muay Thai gloves? Read How to Choose the Best Muay Thai Gloves for Beginners where we’ll guide you through all the essentials like boxing glove types, sizes, and build materials to help you find the best pair for your hands.
FAQs
Muay Thai hand wraps are indispensable and should be worn before putting on gloves. They ensure that the fragile small bones of your knuckles and wrist are adequately padded and supported while striking.
You need both Muay Thai hand wraps and gloves worn over them to get maximum protection and wrist support while striking out with your fists in Muay Thai.
Muay Thai hand wraps made from cloth and elastic bandages are reusable. These are worn by fighters during training or sparring. Tape and gauze hand wraps are lighter and fit more comfortably but are not reusable. They are used only in professional level matches.
Yes you can, but avoid putting them in the washing machine. Let your hand wraps soak in warm water with some laundry soap for about two hours. You could do this after every training session, but once a week might be sufficient.
