Boxing is one of the most dangerous sports in the world. The risks of participating and competing in it—are huge. Essentially, two people, who have trained to punch hard, are trying to hurt the opponent as much as possible, with some rules protecting them. If you have long nails and want to box, you might be in for some trouble, however.
As a general rule, you can box with long nails as long as you wear protective gear, hence hand wraps and gloves. However, some nails won’t allow the boxer to wear the glove accordingly. That’ll happen because of an overly-extended length. Thus, you won’t be able to box unless you trim them, so they’ll fit in the glove.
Hand injuries are the most common in the sport of boxing. That’s why boxers must wear both hand wraps and gloves, to ensure their hands are good to go, even in professional tournaments.
With long nails, nonetheless, the case is different. You might not be able to close your fist without breaking your nails. If that’s the case, you’ll have a choice: either you trim down your overly-lengthy nails, or you simply don’t box.
While the answer, if you’re reading this article, is likely trimming down your nails, some may find it difficult to do so. If that’s you, you can move on to another non-contact sport, so you won’t hurt anyone unnecessarily.
This article will examine the dangers of nails in boxing. Likewise, we’ll examine the rules regarding such a topic—so you’ll know the best way to approach this situation. Before we dive in, however, if you want to learn whether you can box without gloves, follow the link to an article of mine.
How do boxers protect their long nails?
When you punch, you use many muscles in your body, including the abs, biceps, back, and even legs. The part that comes in contact with the opponent—is your knuckles, however. If you have lengthy nails that reach such a point, you’ll find it more difficult to protect them without cutting them off.
Boxers protect their long nails by wearing boxing gloves and hand wraps over them. However, you might not be able to wear such protective gear if they’re too long; in that case, you have two options: either risk them breaking or trimming them. Another method is to also wear a bandage covering the nails.
My personal recommendation is not to have overly-extended nails. Think about the amount of impact your hand will have in a single session. Now, think about the required impact to break your long nails; the first is much higher than the latter.
And still, if you decide to keep them, here’s what you should do to ensure their protection:
First, you must always, but always, wear hand wraps and boxing gloves. These hand protection will both divide and lesser the impact your nails will experience when you punch. The second thing is to ensure you punch with a solid form. If you don’t, you’re more likely to break them.
Also, wearing a bandage covering the nails and fixing them in place—is key to ensuring you don’t injure your hand. Eventually, however, you should have a balance between protection, comfort, and freedom of movement. If it’s too much of a hassle to box with long nails, consider trimming them.
Likewise, you can try wearing fingerless gloves. Although it won’t be ideal for the protection of your hands, it might be the solution you need to have both long nails and box. If you want to buy the best fingerless glove, follow the link. (Amazon)
Can you punch with long nails?
Starting to box—is always the most difficult part. Nevertheless, for both men and women with long nails, the situation may be more problematic. There’s no guarantee that you’ll take off your boxing gloves and see all your loved long-nails, well, broken. Let’s see if you can punch with them.
Generally, punching with long nails, especially with improper form, will provide enough impact to break them. However, if you wear both hand wraps and gloves, the impact your hand will have—will diminish. As such, if you want to keep your long nails intact, ensure to wear hand protective gear.
Likewise, wearing a bandage over them—will reduce the chances of you breaking them. And still, there’s always a risk when punching with overly-extended fingernails.
You essentially have two options; cutting them or risking breaking them. It really is as simple as that. There’s never a guarantee that you’ll see them as they were when you take off your boxing gloves.
If you don’t wear any protective gear with lengthy fingernails, however, avoid punching altogether. Not only are they extremely likely to break, but you’re also more capable of seriously hurting yourself and your training partner. If one of them ends up breaking and detonate to your partner, it may cause severe cuts.
Do ensure to avoid punching bare-knuckled with long fingernails.
The dangers of having long nails in boxing
When you punch, the impact you hit the target with, will also return to you. That’s one of the most basic rules in physics. For that reason, the harder you hit, the more impact your hand will feel. When thinking about it, it actually makes more and more sense.
The dangers of having long nails in boxing are in the following list:
- Breaking them
- Cutting yourself or your opponent
- Severely cutting your hand, especially if you wear boxing gloves
- Injuring either yourself or your training partner
- Hurting your hand
As you can see, having extended fingernails and boxing—don’t combine. Even if you wear hand wraps and gloves—you’re likely going to either break them or hurt your boxing partner in the process.
For that reason, I will encourage you to trim them to a point where they won’t disturb you punching. You might break your artificial fingernails, even if you end up trimming them. As such, it’ll be best to always keep them to a minimum.
Can you wear boxing gloves with long nails?
Regardless of why you have long nails, you’ll find they don’t go well with boxing. The case is similar to having piercings; you will always need to take extra care of them to ensure you don’t injure yourself. That will, eventually, fatigue you and reduce your chances of sticking with this wonderful sport.
As a general rule, you can, and should, wear boxing gloves if you have long-nails. You’ll be able to do so for the most part. However, your fingernails might break if you have overly-extended fingernails, only from trying to put them on. As such, be sure to trim them before your boxing class.
If you want to learn more about whether you can box with piercings, follow the link to an article of mine revealing the answer.
Another method you can try using if you’re unable to wear boxing gloves over your extended nails—is wearing a bandage over them. While it may not help for some, it might be the way to go for others.
The last thing I’ll say is that you can also wear fingerless gloves. However, your chances of hurting your hands—will improve. But, you might have to do so to protect your extended fingernails.
So, be sure to show up with trimmed fingernails to your next boxing class, if you don’t want to risk yourself and your partners in the process of punching.
Final words
Protecting yourself and your training partners—is a must. If you desire to box while having long nails—you must also consider the dangers of doing so.
It’s only common sense that punching bare-knuckled in such a situation—has more chances of hurting either yourself or your partner. Because of that, always having hand wraps and gloves on, will greatly diminish the risk of something bad happening.
I do encourage you to trim down your long nails, if you care about being comfortable in your next boxing class.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you’ll also enjoy reading about the best boxing shoes for your money. If you want to be more stable and slip less while boxing, you must buy high-quality footwear. Follow the link to see which are the best ones.