time is the only way. if the blister already formed and not opened yet, leave it. if its opened, then cut off all the loose skin. it will heal better. wait at least 2 days, and then tape it up for protection and continually for preventative maintenece if needed.

You are right, they do not hold through rigorous training. As I am practicing kendo and karate and the later forces you to slide your feet even more than in kendo, I got conditionned quite rapidly. I now still lose some skin, but it is not painful anymore! I basically stopped taping my feet and just dealt with the pain. Now it is all good!

do the soaps and the pumic stone also get rid of callous'?

Pumic stones will. If you want to toughen your feet, you should try to soften the callus rather remove it. There are quite a few foot creams that will do this. Also, soaking you feet in epsom salt and tea will help to both dry and toughen your soles. I've found that green tea works well. Black tea is cheaper and works better, but it may stain your skin temporarily.

Thanks Hamish, however, I have known this site for only a couple of days, so I am afraid I am not familiar with the Kendo Clinic article in Issue 1.4. I assume it is from the magazine?

Cheers!

as a newb...........................

This thread is making me consider, flower arranging!!

Another newb here... could someone please explain to me WHY kendo is done barefoot? I've been told the Samurai used to wear socks etc (v sensible) so why do we put ourselves through this? Is it purely tradition? I've seen sock like things with thin leather soles that'd be flexible and non slippery....

Well kendoka aren't samurai...

It is problematic to do kendo in footwear. Your footwork will be affected by the traction of the soles. The sole itself might affect the spring in the feet. And the tip of the shoes might break your opponent toes if you collide. And there is the hygenic question; when all people practise barefoot you are sure that you don't step in stuff that might have attached itself to someones shoes. Shoes can also damage the floor.

Tabi socks seems to be accepted (by some?) for practise if someone has problematic blisters or something contagious.

If you learn to tape the blisters, you can still train with them...

to avoid the blisters, try using micropore tape over where you normally get them, that way the tape rubs not your skin. i used to get them on my big toes a lot.

to heal, i pop theblister with a pin and squeeze the juice out, then cover it over. lavender oil (i think) is good to aid in healing too.

did a quick search and came up with this for ya...

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/...-blisters.html

hope this helps
http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.gif

both of my feet have nice thick callous on the bottom don't get blisters there. been doing martial art with barefoot for so long.. tho now these callous are so thick i have to shave them off occactionally.. it's causing pain now and then.. specially the callous on the first join of the big toe on the left foot.. woo.. and callous on the top of each foot from seiza, this one is from kendo due to seiza on hardwood floor x)

i do get blister on my hands occationally, not too often.. when that happens, i just wash it and leave it alone. it usually dries up quick enough. if it pops open due to additional practice and what not, i usually dry it up, put bunch of anti bacterial crap on them and put band-aid on until it heals.

pete

When the skin of a blister tears from your foot, Super Glue it back into place. You'll be surprised at how well this works. It seals the wound, it relieves the pain somewhat, it dries quickly, and you are left with YOUR skin, instead of tape or a bandage, so your traction is better. You may need to re-apply the glue in certain spots if you are practicing hard. Obviously, you'll want to correct your footwork, and eventually build up a callous.

nah these dont hold up during the rigors of kendo. prevention is better than trying to heal a hole in your foot. i have taped my left foot and both big toes since the second week of my kendo training. sometimes the tape comes off (not good during jegeiko) but mostly it keeps the skin on my foot where it belongs. last night at training i felt what i thought was tape comming off my right foot during jegeiko. not tape but lots of skin. im not sure how i did it but obviously my technique needs some attention. and i need to tape up both of my feet before training. after only a year training i am still a beginner so i know i have much to learn. expecially things like walking properly when skin is missing from my foot.

Rather than starting a new thread, mind if i add a question to this?
Err....i'll take that as a "no we don't mind".....thanks!

Anyways, how do you avoid getting blisters at the base of the middle toes on the left foot. I've only been doing kendo for a month, so am a n00b and not used to hammering my feet this way.
But the first week i ripped the biggest blister open you could imagine. So i surgically taped it up and now wear a half-tabi, until it heals.
Last week i got so sick of the tabi not giving me any purchase on the floor, cos it slides too easily, that i threw it aside, and tore a new blister into the already healing one, making it far deeper and nastier than before.
So, back to wearing the half tabi again.
Then, last night, after a session fraught with frustration over not being able to move effectively due to the slippery properties of said tabi, i fumi-komi'd, my back leg slipped and i twisted over my right ankle, spraining it.
Now, i know most of the problem is n00b related, but ffs, i need help where i can get it, and these half-tabi are the devils invention.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Foot powder is surely just likely to make your feet slide again. I used surgical tape to completely bind the foot, but that too, is slippery.

Sorry to hijack the thread cBEX, but, answer to my queries may help you too.

Thanks guys.

Best way to heal a blister!
 

I know that this is not the most exciting thread however, blisters are probably the most common injury that marital artists get! (not mentioning broken toes and fingers LOL) I can't even remember how often I partially lost big chucks of skin under my feet, even after 15 years of martial practice! The quickest way I found to heal blisters was to apply on them tincture of iodine. The problem is that application of this tincture is probably more painfull than the blisters themselves!!! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...nocked_out.gif

Would anyone have other tricks to treat this common and annoying injury?! Apart form the obvious like soaking feet in brackish water!http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/wink2.gif

Cheers!

Yeah, makes sence, less sweating, less friction, no blisters!

domo arigato gazaimasu Anjin-san!

In my limited experience the baby powder works without making your feet so slippery that you fall and sprain ankles etc. Tell us how you get on.

It is actually a good idea, I use to soak my blistered feet in salt water to get rid of dead skin and it would also help the healing process or so it seemed!

I use Leukoplast tape both to prevent blisters by putting it on critical areas under my feet and toes, and also if I already got some blisters it works as protection as well. Not sure if this is sold in all countries or not, but here's a link to what it looks like (personally I use the red one in the second row, size 2.5cm x 5m). This site is in Australia (but the tape is from Germany) so maybe they do sell it in various countries?

http://www.firstaid.com.au/catalogue...8/category6043

hm whe just had an extended footwork session(i think about a half an hour just kendo-walking along the wooden floor and i formed 3 nice big blisters on my left foot. one one the big toe, it was full of blood, and 2 below on the foot, jumm.

my sensei told me that he had bloddy feet (literally) when he was training in japan, and that the blisters come from incorrect technique. oh well, it is christmas break, so they have time to heal, and i have time to think, and then i'll give it a new try

good n8 folks http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.gifainfull_grin:

For prevention, baby powder on my feet before each practice works for me. I don't really feel the difference, but when I don't use it I get blisters.