As for gloves, get the laceless kind, either with an elastic cuff or the kind that secures with Velcro. Handwraps and gloves protect your hands. As I said in Chapter Three, keep your wrists straight at the moment of impact so you do not strain them. And you want your elbows to be slightly flexed when your glove strikes the bag. This keeps them from hyperextending.
Alignment is everything.
If you get your body in the correct position, the force of the punch explodes through you into the heavy bag. Technique is learned through repetition. Your jab will not come to you overnight, just as the hooks and the straight right will need to be perfected. Repetition paves the way for instinct. The more you practice being aware of it, the more it will begin to be your natural way of being.