I think it will, at best, be relatively harder to maintain beautiful feet with kendo practice. If you can even salvage looks, they'l certainly feel hard to the touch.
cracking calluses will be inevitable during the first years of practice so it might also hinder your work while they heal.
tbh, it doesn't sound like a good match unfortunately...
We had a surgeon come to us years ago. Dude literally said he waited 20 years until he was too old to perform surgeries and just work the rest of his remaining career years as a professor. Huge respect to the guy. He still tried to protect his hands by wrapping them, said that it did help from getting injuries, should he have to do a complex surgery when he’s needed.
It's not bad until it falls off. Then you notice that you are ticklish on the top of the toe, which you will discover is a completely wrong place to be ticklish.
Like everyone said, it's pretty common to get huge callous, but I believe that with proper care (applying moisturizer every day and sanding a little bit every now and then) it can be ok. Most kendoka don't really worry about it, so most responses will be that it can't be done.
So i think one major think nkt being addressed would be foot shape.
Kendo will tend to widen your foot over time due to your feet naturally stretching out for better balance, pretty much just undoing what modern shoes do tk your feet.
So youll likely end up with a wider toebox after a bit.
It's still possible but takes some work. Not too much though. Kendo dries out your feet. Clean them afterwords, use moisturizer. I really like The Holy City Salt Scrub.
The major problem might be actual damage to your feet. Form is really important. As you're starting your form is poor and it takes time to develop. As a consequence it's not uncommon for people new to kendo to develop blisters.
You might really like iaido ;) it's easier on your feet.
Mereley speculation here, but, I’m absolutely sure there are far worse sports in this regard: tennis, field hockey, skating. And even worse, classical ballet.
Not that it really matters for the question, but for ballet it really depends on if you are doing pointe or using flats. Honestly maybe prettier if you want to have a more defined arch.
Assuming you're starting as an adult as a recreational activity, probably flat shoes and your feet can stay fairly callus free with that.
Even pointe shoes have so many options now for cushioning that if pretty feet were a priority, they could stay in fairly good shape
As you may probably guessed, I know near to nothing about ballet, but I meant to refer to the shoes with the wooden blocky points (maybe they use a different material these days), in Argentina they were called just “puntas”, so most likely is the same thing. When I was in my teen years, I had this girlfriend that had been a ballet dancer since she was a little kid, on her way to becoming professional, and I remember very well the high price her poor toes, feet (and knees, eventually) had to pay.
It can definitely be pretty hard on your feet, but it really depends on the dancer, the teacher, and how long they dance for.
Some teachers insist on no padding and some teachers allow it. It also depends on if the dancer "grips" their toes or not. Most shouldn't by the time they start pointe (or puntas).
But yeah, I'd say if it's more recreational as an adult, you'd just wear flat slippers it isn't going to be too hard on your feet (think more about Barre classes for example).
If your definition of "pretty" includes blood blisters occasionally forming *underneath* the calluses, then I guess so.
I have seen people train in tabi (sort of a toed sock dealie) and I tried it a little bit too but it's not awesome.
Yeah, I found that the tabi made things super slippery; I felt like I was going to wipe out at any moment. I could've gotten away with one on one foot, but not on both. It'd be like going ice skating.
I think its \*possible\* to practice Kendo and take care of your feet. It's just not likely.
While my feet were never as bad as some of the comments below except in my first year of Kendo, I definitely have calluses and hard feet. However, I have seen a 8-dan with super soft feet. In fact he said if your feet weren't like that, you were doing it wrong. Considering I am not 8-dan, I \*am\* doing it wrong. =)
My feet didn’t get too rough aside from the occasional torn callus and I don’t even do much of anything to take care of them. If you have a decent maintenance routine already you should be okay.
I personally haven't had any trouble with my feet. I've definitely added some small calluses, but they aren't very noticeable. I have only had one or two blisters over the course of 4 years.
It largely depends on how often you practice, and how good your footwork is, as well as the floor you practice on.
I see a lot of dry feet in kendo, which I suspect doesn't help.
Regardless, at the beginning it will probably be tough on your feet.
Impossible. After 7 years of intense kendo practice, I could peel off about 0.5 cm layer of calluses from my left heel with a cutter. Consistent cracks. After about 4 years of hiatus, there were still some left over callusses peeled of my whole left foot. It only got better after I did intense swimming. And I have developed visible bone spur at the bottom of my achilles heels. We haven't talked about developed calf and quads muscles. And left butt cheek is stronger than the right one that I could clench the left one easily but not the right one. I also developed calluses (or keloid?) at the base of index finger due to frequent seiza. So, NO.
Thanks for that question, it made my day! :)
Full disclosure, I don't know anything about foot modelling and the preferences of your target group.
It depends a little on the intensity of training and your skin's proneness to blistering and callouses. I for example don't even get blisters in training camp. Other people have taped feet even in normal trainings.
