[Proodustommor]

stakenaka

Not much you can do. They come back, eventually. It happens whenever you go live in bare feet. Kendo, Judo, you name it. Trimming is the best preventative (an once of preventative,...). It keeps the nail from catching and gives it less leverage when it does catch so the entire nail is a lot less likely to tear off.

The only real secret you already know. Keep the blood off the dojo floor.

[trettegeani]

Well, it has been a while since I don't have any blisters, but at the time, I used to do more or less the same that you do, ripping off the skin and such.

[Jackson]

Bruised heel *is* the worst. I have terrible form in my stomping and finally had to give up and resort to a heel pad.

Hamish, I would be very interested to have the kendo clinic cover heel spurs and whether or not they can result from incorrect Fumikoshi.

[loan4younow]

Gold Bond powder works well in drying feet. I occasionally have this problem of moist feet if I spent the entire day in my boots. Anti-persperant (not deodorant) works great as well.

[frequensearules]

I was going extol the virtues of J&J Elastikon Tape, but I've been de-koted by amatsuda!

Definitely give it a try if you haven't.

[Kneeniasy]

A taping method that doesn't come off during keiko!

1) Use athletic tape, wrap three times around the balls of your left foot. Make sure you end the tape on the top of your foot. This wrap shouldn't be so tight that you cannot easily flex your toes.

2) Cut strips of athletic tape about 4-5cm long. Rip them in half lengthwise and put one between each toe, with the adhesive sticking to the athletic tape already on your foot.

3) Wrap full-width athletic tape around 3 more times, covering the ends of the half-width strips and ending the tape at the top. Again, this should not be too tight.

If you have an open blister, it is advisable to put a bandaid or that yellow athletic sponge (made by Johnson&Johnson) over the blister first, before employing this taping method.

[Effopsytupt]

Achilles: I'll mention the heel spur issue to the doctor, and see what we can come up with, possibly for issue 1 next year.

Hamish

[WournGona]

Hmm... lets move to a more serious problem... having your toenail ripped off. This happen to anybody?
I know that you are supposed to trim your toenails, but I forgot once and my big toenail got ripped off during jigeiko. I just taped up my foot to make sure that no blood got on the floor, and continued (the adrenaline negated the pain. Boy did I feel it later!!!). Does anybody have suggestions on how to deal with it (other than grinning and bearing it)?

[mpzoFeJs]

Originally posted by Sup
I had no blisters on my feet and suddenly
the SKIN pealed off!! arrrggghhhhh Yeah, I known that feel. It really makes kendo practise very unpleasant when biscuit size of pieces of leather get rid of your sole.

[meridiasas]

Sup: you mean skin from your toe ripped off, right? I find it difficult to imagine an actual chunk of tissue/flesh coming off during practice... ouch.

I think you're right, blisters on the hands just don't seem to go away...as long as you're still practicing regularly.

[GuitarLoverBe]

Sup: it's good to know you only lost some skin. Losing a chunk of foot isn't exactly good.

Hard floors - use a heel pad. If you really need you can use a Kendo heel pad, and then put on a small-sized sports elbow pad around the hell pad...take some athletic tape, and secure the two in place.

[Wr8dIAUk]

Cklin & alexpollijr: alternatively, take strips of athletic tape, take a cigarette lighter and gently burn the plastic on the adhesive side so it becomes even stickier than normal. Put them on this way, and they'll stick much better. You save tape, too, since you won't need to "mummify" your entire foot as you had suggested.

And yes, the spongy material really helps; otherwise if you're taping over a wound, it really defeats the point without the padding underneath.

[grubnismarl]

Electrical tape for me. Works wonders for blisters, cracked feet... and it's cheaper than athletic tape

and not as... tough as duct or gaffa tape.

I use a brand called.... heh... 'nitto' on my feet to prevent the skin from cracking. works well for covering blisters on my hands too on the odd occasion that I get them.

[icerrelmCam]

Yeah, the Elastikon stuff is really good too!

As to mummifying your foot, it's only an extreme measure... say if you had more than one keiko a day and you've got a crater on the bottom of your foot. Otherwise, I'd say play through the pain!!!

I dunno about you guys, but I haven't had a blister on my left foot for a long, long time; maybe not since my second year of kendo. I have a permanent, thick callous, but it doesn't blister. Every so often, some skin will come off the callous, though.

Maybe I'm lazy and not pushing off the left foot enough (though, since when can one really push off the left foot *enough*)...

For you guys with a messed up heel, and need a quick and thicker fix than your average blue heel pad, go get yourself a women's elbow pad (like they use for volleyball) and slap it on your heel. Those work!

The problem with heel pads is the danger in becoming dependent on them...

[disappointment2]

Issue number 4 of the magazine will feature blisters in the Kendo Clinic.

We're looking for some really serious blister photos, so if anyone's got any, send 'em on in!!

[ButKnillinoi]

Eve blisters on the ball of the foot, is usually an indication that your heel is too high.

Jakob

[cbUDaNFRu]

well, i am no real expert on t his, but anyhoo i find that the best way to deal with blisters, is as soon as you get a blister on your foot, you should stop your training, and sit down because there is a chance that you will increase the size of the blister or it may cut open and start bleeding, woohoo...then when you get home, if the blister has not yet opened up, pierce the blister open and let all the crap come out, then try to cut open the blister using a very small pair of sissors, the best are those sissors used for cuting nose hair or trimming moustaches, remember just cut a small hole and leave the rest of the skin on...then let it dry and let some air to it, a good whole night should do it, then the next day its time to cut the remaining skin off, pulling back the skin as you cut around it, once it is all done, then what i find the best thing to apply is a blister patch made by a company called Compeed...whether it exists in your countires im not sure, but basically the blister patch works as a skin, its really amazing, once this patch is applied all pain is gone....and i am not telling any bu**s**t, it is just amazing...anyhoo once the blister patch is applied it is advised that you apply a bandage( the cloth type ones with one sticky side to it..they are the best) and hey presto you should be able to practice at your next session of kendo... if you are a real weakling like me, a week or so should allow the blister to heal up...

[Auzuigcx]

Bruised right heel... those are the worst. Takes some time to heal up. If the floor is hard there isn't much you can do, other than to get a really good heel pad. Could also be that you are hitting the floor first with your heel when doing fumikomi.

[poekfpojoibien]

The way you guys deal with blisters is so complicated...you must go through tons of tape just to protect a blister the size of a nickel or quarter.

Just use Johnson & Johnson's Elastikon Tape..

It doesn't slip like athletic tape, cuts easily, and has stronger/stickier adhesive that will stay on your feet after being heated....It's also porous so it will allow your skin to breathe and possibly dry out.

I've noticed that the best method for the bottom of your feet is to cut about a 3-4 inch strip, heat, and apply lenghtwise on your foot. i.e. "portrait" not "landscape"

J&J says that it has discontinued the tape, but you can still find it on the internet and also thru veterinary supply stores.

amatsuda

[OWDavid]

I have been practicing martial arts for over 30 years and have tried about ever thing for blisters you can imagine....one of my favorites is PreparationH which is a hemmoroid ointment....it was actually developed as an antiwrinkle ointment but was never on the market for that purpose....it is a great antiflammatory....relieves pain...and promotes healing....leave the skin on the foot and open the blister and squeeze a little PreparationH under the skin.....if you don't like it you know what else you can do with it.....by the way if you get cracked skin between the toes or between the ball of the foot and the base of the toes.....try Desitin Diaper Rash Ointment....it contains Cod Liver Oil and is great for healing those splits.....as far as all the extra foot care goes I'm from the old school...just get out there and train