How to Tape Your Fingers for BJJ & the Benefits of it

If you’ve been training BJJ for a while, or just watching it, you may have noticed that BJJ practitioners tape their fingers. What is the tape? What does it do? How can I use it?

In this article, we’ll explain the benefits of tape on your fingers and how to properly tape them.

It is an athletic tape that BJJ practitioners use to protect their fingers from injury during training or competition. It is made specifically for BJJ, and it’s designed to be extremely durable so that it can withstand the rigors of this martial art.

In BJJ, your fingers are active all the time. Used for pulling the gi, grabbing the opponent’s wrist, gripping the opponent’s clothing, and so on, BJJ practitioners are very much dependent on their fingers. Therefore, they must pay close attention to their fingers. BJJ-specific finger tape is a must-have for every serious BJJ practitioner.

There are several different ways that you can tape your fingers, all of which we will explain. You can try them all out and see which works best for you.

This is named the X Taping because you will form the letter X between your finger joints with the tape with this method. This is one of the most popular finger-taping methods and is extremely easy to learn.

You start off by placing the tape below the DIP (distal interphalangeal) joint, which is the closest joint to the tip of your finger. Wrap the tape over it twice and move down towards your next joint in a diagonal line.

When you’ve reached a point just below the lower joint, wrap the tape over it twice, as you’ve done the first time. Now move the tape back up until you form an X between the two joints. Repeat the process until the tape has enough thickness to it.

This method is popular because it offers great protection for your fingers while not restricting their movement.

BJJ Stripes explains the first method very well:

Taping the knuckles only is the easiest method but it doesn’t offer as much protection as the X-taping does but its great if you have sore fingers and need to train. Simply wrap the tape over your knuckles a couple of times and you will be good to go.

This method is a bit more complicated to learn but it offers the most protection if your joints are slightly injured. The point of this method is to tape two of your fingers together so that when one of them moves, they will move as a unit.

You can tape the two fingers together just by placing a wider tape between the two joints, or by using the X method on two fingers.

We’ve mentioned that finger-taping can protect your fingers from injury, but there are also a few other benefits you may enjoy. Here are some benefits of finger-taping:

• They can build finger muscles;
• They increase grip strength;
• They can prevent smaller injuries to the fingers;
• They allow you to practice with smaller injuries to your joints by protecting them.

Tapes designed specifically for BJJ come in two different sizes: 0.3″ and 1.5″. They are mostly sold in a pack of 3 and more tape rolls.