Wrapping Hands Before Punching Bag

[Johnoo1234]

hey guys. ive been training in muay thai for a while now and have only just wondered if I should wear hand wraps when punching the bag as I usually go bear knuckle. I haven't really noticed any injury due to the bag being a relatively soft stand up bag that I bought from ebay. Sometimes my wrists might hurt but i always think its just my technique. I was just wondering if there were any long term effects on my knuckles or especially my wrist as I obviously don't want that when I get older. thanks. its something like the bag below.

 

[Arduino_Cioran]

One never wants to be hurting him/herself in training. That's for the competitions/heavy sparring, and even then you want to be fighting smart. It also depends on your goals - you trying to harden those knuckles with calluses? Be prepared for cuts and blisters along the way.

Imho, put the wraps on.

- 3 years of recreational boxing

 

[drop bear]

The protective gear is designed so that you can drill relentlessly. Shoes, taped fingers, wraps, headgear. All keeps you away from injury and therefore training longer and more effectively.

 

[Danny T]

What is your goal for the training session?
Working the heavy bag for technique you probably won't need wraps but when training for power wraps are a very important part of your glove system. Helps the glove fit properly and:

• Provide extra padding to protect the knuckles from direct impact
• Prevent the metacarpals from separating and excessive stress or breakage at the knuckle
• Prevent the knuckles from separating/smashing together
• Prevent your fingers from pushing into your palm and stressing the phalanges
  
• Reduce sudden movements or jamming of the thumb
  
• Add an extra layer of padding around the back of the hand, reducing shock from direct impact and softening vibrations in the hand caused from strikes on the knuckles
• Help keep the wrist straight and reduce the risk of sudden unwanted bending.

 

[Johnoo1234]

thanks for the reply guys. Danny, I kinda train both technique and power in my sessions. thanks for the description of the hazards of bare knuckle. however, what do you think would be the long term consequences for excessive punishment to the wrist and knuckles?

 

[Danny T]

thanks for the reply guys. Danny, I kinda train both technique and power in my sessions. thanks for the description of the hazards of bare knuckle. however, what do you think would be the long term consequences for excessive punishment to the wrist and knuckles?

Osteoarthritis is probably the most likely. Swollen and stiff knuckles and wrists.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I started out using bag gloves, but I quit. For me, they were allowing me to get away with less than good technique. I can frankly destroy a typical wavemaster at will, although hitting that center post through the foam does hurt some. I'd like to get a truly heavy hanging bag at some point and see if gloves would help or hinder me. But at the moment, I believe my hands and technique are acceptable for any anticipated needs. If I hit someone and mean it, they're not going to like it.

 

[DanT]

I have always trained bare knuckle. If you choose to work bare knuckle, make sure you:

-Warm up first
-Start light and slow
-Don't scrape or cut your knuckles
-If you scrape your cut or knuckles, STOP, and wait for the cut or scrape to heal

Over time you will strengthen your fist and wrist. If you're training for a tournament, 2 months before the tournament, put on the gloves you will use during the fight and use those on the bag.

I hit my 200 lb heavy bag bear knuckle and have never had any problems.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I generally don't use gloves for the same reason as @Bill Mattocks. Not using them, I can tell almost immediately when my technique is poor. If I use them, I don't get the same feedback.
Also,you have to build up to it not hurting your knuckles (hit slowly/take breaks at first),but those breaks become less and less as time continues.

 

[Johnoo1234]

thanks for replies. ill take everything into consideration.

 

[Martial D]

usually go bear knuckle.

 

[MA_Student]

I never bother really especially with gloves on

 

[hoshin1600]

it all depends on the bag. an old everlast canvas hanging bag kinda requires some kind of skin protection or you will rip up your knuckles. these new smooth finish bags seem like it would be unnecessary. i have never used one, i am old fashion, i dont like these new fangle contraptions.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I don’t use wraps. I probably should for power work, when wearing gloves (we tend to hit harder with gloves). I only use gloves on a bag for power work, or to break in new gloves.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I mostly train bare-knuckle these days, both for technique and hand conditioning. However I'm spending the majority of my time on grappling and so my volume of time spent on the heavy bag isn't that high. If I were doing consistent high-volume heavy bag work like I used to, I'd go back to wearing bag gloves to reduce the wear and tear on my hands and wrists.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Sometimes my wrists might hurt but i always think its just my technique. I was just wondering if there were any long term effects on my knuckles or especially my wrist as I obviously don't want that when I get older. thanks. its something like the bag below.

Wrist hurting is from bad technique. You are correct on that. There should be no long term negative effects as long as you get the technique correct. The only long term effect that you should be getting is thicker skin around the knuckle and an increase in bone density on the knuckles. The key is that you have to use correct technique and good fist structure. Be sure to give your knuckles time to heal if you can feel them starting to bruise.

 

[Finlay]

What is your goal for the training session?
Working the heavy bag for technique you probably won't need wraps but when training for power wraps are a very important part of your glove system. Helps the glove fit properly and:

• Provide extra padding to protect the knuckles from direct impact
• Prevent the metacarpals from separating and excessive stress or breakage at the knuckle
• Prevent the knuckles from separating/smashing together
• Prevent your fingers from pushing into your palm and stressing the phalanges
  
• Reduce sudden movements or jamming of the thumb
  
• Add an extra layer of padding around the back of the hand, reducing shock from direct impact and softening vibrations in the hand caused from strikes on the knuckles
• Help keep the wrist straight and reduce the risk of sudden unwanted bending.

Exactly this

of course we are always training power and technique at the same time, but there should be an emphasis.

If training technique, you want to really feel the punch, you may throw lees or less powerful punches. Bag gloves are not needed

if training power, the chance of injury increases so the amount of protection you use should also increase, of course you want to have solid technique, (which is why you need technique emphasis sessions) but on the edge things get a little more ragged sometimes.

like everything else bag gloves is a tool that should be used when appropriate. too much use can cause bad habits but not using them at all can in someways hider development.

as an example, I used old style semi contact gloves for sparring for a long time, in those gloves it was more difficult and maybe not needed to make a full fist all the time.

When i went to a Karate style that didn't use hand protection at all, I found that i was hitting with a loose fist. this was a habit born from using the gloves too much

 

[Saheim]

I almost never wear anything, on my hands, when doing bag work. I say "almost" because I have worn boxing gloves, a couple times, just for weight (kinda like running with a mouth piece in).

I also spend time doing various hand techniques on the makiwara, knuckle pushups on roofing shingles, and feeding jabs at a retired speed bag that is filled with sand and hung from the ceiling.

My goals might be entirely different than yours, though, and I've accepted the fact I will never be a hand model. I can still type pretty well and pick my nose so....

 

[Ironbear24]

Bear handed for me.

 

[Andrew Green]

hey guys. ive been training in muay thai for a while now and have only just wondered if I should wear hand wraps when punching the bag as I usually go bear knuckle. I haven't really noticed any injury due to the bag being a relatively soft stand up bag that I bought from ebay. Sometimes my wrists might hurt but i always think its just my technique. I was just wondering if there were any long term effects on my knuckles or especially my wrist as I obviously don't want that when I get older. thanks. its something like the bag below.

It's like anything else where you might wear protection that you don't seem to "need" in the moment.

Sunscreen? Maybe you don't burn easy so you don't bother. But there is a risk of long term problems.

Knee pads for guys that work on their knees? (ex tiling) probably can do it for a while and be fine, but you're accumulating damage slowly over time and could eventually wreck your knees.

If you don't wear wraps hitting the bag you'll probably be fine in the short term. But if you are doing a lot of it over a long period of time you risk doing damage that you can't undo to your hands.