Foot Pain

[nodachi]

After every practice now I am starting to have pain on the ball of my foot. It isn't quite centered there though, it is closer to the area in the center, just before where my toes begin. At the end of practice when Kendo time is over and my focus returns to normal everyday life I start to realize it is hurting. Pressure on that area kinda hurts. Right now it's mild. It heals up after a day, but it always comes back after a practice.

Is this something anyone else has experienced? Is it probably just my feet developing new callouses or is it an indication that my weight is too far forward or what or is it a sign of a more serious thing going to happen later if I don't fix it?

Enlighten me....

Thanks

[sminki]

i think this may be similar to an injury which i've experienced. don't take my word for it though and go to the doctor if this persists.

i once felt pain in my muscle located on the outer heel (below the ankle on the side of the heel). i couldn't understand why it hurt as the pain was not a heel spur or a sprained ankle. rather, it was a muscular pain and it was severe enough to prevent me from walking.

i went to the doctor and found out that muscles inside you can get bruised and that it takes 2+ weeks to heal. i skipped kendo for a week and it felt better, so i went back and it started to hurt again. so i took a few weeks off and thankfully i haven't gotten it since. but it did take some serious rest.

[Aaron]

I know the feeling. When I first started my feet were killing me by the end of practice. I could barely walk back to the train station! A couple months into my training Oribe Sensei noticed I was Pulling my right foot up too high before "stomping" when delivering a men. He corrected me, and told me to put my energy into forward movement, towards my opponent, and less into the hardwood floor. Now i try to raise my foot as little as possible when delivering a men. Without the big dramatic stomp I can deliver the blow faster and with much less pain for me.

[Winter_Wolf]

Hi,
I've experienced something similar in the middle of of my foot. Usually I only feel this pain when I have my foot up to hi for men strikes, so in the end my pain was really helpful. In your case however, I would most definitely check in w/ a doctor.
thanks,
W.W.

[Steve]

I bet its from how you land during your footwork. Your foot has to land essentailly flat in order to be considered "correct". If you do, you'll get the standard Kendo stomp. Most people either start by landing on their toes or on their heel, and the best "stomp" you get is more of a loud "thud".

I would bet you are landing on your toes first, and all that pressure has most likely caused some kind of bruising.

I used to land on my heel, and i had similar pains as yours, which got progressively worse until it got tot the point where the day after class i couldn't walk without limping.

Now is a good time to revisit your footwork basics and correct the problem before you really hurt your foot. how? Ask your sensei / sempai to watch your footwork and help you correct it.

Think of it as clapping. If you clap your hands, you make the clapping sound only if your hands hit together flat. If you finger tips hit first, or the heels of your palms hit first the most you'll get is a little "thud". Same principle with Kendo footwork.

This is just my opinion/advice from my own experiences, so take it with a grain of salt. The best thing to do is to see a "sports" doctor or specialist and talk to your sensei.

goodluck.

[gill]

Nodachi, Is it your right or left foot? Everyones messages above are in relation to the right foot - but I have had something similar in my left foot - which through medical misdiagnosis got worse! It could be a stress fracture, and the best way to stop it happening is to make sure that your feet are parallel. If your back foot isn't straight, it can cause a lot of problems - and pain!

Hope it helps!

Gill :D

[nodachi]

It is my left foot mainly. I think I may be putting too much weight on it. I have been told that the back foot has 60% of the wieght, but I may be overdoing it and putting all my weight there because in the past I have been putting too much weight forward.

[munenmuso]

One time, I had three terrible callouses developed on the same spot at the ball of my right foot in three consecutive sessions. It was too much for me! I can hardly walk cause it was already too deep, I can feel the sting every time I stride or stomp for that matter. Worst, last of that session was a shiai. I was almost limping all the way and can't concentrate too much with my match.

I felt very relieved when it was over. I checked it after the match and it was badly beaten and sored almost beyond recognition.

Any advice my fellow kenshi?

[Steve]

If you want to remove your calouses, soak them in hot water and then get a calous file to pull off the dead skin.

[samurai999]

Originally posted by Aaron
I know the feeling. When I first started my feet were killing me by the end of practice. I could barely walk back to the train station! A couple months into my training Oribe Sensei noticed I was Pulling my right foot up too high before "stomping" when delivering a men. He corrected me, and told me to put my energy into forward movement, towards my opponent, and less into the hardwood floor. Now i try to raise my foot as little as possible when delivering a men. Without the big dramatic stomp I can deliver the blow faster and with much less pain for me.

Heh.. Interesting you bring up the fumikomiashi.. I was reading an article in Kendo Nippon with the articles on Miyazaki's advice.. His worry was that people aren't bringing that foot up enough. I was reading along and caught a portion of that article where it said that his sensei always told him don't think about it too much.. Just bring it up high and bring it down hard. If you land properly, then it doesn't really hurt... Plus it sorta gets the "butterflies" out of the system.

My sensei on the other hand says the exact opposite. Lifiting it up too high sorta exposes your motions and could hurt your foot if you do it wrong. He sorta likened it to lifitng your foot over a floor that is covered with marbles.

Tim

[kendomushi]

Try wearing a tabi on the left foot for a practice or two if you don't already. Should the pain not show up when wearing the tabi, its likely you are slightly twisting the foot when you push off it to attack. If the pain persists, I'm at a loss sorry.

[Ostrak]

Nodachi-I have the same pain on my left foot, almost dead center right before the toes. I'm just going on month two of Kendo so take this with a grain of salt. For me I think it's from Fumikomi. My feet didn't hurt until I started learning this and it hurts in slightly different locations (angles?) as my fumikomi gets better. It is, however, lessening now that I've been doing fumikomi for a few weeks.

[PhilMcLaughlin]

IS this left foot or right foot pain ?

If it is right foot then incorrect striking of the floor is the likely cause (especially if the ball of the foot lands first)

If it is left foot pain the it is likely to be either because the foot is rotating on push off or that the muscles in the base of foot are being over strained

in either case careful warming up and stretching of the foot and lower legs is required. I also found massging the sole of the foot useful

hope this helps

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by samurai999

My sensei on the other hand says the exact opposite. Lifiting it up too high sorta exposes your motions and could hurt your foot if you do it wrong. He sorta likened it to lifitng your foot over a floor that is covered with marbles.

I like the marble analogy. Lifting your foot up too high is wasted energy. The whole idea of the attack is to bring your body forward and down into the cut. Going up first is just a waste of time.

[KhawMengLee]

Yeah....I got that problem...I lift my foot way too high and don't push forward enough...so at times it looks wierd because I try to get a cut but only my hands reach forward and the legs fall to short...sigh...more practice

[Gothic_Coop]

quote:
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Originally posted by samurai999

My sensei on the other hand says the exact opposite. Lifiting it up too high sorta exposes your motions and could hurt your foot if you do it wrong. He sorta likened it to lifitng your foot over a floor that is covered with marbles.

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I have been working on this for a few weekas now (ya I am a newby) I was a wrestler for many years and i found for me lis like trying to step on someones toes. you dont have to lift the foot hig to do it. It is like doing a duble lag shot (wrestling term) trying to step on there toes.

It may not make sense but it has been working for me.
My sensei said my foot should thud instead of band the floor.

on another note the foot work for kendo is WAY diffrent than wrestling. I have a hard time keeping my right foot square do to wrestling, more footwork for me.