How to Wear Hand Wraps

Co-authored by David Engel

Last Updated: October 19, 2024 Fact Checked

Hand wraps are used in boxing and other contact sports in order to protect the athlete's hands and knuckles when punching. Without them, serious damage may be done to your fingers, knuckles, hands, and/or wrists. While there are many different techniques for wrapping your hands, this basic hand wrap can help you give your joints and bones extra support.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Starting with Your Wrist and Hand

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1
Hook your thumb through the loop. First, hold your hand up in an open position, palm-down. Keep your hand straight with your forearm, with your fingers straight and slightly spread out. Spread your fingers and thumb apart. Then slip the wrap’s looped end over your thumb so that the wrap itself falls across the back of your hand.^{[1]
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- Be sure to begin wrapping your hand across the back of your hand rather than your palm. Beginning with the back of your hand will prevent the wrap from loosening later on.
2
Wrap your wrist. Let the wrap fall from the outside (pinky-end) of your hand. Pull the loose end under your wrist, below the ball of your thumb. Then wind it over the top of your wrist, drawing it tight enough to provide support for your wrist, but not so tight that it cuts off circulation. Repeat so that you complete a total of two to three passes under and over your wrists.^{[2]
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- For extra support, wrap your wrist three times. However, if your wrap is too short, or if you prefer keeping your wrists a little loose for specific punching styles (like uppercuts and angled hooks), only wrap it twice.
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3
Encase your hand. Once you have finished your wrist, let the loose end hang once again from the outside of your wrist. Pull the loose end under your palm to the area between your thumb and index finger. Draw it over the top of your hand, again making sure that you pull it tight enough for support, but not tight enough to restrict blood-flow. Repeat for a total of three passes under and over your hand.^{[3]
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- At this point, focus more on wrapping your hand securely rather than your knuckles.
Joe Frazier, Former World Heavyweight Champion

Wrapping your hands properly before gloving up is as vital as any punch you'll throw. Take care to provide support at the wrist while allowing flexibility of the fingers. Wrap snugly but not so tight as to cut circulation. The wrap protects skin and bone, secures unstable joints, and absorbs sweat so your gloves stay drier. With practice, hand wrapping becomes second nature — treat it as an essential ritual that readies the warrior for battle.

Part 2

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Moving on to Your Fingers

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Start between your pinky and ring fingers. The loose end of your wrap should again be hanging from the outside of your hand. Draw it under your palm to where your wrist meets the ball of your thumb. From there, pull it over the top of your hand and down in between your pinky and ring fingers. Then draw the wrap to the inside of your hand. Pull it up and over your index knuckle and then across the back of your hand to where it meets your wrist.^{[4]
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- Looking at the top of your hand, you will now see that you have formed an X, with the loose end once again hanging off the outside of your hand.
Draw the loose end under your hand so that it comes up below your thumb, as before. Now pull it over the top of your hand and down in between your ring and middle fingers. Draw the wrap to the inside of your hand. Pull it around your index knuckle and then cross the back of your hand again, finishing as before with the loose end hanging from the outside of your hand, at its bottom.^{[5]
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Repeat the same process. Only this time, pull the wrap down in between your middle and index fingers. This way, each knuckle will be supported and safely separated from each other, reducing the risk of injury. Finish as before by drawing the wrap from the inside of your hand, across the back, and down around the bottom, where it meets your wrist.^{[6]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Finishing Up

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After you finish the last X along the back of your hand, pull the loose end under the bottom of your hand, below your thumb. Now wrap it over and under your thumb, covering the joint in the middle of your thumb. Only do so once. After that, flip your hand so that the palm faces up.
Once you have flipped your hand over, draw the wrap along the back of your hand to where it meets your wrist on the pinky-side. Now pull it up and over the bottom of your palm to the base of your thumb. With your thumb spread wide, pull the wrap behind your thumb and then straight across your palm to its pinky-side.^{[7]
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Pull the wrap around the backs of your knuckles. Then draw it over the base of your fingers along your palm. Repeat this twice, for a total of three wraps around your knuckles.^{[8]
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4
Velcro to finish. Once you have wrapped your knuckles, draw what is left of your wrap down to your wrist. If you have excess material left, either wrap it around your knuckles as before, create more X’s across the back of your hand, or both. Once done, use the velcro to secure your wrap along your wrist. Clench your hand into a fist to make sure the wrap tightens when you do so.^{[9]
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- Be sure that any excess wrapping along your knuckles doesn’t prevent your glove from fitting. If your glove doesn’t fit with all that extra padding, use a shorter wrap.

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How do you wrap your hands properly for Muay Thai?

David Engel
Muay Thai Instructor & Self Defense Trainer
David Engel is a Muay Thai Instructor and Self Defense Trainer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 15 years of martial arts instruction and training experience, David runs California Martial Athletics with co-owner Joe Chernay. He has created and maintained martial arts programs at Rise Combat Sports in San Francisco and Round 5 Martial Arts Academy in San Leandro, with a mission to provide students with a level of comfort and competency that manifests both within and outside the martial arts context. He is also a registered cornerman for amateur and pro competitors under the IKF (International Kickboxing Federation). David was the youngest apprentice instructor of the Thai Boxing Association of America under Ajarn Chai Sirisute (2009), and was a top-ranked amateur competitor in his weight class (127-130 lb) in California between 2013 and 2015.

David Engel

Muay Thai Instructor & Self Defense Trainer

Expert Answer

Take the hand wrap and fold it back and forth 8 to 10 times to match the size of your fist. You place that bed of padding on top of your knuckles. The tail end of the hand wrap should be hanging away from your pinky finger. Then, you're going to wrap three times around the top of that bed of padding to secure the padding to the knuckles. After the third loop, you're going to go from the wrist to the gap between your pinky and ring finger. You bring it in between the knuckle into the palm of the hand and then in between the knuckle of the index and the thumb. Wrap it back over your hand, go around the the wrist again, then go in between the ring and the middle finger. Then wrap it around again, thumb to index finger, and go two times around the palm of the hand. You finish by wrapping up the wrist, but stop about three quarters of the way up the forearm.

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How do I do a back flip when I lack confidence?

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You will need to have a person spot you on your back leg.You will also need something soft to land on, so you do not get hurt. Also, watch a few videos on how to do it to help build your confidence.

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Hand wraps provide protection by keeping your bones and joints grouped together in proper alignment.^{[10]
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Research source} If you need extra padding/cushioning, consider a new pair of gloves, since providing such is their function.

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Lengths for wraps may range up between 180–220 in (460–560 cm). If you have bigger hands, you may need larger wraps.^{[11]
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Research source} Experiment with various lengths until you find the ideal one.

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This is a basic hand wrap technique. Other techniques may vary in the order that they wrap the fingers, but generally, this technique will work.

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Warnings

If you feel any pain in your hands that is unrelated to training and/or notice that the exposed skin of your fingers has become off-color, unwrap your hands and try again, since this is probably a sign that your blood’s circulation has been cut off.^{[12]
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