What hand protection should I buy if I'm training for self defense?

I have a Muay Thai heavy bag but I don%26#039;t have any protection for my hands, what should I get?





I like the feel of MMA gloves and/or wraps, and hate wearing big gloves.





(I%26#039;m training for self-defense so if I do get into a fight, I would be fighting bare fist).)





Also, would I need protection anywhere else? (I%26#039;m not getting struck, I%26#039;m using a punching bag).|||Don%26#039;t get MMA gloves for this, they offer no real protection for your for bag work other than superficial protection of the skin, they will cause other problems such as blistering and damaging the skin between the fingers, and they aren%26#039;t meant for heavy bag work.





Funny how the hobbyists use all these crazy methods for strengthening their fists but the guys who actually use their fists for a living go with with wraps and gloves... interesting.





Fighting bare fists have little to no relevance on bag work, bag work has little relevance to actually fighting, it is a conditioning tool. Mean to help strengthen the bones in your hands, as well as train your brain to allow you to punch harder. They are also good check points for your technique and getting to feel the impact of full power shots on something that has some slight give to it.





So wrap up, wear some decent gloves. You don%26#039;t have to get 16oz gloves to hit a bag, again they help with conditioning (keeping you arms up, giving you some extra weight and resistance), but being wrapped up, and wearing some light bag gloves are just fine.





In a real situation, no matter how you train on the heavy bag, or what bone conditioning you try to do, you are going to injure your hands if you are really hitting someone hard. You are going to hit the skull at some point, you are going to hit the mouth and get cuts and scrapes, your are going to miss and hit arms, elbows, etc. The small bones in your hands are going to impact against bigger thicker bones, and they will get damaged.





No amount of Chinese Herbs, gravel pits, bare fisted bag work is going to prevent simple physics.





So you are better off protecting your hands and allowing yourself to learn to hit as hard as possible.





And like shooters is saying.. get an instructor.





Hitting a heavybag will not make you a better fighter or teach you how to fight any better. Even protected you stand a reasonable chance of injuring yourself on a heavybag without some instruction on how to hit it properly.





That is provided you plan on actually hitting the heavy bag full force, and not trying to look like Jeff Speakman with tippy tap combinations with no power behind it.





Real working of the heavy bag requires protection, to train without it is foolish.





But real %26quot;Training for self defense%26quot; requires actual training and instruction, and not just working a heavybag.





If you have a Thai bag.. (I assume you mean banana bag) then you require no other protection, you can kick the bag and be fine.





Keep in mind your hands are basically small bones with a ton of joints, ligaments, tendons, and soft tissue. You can%26#039;t strengthen tendons and ligaments. And you don%26#039;t make these areas tougher through repeated impact. The best you can do is learn how to kinetically link everything so that it all comes in line and allows your joints to be shock absorbers. You can also cause microfractures in your bones allowing them to become denser. This occurs while wrapped in the exact same amount and degree as being unwrapped, it is the impact itself that does it.





In short, there are no advantages for being unwrapped, but a ton for being wrapped and protecting your hands.|||The only protection you need for any bag is dit-da-jow. Its a chinese herb mix that you can get in any Chinatown, or if you have a Chinese herb shop locally. You apply it before bag work and it prevents bruising while your hands get harder. The herbs are mixed with alcohol and last forever. I used it while doing Wing-Chun and I used to hit bags filled with bearings, gravel and stones; that was a few years ago and my hands are still good and strong. Start hitting soft and over the weeks gradually increase the power, regardless what is inside the bag.|||I%26#039;d recommend MMA-style gloves with wraps underneath. I haven%26#039;t tried %26quot;gel wraps%26quot;, but those might also suit your needs. For practice, you%26#039;re going to want the wrist support of wraps if you%26#039;re hitting hard. I%26#039;d also suggest that if you%26#039;re really concerned about hitting with your bare fist, to do some light-to-moderate bareknuckle striking every now and then.|||I%26#039;m training for self-defense so if I do get into a fight, I would be fighting bare fist).)





You answered your own question.gloves are for competition and partner work and get an instructor while you are at it.|||MMA gloves or Wraps up to you


I like them both








Depends how conditioned your shins are


you might want to get shin guards or pads|||band-aids