Odd Brusing

[Wagonmancer]

I've had a problem with bruising lately. I spent almost an hour practicing right and left RH kicks on Thursday. I'm not sure exactly when it happened but after i was done i happened to look down and see a huge bump in the middle of my foot that looked like a fat caterpillar. One of the instructor's thought i busted a vein at first cause of how big it was and the odd shape. Turned out to just be an odd shaped bruise that went down after I iced it. Took it easy on Friday and just did punches and some rope skipping but my entire foot was hurting and my left leg wasn't feeling to good either, it was really bruised from kicking the heavy bag on Thursday as well. On Saturday i was doing RH kicks on Thai pads and felt no pain but after the drills i looked down and on the right foot on the right side where it meets the ankle, the same type of bruise. Neither of them hurt to touch when i got them and they heal up really quick for how ugly they looked. I don't know what to think of this, thought maybe at first it was just cause i was kicking the Thai bag but after it happened on the Pads i was surprised. Hope this isn't something im gonna have a problem with. Got some ankle supports for extra padding im hoping that helps.

 

[Akira]

Kick with your shin not your foot dude!

Those lumpy bruises, they heal quicker if you push them flat straight after they come up. Hurts sometimes (and feels gross) but it works.

 

[Wagonmancer]

I am striking with my shin. Im a novice so i miss my mark sometimes but the position the first one was in would've broke my foot probably if i kicked a thai bag with that spot. Im very careful about not striking with foot and im sure i would've noticed right away had i missed that much. I've missed a few times it hurts like hell, but no bruise like this. My main concern is that it's not going to be a consistent problem.

 

[Akira]

If you're not hitting the pads/bag with your foot, where are the bruises coming from?

I used to get bruises on my foot sometimes from when I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing (6 hours of training a day and your mind will wander). They just toughen up and condition like the rest of your body.

Well that's my theory anyway, but maybe I misunderstood your original post.

 

[Wagonmancer]

Well my foot makes slight contact sometimes but not enough force to make that size bruise. I figured if my shin isn't getting bruised really then how am i getting these huge lumpy bruises on parts of my foot where i didn't notice taking any force. I threw a good amount of kicks today and didn't get any but i did feel like i was connecting better. I guess ill just wait and see.

 

[Zero]

This is a weird one, if you're not striking with the top of your foot but with your shin.
I would take some photos next time to record this and ask your Doc or physio. Could be pressure, vascular related as your trainer initially thought as if not striking with the foot would be strange for direct bruising to occur. That said I'm no doctor.
Get some photos and get it checked out if it keeps occuring and starts causing discomfort; you don't want something minor to become something that will hold you back later.
I've had plenty of bad bruising to shins but always where there is a direct causal/impact connection; ask your trainer if they have ever seen this before.

 

[Wagonmancer]

He said he's never seen that happen before and he agreed with the position the first one was in it would've crippled my foot had a struck the bag hard. I haven't had the problem since though. I'll definitely take a picture if it happens again because the timing, position, and everything about them was bizarre and it didn't add up to me. Especially the one on the ankle with the thai pads. I've hurt me foot twice on thai pads and neither time did it even bruise.

 

[alphacat]

Hey,

I was working out on the punching bag two days ago, and after the workout I noticed that the whole upper part of each foot was very red, but it disappeared after a while.

I believe that its only because my feet made contact with the bag even thought my intention was to hit the bag with shins only.

Moreover, its hard to have your feet not making contact with the bag when hitting it with your shins, since there's no 180 degrees angle between the shin and the foot, and they are very close to each other after all.

 

[Wagonmancer]

Ya i think my foot was just slapping off the back of the bag, i might've hit the inside of the thai pad the other time. Doesn't seem like it's going to be a problem though which is good.

 

[alphacat]

I got a question for you guys on that matter.

As I wrote here, after hitting the bag with the intention of hitting it with the lower parts of the shins, I noticed that my feet were very red when the workout was over, but their color got back to normal later that day (no marks left).

What conclusions should I conduct from that experience, if any?

Does it mean that I wasnt hitting the bag correctly, since my feet made contact with the bag?
From your experience, is it possible to hit the bag without the feet having contact with the bag?

Thanks fellas.
​

 

[Akira]

Yes it is possible to kick without hitting with your foot. I use the middle part of my shin and not the lower part.

However, sometimes I do hit the pads with my foot, not intentionally, but because both parties are in constant motion (you and your pad holder), and you are constantly having to maintain the correct striking distance which isn't always an easy thing to gauge. Sometimes the pad holders will lean back a little too, and you strike with your foot unintentionally. The bag is different though because only that is moving, so if you strike with the middle part of your shin your foot shouldn't make contact.

Finally, after my last fight I was limping for a few days and I couldn't work out why. It wasnt until I watched the video back that I saw I'd kicked my opponents knee with my foot and not my shin. This was entirely accidental, but it does happen sometimes. I've got another video of my mate getting knocked out with a head kick, even though his opponents foot made contact with his jaw, and not their shin.

I think you do condition your foot through the course of normal training, even though it's not what you are intending to strike with.

 

[Wagonmancer]

I agree i connect with my shin much cleaner on the bag because you don't really have to adjust your striking range. Maybe every handful of kicks depending how precisely you return to your fighting stance. Plus it's easier to tell when your in your striking range. I have been wondering though, when you strike thai pads should you aim for your shin to connect at a point that leaves your foot past the pads, or aim for the shin to hit the middle of the pad. This always puzzled me cause you want to avoid foot strikes as much as you can but it always seems like kicks on thai pads involve the foot striking the pad when the shin hits toward the middle. I would think you'd aim more so for the middle part of the pad just because when your foot is angled back it doesn't really strike the pad hard enough to bend the foot back as opposed to striking with your foot past the pad cause it seems like that's taking you to close to your opponent. The only reason i care is because a few times my foot hit the pad before my shin and needless to say that sucks.

 

[Akira]

I agree, aim for the middle of your pads. Also depending on the padholder, sometimes you can't help your foot striking the pad along with your shin. It does suck but your foot will toughen up and stop hurting just like your shins do.

And you're right in saying you can get too close to your opponent if you kick a certain way. They can easily catch your foot when you kick and sweep out your other leg, dumping you on the canvas. No fun.

 

[kaizasosei]

All i can think of is maybe try to do some blood circulation exercise before you beat stuff with your legs and feet. Try to get the blood to move up and deeper in throughout your body instead of become stagnate in the superficial areas like just under skin. with great shock or concentrated force, blood vessels can rupture too. Such bruises or busted vein leftovers can take years to dissipate, if ever.

Kicking will force blood down because of the swing and gravity, so try to counter that a bit with some massage, moving feet and toes around a bit, as well as certain positions. When you feel lots of pressure, go easy on the kick. Kicking hard is not that important anyhow when it comes to training. Try to see where you bruise and where you are stronger and avoid striking excessively the sensitive areas. That, in itself, is also good kicking practice in that you learn controll and practice hitting with a specific area to a specific target-ie-don't kick protruding metal bars or corners of a wall like there's no tomorrow..