How to deal with bruised knuckles in martial arts

If you train a striking-based martial arts, then the chances are that you’ve bruised your muscles from time to time. On some occasions, this can be a minor annoyance. On other occasions, this can be quite painful and stop you from training for a while.

Because of this, a lot of fighters and martial artists often look at ways how to improve their knuckles to make them less vulnerable. It’s not just knuckles either, all sorts of body parts as a martial artist will get bruised and it’s inevitable. Hopefully, this guide will answer any lingering questions, as well as how to train around bruised knuckles.

Why martial artists get bruised knuckles

It doesn’t take a genius to understand why martial artists get bruised knuckles. In short, punching hard objects such as bags and bones can damage your knuckles. Understandably, this goes with the territory and even the best around will get bruised from time to time.

Although punching is a fairly natural action, it’s still something that is unnatural to do on a regular basis such as an MMA fighter. Therefore, if you’re worried about getting bruised knuckles as a martial artist, then you’re probably thinking about it wrong as this is commonplace.

How to stop getting bruised knuckles

Use ice and anti-inflammatories to lessen your bruises

If your pain is that bad then there are some short-term fixes to consider. For instance, you could choose to put ice on your knuckles which is a proven way to remove the swelling. Just make sure you do this within 48 hours of the initial bruising otherwise the results will be less effective.

Similarly, you can choose to opt for anti-inflammatories instead, such as ibuprofen. Just try not to make this a regular habit as constant use of pills and medicines isn’t always the best strategy, especially if you can tolerate the pain. Still, a combination of ibuprofen and ice will certainly bring swelling down and could knock recovery time off the clock by acting early.

Wrap your knuckles

Perhaps the most common reason why people get bruised knuckles is due to failing to cover their knuckles properly. Often, people throw on a bit of bandage, put their gloves on, and then spar without much thought given to the process. Remember, wrapping your knuckles correctly will help protect them from getting hurt.

The reason for this is that the wrap tightens your knuckles and will stop them from sticking out and getting caught when throwing punches. Over the course of a training session, this is something to keep in mind, as it could be the difference between sore knuckles and being fine. This is an activity that literally takes one minute to do, so make sure you do it properly for the sake of your knuckles.

Lastly, if you’re using old boxing gloves then the padding may have started to disintegrate which may leave your knuckles more exposed. This may be from the inside where it’s less visible, which could lead to more wrist injuries.

Bro-science ways to stop bruises

Although the above methods are proven ways to prevent and cure bruised knuckles, there are some other things to consider. Please note before continuing, that these methods can be considered as ‘bro-science’ and we don’t recommend them. However, they are something that you may want to consider if you’re feeling experimental.

Bruising may lessen over time

According to some martial artists, bruising of the body lessens over time. This may sound odd, but according to people that train regularly, your body will naturally adapt and become harder to bruise. There’s not really much scientific evidence to back up this claim, but if you go around any martial arts gym then you will find a number of people who claim this is something that happens.

Seriously, if you bruise less over time then it could be due to a number of factors, including better punching technique, better hand wraps, and other things worth mentioning. Even a change of diet may help. However, the idea that people’s bodies naturally adapt seems to be reaching a little.

Condition your knuckles

Perhaps a more solid route to lessening bruised knuckles is by conditioning them. This is something that can take years to do – and you’ll have to be patient in doing so. But, it’s something to consider. Going back to ancient Kung Fu, some martial artists would devote hours of their day to creating an ‘iron fist’ which would be done by hitting your knuckles and hands-off hard materials.

The idea of this isn’t to break your hand – but apparently, each time your hand gets hit, it makes micro-tears. If you allow these tears to naturally heal, then like muscles they will grow back bigger due to bigger tissue scar due to recovered scars.

This can lead to some pretty big, disfigured looking hands and you’ve also got to be wary of injuries when doing these exercises. Still, it’s something to think about if you want hardened fists.

Improve your technique and get hit less

This advice goes for martial artists who want to lessen bruising over their body by getting hit less. Honestly, this isn’t great advice as everyone gets hit at some point. Even if you’re the best fighter in the room, you’ll still get caught from time to time.

Having said this, if you can manage to avoid getting hit then those areas will probably get bruised less. This method won’t do much where your knuckles are concerned but obviously, being very good at martial arts is less likely to result in damage.

Imagine a beginner who gets hit 100 times per average sparring session. Now, imagine a veteran who gets hit 20 times per average sparring session. Clearly, the one will come out of the gym with more bruises compared to the other. We won’t explain which one…

Other bruises that are from different martial arts

Whilst bruised knuckles are common with boxers and those who do striking-based martial arts, there are also other bruises on the body that are exclusive to other martial arts as well.

For instance, if you train Muay Thai or Kickboxing, then the chances are you’ll often have bruised feet and shins. This is understandable as just like the knuckles, these limbs will also take hits when giving and receiving kicks. To counter this, wearing shin guards is important, as well as good technique and other methods mentioned above.

Other martial arts that aren’t focused on as much where bruising is concerned is the grappling disciplines. For example, if you train BJJ or Judo in a gi, then your body may get pinched around the arms which will cause bruising.

Similarly, if you train wrestling then people will often squeeze parts of your body which can also lead to bruises. Although grappling tends to lead to less bruising, the annoying thing is that it can lead to more all over the body. Sadly, this is something that is pretty hard to escape, regardless of what you train.

Summary

Let’s face it – bruising isn’t the worst thing to worry about when doing martial arts. In fact, there are plenty of more pressing injuries and physical issues that are common with training. However, if bruises do agitate you (whether for personal or professional reasons) then there are some methods to help improve your body fight back.

From wrapping knuckles more efficiently, to improving your striking technique – generally, if you’re a bit more mindful then it may go a long way.