Need advice - first practice blisters (pics inside)

[maxalex]

Hello,

I went to my first Kendo practice on Monday and had 2 blisters (see the attached pic).

I want to go to practice tomorrow, but not sure if I would be able to handle the pain (tried to tape it up this morning and practiced okuri ashi). I know the rules - NO PAIN NO GAIN. However, should I let it heal at least a bit more? What do you think? Please advice.

THANKS.

[Masahiro]

yikes, the blisters looks pretty bad. You peeled the skin off didn't you? Next time don't. just let it stay on and then only peel it off after it dries up. If I were you, i would tape it up and go to practice. your will continuously get blisters on your feet for the first 10 monthes, so if you should feel like you need to take a break every time you get a blister. It may take you awhile to advance. But, I don't like choosing for someone. I think you have to think of it like this "will I regret not going to practice?" and then proceed from that point. Good luck,

[maxalex]

Masahiro, Thanks for the input.

You peeled the skin off didn't you?

I actually did not peeled the skin off - got the big one in the middle of practice (approx. 1 hour in) and the skin ripped in 10-15 minutes...

[Taek]

Wooo...that looks nasty. I'd recommend you to take it easy until it heals up. When I was doing my military service, everybody used to get lots of blisters by doing lots of walking in hard boot and my senior used to show me how to ease the pain and make it heal faster....I don't suggest anyone to try this but it was one of those funny thing I learnt in the army. He used to puncture the blister through from one side with a thin needle with cotton thread attached and all stuff inside will get absorbed by the thread as it comes out through the other side. Patch up with some anitseptic cream and bandage on to finish.
Bit rough way of treating the blister I guess but at least we never forgot to sterilize the needle with cigarlett lighter.

[taganahan]

ewww....you shouldn't really peel them. just wait for them to dry off, until the skin hardens and that the skin under it hardens too. maybe you should take a practice off. let it dry out for now.

~taganahan

[Swissv2]

Introducing more moisture to the area results in possible infection and may cause further discomfort with more tearing of the non-dead skin.

"no pain no gain" for your reference is within reason of muscle soreness, but the body is the body and you should take care of that.

In this situation you should first wash the affected areas then apply neosporin or any other anticeptic to the affected areas. Keep it dry to allow the skin to naturally bond and heal itself, and keeping it dry will also expediate in the healing process.

Your blisters may be from the fact that you are creating a friction of soft skin that you dont use often resulting in the separation and formulation of the blister. With more practice in the coming months, your feet will gradually condition and become tougher and you will not encounter having blisters that often.

[slidercrank]

He used to puncture the blister through from one side with a thin needle with cotton thread attached and all stuff inside will get absorbed by the thread as it comes out through the other side. Patch up with some anitseptic cream and bandage on to finish.

That's actually quite a common way to deal with blisters. Some people will leave the thread in the blister for a bit, so the fluid will continue to drain out. Antiseptic crean and bandage prevent infection. But if you're going to resume the march shortly, I guess you can't leave the thread in and must patch up quickly and go.

[taganahan]

or you can make a little hole and let it ooze out....eeck!
why did you have to post that blister picture?

~taganahan

[emitbrownne]

I know the rules - NO PAIN NO GAIN.

Not in my rulebook.. If it hurts.. you are doing it wrong.

Take time off.. let it heal.

Nexttime, take things slowly, look at your footwork, do not be rushed.

You are in this sport/art/way for life.. dont damage yourself.

[Eldritch Knight]

That happens all the time for me. The way we used to fix it in Japan was by not caring. We'd just wrap it in gauze, tape it up, and go right back into practice. If its just a skin injury you're not going to aggravate it too much, as long as its taped up. The only thing you have to worry about from that point is the pain, and that's just a matter of endurance.

[nalogg]

That happens all the time for me. The way we used to fix it in Japan was by not caring. We'd just wrap it in gauze, tape it up, and go right back into practice. If its just a skin injury you're not going to aggravate it too much, as long as its taped up. The only thing you have to worry about from that point is the pain, and that's just a matter of endurance.

Fair enough... i'm a pretty stoic individual, but stepping in kumae requires sliding your feet along, and that just RIPS the tape right off, especially on the sticky olympium floors that are in use for the entire day.... i know from my karate days that if you just ignore blisters they rip- form new blisters, and bleed, or get infected... it's not pretty

after a while it moves from stoicism to courtesy.
ie: who wants to see you trailing blood, or puss across the dojo?

[psywarblade]

I know the superglue technique is in used by barefoot skiers as well as martial artist. I use to get blisters pretty bad and if it got that bad I would use some kind of antiseptic ointment coat the entire wound, place a gauze pad over the wound and wrap in athletic tape. if your worried about it coming off wrap it onto the skin itself (not over the injured part) and between second and third toe to give the ball of your foot some support. After practice wear the bandage home, take it off when you take a show, and place in a light dressing for the remainder of the day. Repeat this for the days of practice and light bandages when youa re not. after the second day remove the bandage and elivate the foot for a couple hours while you watch TV or something. Repeat the process til the wound heals.

To help harden your feet dont wear shoes or socks around the house or the yard. You still have to be carefull what you step on but it does the trick.

[nalogg]

To help harden your feet dont wear shoes or socks around the house or the yard. You still have to be carefull what you step on but it does the trick.

good call!

i forgot about that... it really does help

side note:
ever notice sitcoms.... the characters never go barefoot...
and they're supposed to be at home, what's the deal?

all my life i've AT LEAST had to take off shoes in a house

at least once i'd like to see raymond kick off his boots and put his feet on the coffee table or something

REALISM

[stunned_rabbit]

If you're getting blisters that bad then it probably means that your footwork is wrong.
My guess is that you're keeping too much weight on the foot as you slide it across the floor, causing lots of friction.
When you practice footwork (and since that was your first lesson, you have LOTS of footwork practice to look forward to!) make sure you keep your steps really small. My sensei's advice was that each step should be about the length of your own foot. Much longer than this and your feet are too far apart to effectively shift your weight off the foot you want to move.

As a newbie practicing footwork in a group, it can be disheartening to see everyone else racing down the dojo. The temptation is to try to race to keep up.

Do it slowly enough to do it right. Your kendo will improve, and your feet will thank you.