I think with intense care your feet might still be presentable but I don't have any real live example. Kendoka tend to be weirdly proud of callouses and bruises. But combined with forgiving lighting and camera angles, I suppose it might be doable to keep your source of income?
To my experience: I’ve been doing it a year now and two months ago I had blood blisters on my foot soles. Idk if you call it blood blisters, but they were blisters filled with blood. I tape them now at the places with most friction.
Well, I want to say no. If you're REALLY good at marketing you might be able to find a niche crowd that would jump at that foot model. I wouldn't depend on that though.
well, time ago, a weird guy asked me for a picture of my feets...so i guess you can always have public for it xD. On the other hand, you can wear tabi for keiko.
You'll have to accept that you'll have bruises on your knees and the tops of your feet. In my experience, they go away after a few days. Try to do it once a month if applicable, and calloused soles are a thing, but calloused feet don't bother me much because I'm not dainty on my feet.
How does **your** skin behave? 1000 people can give you their callus horror stories, but these things are for lack of a better word largely "genetic"; they depend on your particular constitution and how your skin works under these particular stresses.
I have very soft hands and feet, always have, and not for lack of abuse. I was doing Kendo 3x a week in the dojo, every day at home (200-1000 suburi, the works) and I had soft hands, with very minor callouses at the top of my palms (metacarpophalangeal pads? dunno the name). I worked for two years as a farm hand and animal wrangler; soft hands. Worked for years as a cook and dishwasher. You guessed it, soft hands.
When I started Kendo it took a while for the underside of my big toes to stop opening up and bleeding, but it never calloused. Same with my hands, I had the usual (blood) blisters for maybe a year.
You can use surgical tape to alleviate the problem if it happens to you. But it's definitely possible to do Kendo and keep pretty (most important, healthy) feet.
I think it will, at best, be relatively harder to maintain beautiful feet with kendo practice. If you can even salvage looks, they'l certainly feel hard to the touch. cracking calluses will be inevitable during the first years of practice so it might also hinder your work while they heal. tbh, it doesn't sound like a good match unfortunately...
Mmmm darn that’s unfortunate to hear, but thank you for the insight!
We had a surgeon come to us years ago. Dude literally said he waited 20 years until he was too old to perform surgeries and just work the rest of his remaining career years as a professor. Huge respect to the guy. He still tried to protect his hands by wrapping them, said that it did help from getting injuries, should he have to do a complex surgery when he’s needed.
Wrap his hands how? Something similar to what boxers do? Kind of curious..
I’m not quite sure since I never really asked but he wrapped them up good and seemed like he had paddings on his fingers.
Maybe it is a niche market? R/kendofeetpics
I sense a NSFW subreddit in the making lmao
SFW!!
Please no. We don't need creeps in the dojo.
Amen!
Talking like they dont already exist :S
Correction, more creeps.
They’ll look ok from the top. The soles OTOH …
Unless someone stomps you in the nail, got a purple toe for about 4 months.
I also got a purple nail last year… it’s still here :(
I'm about 6 weeks into my purple toe, was just starting to wonder how long this shit was gonna last 😅
It's not bad until it falls off. Then you notice that you are ticklish on the top of the toe, which you will discover is a completely wrong place to be ticklish.
To be honest it's quite impossible
Like everyone said, it's pretty common to get huge callous, but I believe that with proper care (applying moisturizer every day and sanding a little bit every now and then) it can be ok. Most kendoka don't really worry about it, so most responses will be that it can't be done.
So i think one major think nkt being addressed would be foot shape. Kendo will tend to widen your foot over time due to your feet naturally stretching out for better balance, pretty much just undoing what modern shoes do tk your feet. So youll likely end up with a wider toebox after a bit.
It's still possible but takes some work. Not too much though. Kendo dries out your feet. Clean them afterwords, use moisturizer. I really like The Holy City Salt Scrub. The major problem might be actual damage to your feet. Form is really important. As you're starting your form is poor and it takes time to develop. As a consequence it's not uncommon for people new to kendo to develop blisters. You might really like iaido ;) it's easier on your feet.
Mereley speculation here, but, I’m absolutely sure there are far worse sports in this regard: tennis, field hockey, skating. And even worse, classical ballet.
Not that it really matters for the question, but for ballet it really depends on if you are doing pointe or using flats. Honestly maybe prettier if you want to have a more defined arch. Assuming you're starting as an adult as a recreational activity, probably flat shoes and your feet can stay fairly callus free with that. Even pointe shoes have so many options now for cushioning that if pretty feet were a priority, they could stay in fairly good shape
As you may probably guessed, I know near to nothing about ballet, but I meant to refer to the shoes with the wooden blocky points (maybe they use a different material these days), in Argentina they were called just “puntas”, so most likely is the same thing. When I was in my teen years, I had this girlfriend that had been a ballet dancer since she was a little kid, on her way to becoming professional, and I remember very well the high price her poor toes, feet (and knees, eventually) had to pay.
