minor injury

[Scotty Allen]

I often find after a class that I have split the skin on the underside of a toe at the first knuckle. It is more an annoyance than anything but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this and knows how to avoid it. It is not athlete's foot as far as I now.

[atgm]

This happens to me in kendo, usually when my feet are too dry/wet. If they're too dry, when I rotate quickly, the skin tends to break; if they're too wet, they have more traction and stick to the floor, which results in the skin tearing.

I started to use moistener at night to keep the skin pliable... that seems to have helped a little. It hasn't been happening as much lately, at least.

[Alicia]

This has been a recurring problem of mine, and pretty much the only way I have found to prevent it happening is to wrap a little bit of sports tape around my toe at each training. Which is a bit of a nuisance, but as soon as I don't do it again for a training then it will split again. If you just try to ignore it it will get slightly worse each training, and can become quite painful.

[Shinsengumi77]

It's common for me. I just cut the skin flap off and keep going. It's a bit of a nuisance, but eventually the area callouses over again -until the next time.

A small flesh wound is the least of my worries, compared to the problems with my Kendo.

[Andy_Watson]

I get it often especially during a long duration of practice. As already written, the skin gets dry and a bit weak, if the floor's sticky then that seems to be a bit of skin that gets loose and tears.

I think in general that keeping your feet soft is a better route to long-lasting budo training rather than developing callouses. Foot files and moisturising mush is the only solution.

[Newbie]

Happens to me at seminars, usually after the second day. Which is fine if it's a two or three day seminar. Sucks when it's week long nationals. I don't generally treat it, just hobble everywhere for a while. I have one know. Damn seminars.

[satsumaruma]

Don't often get blisters.

Possibly because Northerners tend to be quite rufty tufty!!

[1stdan]

I dont know how to fix your foot. But i a counting to see how many knuckles my toes have.

[pgsmith]

Hey Scotty,
I used to have that problem when I first started Sekiguchi ryu due to their signature landing in iai goshi. It would go in cycles of tear/heal/tear again. My doctor told me that I had to stretch the skin there so it would be able to handle the pressure. So, when it had healed again, I kept moisturizer on it and began working it every night. The moisturizer helps keep the skin supple, and getting down into iai goshi a number of times every night eventually stretched the skin out so that I no longer have problems. It only took a month or so of moisturizer and stretching before it stopped giving me problems. Always apply moisturizer before class until you've got the skin stretched out enough to make it unneeded, or it will tear again.

Good luck!

[Theodore]

Your friend for dry feet:

http://www.bagbalm.com/

Thin coat just out of the shower. Warning, smells of creosote. No idea why.

[Scotty Allen]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks.

I started today using a moisturizer (100% natural shea butter) before I put my shoes and socks on in the morning, kinda' felt like walking in molasses for awhile. I'll try some of the stretching as well, as Paul suggests. One can never do too many iai goshi.

[atgm]

Yeah, it's the walking in molasses feeling that gets to me. That's why I do it at night; plus, at night, the lotion isn't being aggravated by my socks and me walking around.

[rottunpunk]

it used to happen when i did kendo
and it happens in karate
i think its to do with the floor

again i recomend taping them up before hand

[chidokan]

I still get it now and again when I overdo the launch into nukitsuke, always left foot. Just practise and ignore it.

When I was a lad, a minor injury was getting your leg cut off. You lot are just soft nowadays....

[ShadowRaven]

When Chidokan was a lad

workin all day at the gravel pit
lifting rocks, on a big dinosaur I sit
Mister Slate gets mad and he throws a fit
pull the birdies tail
everybody know it's Time to quit