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29/07/2020Hints & TipsStrapping Tapes
Finger taping is popular in grappling sports, climbing and martial arts. It is used to increase your grip strength and prevent injured figures from moving laterally.
Discover WHY, and HOW athletes all over the world use SPORTTAPE FINGER TAPE to improve their performance and protect their fingers from further injury.
THE PURPOSE OF FINGER TAPING
There are 2 main styles of finger taping. ‘X’ taping and ‘Buddy’ taping. You can use both at the same time if necessary, they serve difference purposes.
X TAPING
Athletes use this application a lot in martial arts and combat sports (such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling and MMA), and also in climbing.
It can help to prevent excessive force being applied to the joints in the fingers when gripping and grappling. This increases your grip strength by moving the strength emphasis away from your fingers to your wrist and hands.
Rip a long strip of 1.25cm or 2.5cm Zinc Oxide tape and wrap 1-2 times around the finger that you want to tape beneath the knuckle.
Bring the tape up at an angle over the front knuckle joint line creating one half of an X. Wrap the tape 1-2 times around the upper knuckle, making sure not to tape over the real joint line as you still need to be able to bend the finger.
Come back down to where you started, again crossing the joint line to make a full X. Wrap 1-2 more times around lower finger to lock off.
You should be able to still bend the finger but it should feel supported and the last couple of degrees locked off by the thickness of the tape. This will force you into using more forearm strength when gripping rather than purely the finger.
Repeat on as many fingers as needed.
This application is incredibly important in martial arts if you are grappling on the mat. Your fingers will be prevented from being forced into rotation when trapped against the floor. This will prevent injury and also allow you to roll your opponent more easily.
BUDDY TAPING
Aptly called Buddy Taping as you will be taping one finger to another.
By splinting 2 fingers together, you prevent the injured finger from moving laterally. This reduces the chances of sprains and breaks caused by ‘jammed fingers’.
Rip 2 strips of Zinc Oxide tape, about the same length as your finger. The best size is a 2.5cm width.
Start taping on the bottom of the ‘good’ finger, then wrap around the ‘bad’ finger, splinting them together.
Repeat at the top of the finger to create 2 points of splinting.
That’s it. Now get out there and play! Now get out there and win! Buy your tape below…
