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Faizan
Nature didn’t design your hands for throwing a punch, according to five-time kickboxing champion Kathy Long in Adrienne Lee Bell’s article “The Hit List: Gloves Are the Most Important Gear a Martial Artist Will Ever Own” in “Black Belt.” You need gloves with extra padding for your knuckles as well as support for your wrists. The types of gloves you use in kickboxing will depend on whether you’re training or in competition.
Gloves
For kickboxing, you need gloves with at least four layers of padding in the front that cover your knuckles, according to Joe Lewis’ article “Full Contact” in “Black Belt.” Many boxing gloves don’t meet this standard. You can put pressure on the glove and press in toward the knuckles to figure out if the manufacturer has used inexpensive foam or too few layers of padding. For competition, gloves will range from 8 to 10 ounces for men depending in your weight class. All women must use 10-ounce gloves.
Training and Sparring
When you’re training on heavy or speed bags, pads or focus mitts, you can use bag gloves to protect your knuckles. These gloves are typically lighter and smaller than those used for competition or sparring. If you’re training for a kickboxing match, avoid an open-finger glove. Although they may give you more room to move, they don’t provide sufficient knuckle support, according to Long. If you’re sparring with a partner, you’ll need 16- to 18-ounce gloves. These gloves can be heavy and bulky, but provide more protection for your hands.
Hand Wraps
You can use wrapping for your hands to prevent injuries to your knuckles. There are two main types of hand wraps. The first is a long and white bandage-like wrap that you can loop around your palm, knuckles, fingers and thumb. This type of wrap typically ranges from 108 to 180 inches in length, according to Ross O’Donnell’s book “The Ultimate Fitness Boxing and Kickboxing Workout.” If you select the longer length, you can squeeze out more layers of protective loops around your knuckles. The other type is a short wrap with a loop already built in for your thumb. If you’re in competition, you have to wear the long white wraps. While a trainer does the wrapping, a fight official will assess the work to make sure that the fighter’s hands have maximum protection.
Considerations
Injuries that can result from repeated punching is “boxers knuckle pads,” or corns and calluses that grow on your knuckles, according to IDEA Health & Fitness’ book “Injury Prevention for Fitness Instructors." This condition typically stems from incorrect form and excessive force used when delivering punches. If you’re performing jabs or cross punches with your palm fully turned down instead of the angled three-quarter rotation in which your fist is between a horizontal and vertical placement, the force of your punch isn’t being distributed evenly or released properly. This alignment will also put too much pressure on the knuckle of your middle finger. It’s important to not only use padding to protect your knuckles but also to use correct form when punching.
Gloves
For kickboxing, you need gloves with at least four layers of padding in the front that cover your knuckles, according to Joe Lewis’ article “Full Contact” in “Black Belt.” Many boxing gloves don’t meet this standard. You can put pressure on the glove and press in toward the knuckles to figure out if the manufacturer has used inexpensive foam or too few layers of padding. For competition, gloves will range from 8 to 10 ounces for men depending in your weight class. All women must use 10-ounce gloves.
Training and Sparring
When you’re training on heavy or speed bags, pads or focus mitts, you can use bag gloves to protect your knuckles. These gloves are typically lighter and smaller than those used for competition or sparring. If you’re training for a kickboxing match, avoid an open-finger glove. Although they may give you more room to move, they don’t provide sufficient knuckle support, according to Long. If you’re sparring with a partner, you’ll need 16- to 18-ounce gloves. These gloves can be heavy and bulky, but provide more protection for your hands.
Hand Wraps
You can use wrapping for your hands to prevent injuries to your knuckles. There are two main types of hand wraps. The first is a long and white bandage-like wrap that you can loop around your palm, knuckles, fingers and thumb. This type of wrap typically ranges from 108 to 180 inches in length, according to Ross O’Donnell’s book “The Ultimate Fitness Boxing and Kickboxing Workout.” If you select the longer length, you can squeeze out more layers of protective loops around your knuckles. The other type is a short wrap with a loop already built in for your thumb. If you’re in competition, you have to wear the long white wraps. While a trainer does the wrapping, a fight official will assess the work to make sure that the fighter’s hands have maximum protection.
Considerations
Injuries that can result from repeated punching is “boxers knuckle pads,” or corns and calluses that grow on your knuckles, according to IDEA Health & Fitness’ book “Injury Prevention for Fitness Instructors." This condition typically stems from incorrect form and excessive force used when delivering punches. If you’re performing jabs or cross punches with your palm fully turned down instead of the angled three-quarter rotation in which your fist is between a horizontal and vertical placement, the force of your punch isn’t being distributed evenly or released properly. This alignment will also put too much pressure on the knuckle of your middle finger. It’s important to not only use padding to protect your knuckles but also to use correct form when punching.
Posted in: boxing
