gloves

[WayneFlint]

Dont worry about it mate, you will find most of us are nice and willing to help and give advice on here rather than just ridicule and mock newcomers, and to answer your question yes you have tore the skin on your knuckle because of not using gloves, i would let it heal up first then get some gloves and get back into it, it might be a little painful to hit the bags now even with the gloves so it might be a good idea to wait till you heal up.

[Chris Nagel]

I use mexican style hand wraps. It's longer, usually 160-180", and have elastic in them which makes them a little stretchy. I like the extra length it offers as it allows me to fold the bandage back and forth over my knuckles for more protection, and then wrapping in between my fingers so that it doesn't come loose. It doesn't rub against my knuckles like a regular 120" bandage would. I recommend it. You can find it in a lot of boxing/mma catalogs, but you can get it far cheaper here: Ambra Le Roy Medical Products Online Store

That'd be enough if you're just hitting the pear-shaped-bag, but I'd get a pair of gloves for when you hit the heavy bag. If it's soft-filled, you can get by with lighter, minimally padded bag gloves. If it's a little hard/stiff like most heavybags, I'd go with 12-14 oz gloves. I wouldn't get the MMA gloves, unless I planned on participating in any MMA. Although, come to think of it, they don't have the foam claw like regular boxing gloves which would resist your efforts to close your hand. That's a positive. On the other hand, boxing gloves have a little foam bar that you curl your fingers around enabling you to make a more solid fist.