Getting Started with the 180s
Alright, so today I wanna talk about wrapping hands, specifically using those 180-inch wraps. Took me a while to get this down smoothly, but here’s how I go about it now after plenty of practice sessions.
First thing, I unroll the wrap completely. Make sure there are no twists in it, lay it out flat. Find that little loop at one end. That’s where we start.
The Process I Follow
Here’s the drill I settled into:
- Thumb Loop First: I slip my thumb through that loop. Make sure the stitching or the ‘this side down’ label (if it has one) is facing away from my skin. Keeps things smoother.
- Wrist Support: From the thumb, I immediately go around my wrist. Usually three, maybe four times. Gotta get that wrist nice and secure. This felt really important right from the start. If the wrist feels loose, the whole wrap feels off.
- Over to the Knuckles: After the wrist, I bring the wrap across the back of my hand, up towards the knuckles. I go right over the knuckles, covering them well. Probably three times here too. Want padding there for hitting the bag or pads.
- The ‘X’ Pattern: This part took some fiddling. From the knuckles, I go back down across the back of my hand towards the wrist, crossing over the first path, making an ‘X’. Then I wrap around the wrist once more to lock it in.
- Between the Fingers: Okay, now the tricky bit that needed practice. I bring the wrap up from the wrist, go between my pinky and ring finger, then back across the palm and around the base of the thumb. Then I repeat: up between the ring and middle finger, back across the palm, around the thumb base. One more time between the middle and index finger, same path back. This felt awkward at first, bunching up, but keeping the wrap flat is key. I don’t pull super tight here, just snug.
- Locking the Thumb: Sometimes I add a loop around the base of the thumb here, sometimes I skip it depending on how much wrap I have left and how my thumb feels that day. If I do it, I go around the thumb once or twice, then back to the wrist.
- Securing the Knuckles Again: With whatever wrap is left, I usually go back over the knuckles one more time. Just reinforces that padding.
- Finishing at the Wrist: Finally, I use the rest of the wrap around the wrist. Criss-cross it a bit if there’s enough length, just make sure it ends nicely so the velcro strap lines up perfectly over the wrist area. Slap that velcro down tight.
How It Feels
When I’m done, my hand feels solid. Not tight like it’s cutting off circulation, but compressed and supported. The knuckles feel padded, the wrist feels strong. You can make a good fist. Took a bunch of tries, wrapping and unwrapping, to get the tension right and the steps memorized so I wasn’t fumbling around forever. But yeah, that’s my routine for the 180 wraps now. Works for me.