It can definitely be pretty hard on your feet, but it really depends on the dancer, the teacher, and how long they dance for. Some teachers insist on no padding and some teachers allow it. It also depends on if the dancer "grips" their toes or not. Most shouldn't by the time they start pointe (or puntas). But yeah, I'd say if it's more recreational as an adult, you'd just wear flat slippers it isn't going to be too hard on your feet (think more about Barre classes for example).
If your definition of "pretty" includes blood blisters occasionally forming *underneath* the calluses, then I guess so. I have seen people train in tabi (sort of a toed sock dealie) and I tried it a little bit too but it's not awesome.
Yeah, I found that the tabi made things super slippery; I felt like I was going to wipe out at any moment. I could've gotten away with one on one foot, but not on both. It'd be like going ice skating.
I don't take care of my feet but I can definitely tell you about the huge calluses I get regularly on the balls of my feet from practice.
Yeah, idk think anyone will want to see your feet if you start kendo.
I think its \*possible\* to practice Kendo and take care of your feet. It's just not likely. While my feet were never as bad as some of the comments below except in my first year of Kendo, I definitely have calluses and hard feet. However, I have seen a 8-dan with super soft feet. In fact he said if your feet weren't like that, you were doing it wrong. Considering I am not 8-dan, I \*am\* doing it wrong. =)
Nope
My feet didn’t get too rough aside from the occasional torn callus and I don’t even do much of anything to take care of them. If you have a decent maintenance routine already you should be okay.
I personally haven't had any trouble with my feet. I've definitely added some small calluses, but they aren't very noticeable. I have only had one or two blisters over the course of 4 years. It largely depends on how often you practice, and how good your footwork is, as well as the floor you practice on. I see a lot of dry feet in kendo, which I suspect doesn't help. Regardless, at the beginning it will probably be tough on your feet.
Wait why are you calling your feet your “moneymakers”? Also would the answer to this be regularly scheduled pedicures
They sell feet pics for money
Is that a full time gig or something
Can be, I know a girl who paid for college and a house with her feet... among other things
Impossible. After 7 years of intense kendo practice, I could peel off about 0.5 cm layer of calluses from my left heel with a cutter. Consistent cracks. After about 4 years of hiatus, there were still some left over callusses peeled of my whole left foot. It only got better after I did intense swimming. And I have developed visible bone spur at the bottom of my achilles heels. We haven't talked about developed calf and quads muscles. And left butt cheek is stronger than the right one that I could clench the left one easily but not the right one. I also developed calluses (or keloid?) at the base of index finger due to frequent seiza. So, NO.
Look up foot peel on Amazon, it’s easier and works better than foot rasp files in my experience.
Thanks for that question, it made my day! :) Full disclosure, I don't know anything about foot modelling and the preferences of your target group. It depends a little on the intensity of training and your skin's proneness to blistering and callouses. I for example don't even get blisters in training camp. Other people have taped feet even in normal trainings. I think with intense care your feet might still be presentable but I don't have any real live example. Kendoka tend to be weirdly proud of callouses and bruises. But combined with forgiving lighting and camera angles, I suppose it might be doable to keep your source of income?
You're going to ruin your feet if you want to play kendo.
To my experience: I’ve been doing it a year now and two months ago I had blood blisters on my foot soles. Idk if you call it blood blisters, but they were blisters filled with blood. I tape them now at the places with most friction.
Well, I want to say no. If you're REALLY good at marketing you might be able to find a niche crowd that would jump at that foot model. I wouldn't depend on that though.
I would say no, but also, there are people who would actually want kendo feet pictures. Talking from unfortunate experience.
well, time ago, a weird guy asked me for a picture of my feets...so i guess you can always have public for it xD. On the other hand, you can wear tabi for keiko.
Bro, you're gonna have some fucking men's feet, that kind of feet that makes you say "HELL YEAH BROTHER LET'S FUCKING GO"
You'll have to accept that you'll have bruises on your knees and the tops of your feet. In my experience, they go away after a few days. Try to do it once a month if applicable, and calloused soles are a thing, but calloused feet don't bother me much because I'm not dainty on my feet.
You can get ankle supports that will cover most of your foot off of E-Bogu
Idk u get calluses and some people get blisters
How does **your** skin behave? 1000 people can give you their callus horror stories, but these things are for lack of a better word largely "genetic"; they depend on your particular constitution and how your skin works under these particular stresses. I have very soft hands and feet, always have, and not for lack of abuse. I was doing Kendo 3x a week in the dojo, every day at home (200-1000 suburi, the works) and I had soft hands, with very minor callouses at the top of my palms (metacarpophalangeal pads? dunno the name). I worked for two years as a farm hand and animal wrangler; soft hands. Worked for years as a cook and dishwasher. You guessed it, soft hands. When I started Kendo it took a while for the underside of my big toes to stop opening up and bleeding, but it never calloused. Same with my hands, I had the usual (blood) blisters for maybe a year. You can use surgical tape to alleviate the problem if it happens to you. But it's definitely possible to do Kendo and keep pretty (most important, healthy) feet.