http://www.myboxingcoach.com - Before we look at the video on wrapping your hands, there is a golden rule that I must make as plain and clear as possible. Never, ever hit a punch bag without appropriate hand protection. Don’t even be tempted to have a little pop as you walk past. The damage that you can do if you don’t have hand wraps or bandaged and protected with gloves is immense. I’m not talking about nasty little cuts and abrasions here, I’m talking about disintegrated knuckles and shattered metacarpals where the damage is so grave that the hand is permanently disfigured and will never function properly again. There is a range of options available when it comes to hand protection (I've provided a selection at the end of the article), none of which are going to break the bank, so there’s no excuse for not avoiding pain and problems. Hand protection is covered in the main by the following options: Boxing Hand Wraps Crepe Bandages Gel Under Gloves In the following video I explain exactly how I have been protecting my hands for more years than I can remember by using boxing hand wraps. Hand wraps are a modern progression of the old fashioned crepe bandage. Hand wraps consist of very tightly woven fabric and are available in a range of colours and are specialised pieces of kit designed for combat sports such as boxing, Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Hand wraps include a loop or ‘partial glove’ at one end (to provide the anchor point to wrap the hands) and a Velcro fastener at the other end, allowing a speedy application. Hand wraps tend to provide a higher level of protection than crepe bandages and would not ordinarily require the addition of sponge layers to improve protection. That is not to say that you couldn't put a crepe bandage on underneath a wrap in order to double up your protection. Go for the longer version of the wrap, that's 5 yards (4.5 metres).