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Anyone else feel like all the barefoot training has dramatically improved their foot health?

Geocitiesuser
Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
edited November 22 in Social Groups
I'm one of those people that believes in use it or lose it. I believe wearing glasses excessively makes your eyes worse. Wearing shoes prevents our feet from doing what they were designed to do, etc.

I am flat footed pretty bad, but after a few years of TKD I've noticed my walking stride is much healthier and even though I have little to no arch, I'm distributing the pressure correctly along the side, ball, and heel of my foot correct.

This is something that weight lifting and cardio has never addressed or strengthened for me in the past.

Replies

  • Out_of_Bubblegum
    Out_of_Bubblegum Posts: 2,220 Member
    I never much thought about it - I've been doing it so long that other than the occasional blister from practicing the same thing too many times in a row, my feet are just the tools of the trade, so to speak, and don't give me much problems.

    I know that there are some people who definitely have foot problems in their training, and it seems like it's always some OTHER type of training that causes them (especially running)... plantar fasciitis comes to mind.

    The one thing that is an issue with foot health and martial arts though... Broken toes. Seen more than a few of this!
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    Running is horrible... no one believes me lol. I hate it! Makes my body feel sore in the "bad way". Just too high impact on asphalt
  • Out_of_Bubblegum
    Out_of_Bubblegum Posts: 2,220 Member
    Go figure! I have a really bad left knee, and sometimes people ask how I can do jump kicks but I can't run... I figured it out the other day when I was walking and thinking about step counters.

    It takes me ~2000 steps to make one mile.... to get the same amount of punishment on my knees, I would need to do jump kicks 1000 times on each side in 10 minutes.... Then do it twice more so people don't think I'm a wuss.
  • Valsgoals
    Valsgoals Posts: 132 Member
    I noticed. I worried at first it would make my plantar fasciitis worse but actually it seems to have helped it. When I started I wore arch support sleeves on my feet and would end class limping. I no longer have to wear the supports and no longer leave in a limp unless its from overall muscle soreness.
  • Valsgoals
    Valsgoals Posts: 132 Member
    Now to address the dry feet!
  • HeliumIsNoble
    HeliumIsNoble Posts: 1,213 Member
    Can't really tell you, because I developed my adult feet as a student of martial arts.

    Currently I have a dodgy knee that might owe its origin to TKD, achilles tendonitis (same side) that was probably in class, and plantar fascitis (other side) from taking up running over June to August.
  • Soy_K
    Soy_K Posts: 246 Member
    Typically we wear shoes but my Saturday class rents space from a Japanese judo studio so we have to go barefoot- at first I would get foot cramps regularly! Now not as much but dang that $!@? hurts!!
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    Soy_K wrote: »
    Typically we wear shoes but my Saturday class rents space from a Japanese judo studio so we have to go barefoot- at first I would get foot cramps regularly! Now not as much but dang that $!@? hurts!!

    Sometimes we test on a hardwood basketball court floor, and a lot of people complain their hearts out lol. Jumping jacks on hard wood is not fun when you're an overweight adult.
  • Soy_K
    Soy_K Posts: 246 Member
    haaa i think they're just not fun ever :D
  • Valsgoals
    Valsgoals Posts: 132 Member

    Geocitiesuser wrote: »
    Sometimes we test on a hardwood basketball court floor, and a lot of people complain their hearts out lol. Jumping jacks on hard wood is not fun when you're an overweight adult.

    My class practices on either a regular school gym floor-hardwood, or that school's cafeteria. I absolutely hate the cafeteria floor. It's concrete with tile. In the shorter summer session it's held in the community center which also has concrete floors. We try really hard not to fall. Could you imagine!?
  • Out_of_Bubblegum
    Out_of_Bubblegum Posts: 2,220 Member
    edited October 2017
    I practice on hardwood mounted directly on concrete at home most days, so sprung hardwood basketball floor feels like paradise to me.

    I actually prefer a hard floor... easier to balance.
  • Valsgoals
    Valsgoals Posts: 132 Member
    Oh yea, I can see that being an issue, balancing.
  • trackercasey76
    trackercasey76 Posts: 781 Member
    I train on sprung hardwood dance floor it is awesome, but I typically wear TKD shoes I have extremely bad arthritis in my feet and if I go barefoot too long they hurt super bad. I like the feel of barefoot when it's happening but not the 2-3 days after.
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
    I got a stress fracture in my second metatarcal 3-4 years ago. For a long time after, I couldn't do planks or pushups on my toes. I've been doing karate for a year now and my feet are finally happy doing pushups on my toes. (Now if my arms would get on board with the program that would be better.)

    I have definitely noticed a difference. We train in a room with wall to wall mats, which my knees appreciate during the jumps.
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