feet stick to wrestling mat

[jwc]

The taekwondo club that I practice with uses a wrestling mat for practice. I have noticed that it is much harder to pivot on on the mat than on my carpet at home. This is a problem because taekwondo uses the supporting foot as a pivot during most kicks. Also, I have sprained both ankles on this mat. Does anyone have any advice about what I could do to keep my feet from sticking? I was told that rubbing my on the floor to pick up dirt helps. I have tried this and it works alright but it is disgusting. I have considered using talc poweder but have not tried this yet. Buying tkd shoes is another idea, but I would like to practice the same way that I would spar in a tournament and am not sure that tkd shoes are allowed. If you have any advice could you please help.

[Andy Murray]

Hi jwc,

I'm presuming here that you've been taught to pivot on the ball of the foot to reduce contact area, but the development of hard skin in this area will help.

A lot of people neglect training the muscles in the ankle and the foot properly, so look into this, but I also worry about the stress you are putting on your knees on this surface. The Cruciate ligament is potentially in danger.

What does your Instructor have to say on the subject?

[Jim]

You can aid the toughening of your skin by rubbing it with Metholated Spirits.

Just a thought.

[jwc]

Thanks for the idea Jim, but I am a little weary of rubbing chemical solvents on my skin to toughen it.

Thanks Andy, I haven't really talked to my instructor about it(that sounds like a good idea), but I talked to a black belt about it around a year ago. He gave me the "rub your feet in dirt" idea. Before the second sprained ankle, I had been doing ankle exercises (standing on 1 ankle & calf raises) 5-6 days a week. I stopped doing ankle exercises after that but we will see. They haven't given me trouble again yet. I am not so much concerned about injury (whether that is right or wrong), but mostly about the mechanics of kicking -- it becomes more difficult to kick with good form if the rotation (on the ball of the foot) is hindered. It is like a hinge on your car door that needs greased. It's just annoying. I have been practicing tkd about 5-6 days a week for about 1.5 years and about 3-5 days a week for an additional 1 year (for the 2.5 years, most of the practice has been on carpet at my house). Do you think that the skin on my feet should be hardened by now?

[Andy Murray]

Hi jwc,

everyones different, so hard to say. If you train as much as you say, I would have thought so, but every carpet is different (lol).

You mentioned a specific ankle exercise, but there are many more to try. In fact, because the ankle is so 'taken for granted' as a joint, it is worth looking into a more detailed program for it IMHO.

Try standing on the weak ankle for a minute, then do the same with you're eyes closed (tough eh?)

Try calf raises on that leg only, but moving the good leg off to various angles a the same time.

Always warm up with a variety of steps, walks and rotations, but make sure you finish with a good stretch to the achilles and calf.

Good Luck.

Andy

[Jim]

Why are you worried about Metho? They put it on babies when they're born.