Tang Soo Do on a Hardwood Floor - Tips?

[Lynne]

Our dojang has two training areas. The bottom floor is laid with puzzle mats. The upstairs floor is hardwood. We do most of our testing upstairs so I know how painful it is to do knuckle pushups and have bruised my feet from doing jump kicks.

At red belt, we start doing a lot of work on the hardwood floor. Students have said they are surprised at how their feet have blistered.

We also start a lot of endurance training at this stage to prepare us for the 5-6 hour black belt qualifying test.

I really don't want my feet to distract me. I already have bunions and hammertoes that affect my balance. Sometimes, my toes become dislocated and that causes problems, too. I typically put lotion on my hands and feet daily. There will be lots of pushups and squat thrusts on hardwood as well. Maybe lotion is not such a good idea.

Does anyone train on a hardwood floor? Have any ideas of what I can do? I test for red belt next week and I'm not quite sure when the hardwood floor training starts. Could be six more months at 2nd gup but I'm not sure. Trying to get mentally prepared, too.

 

[Tez3]

I had the opposite problem of having always trained on hard floor when doing Wado Ryu for eight years to start doing TSD on mats, to be honest I prefer the floor even for the throws. I can't really think of what you can do as we were just used to it. I'm sure someone here will know though!

 

[Lynne]

I had the opposite problem of having always trained on hard floor when doing Wado Ryu for eight years to start doing TSD on mats, to be honest I prefer the floor even for the throws. I can't really think of what you can do as we were just used to it. I'm sure someone here will know though!

Being thrown on the hardwood floor definitely hurts. It's not comfortable on the puzzle mats either since they aren't the cushy Judo mats (and cushy Judo gi's, lol).

I'll get used to it. Everyone else does. Or if they don't, they don't say much after awhile. Grin and bear it.

 

[hkfuie]

I don't know what to tell you. I have trained on lots of different floor types. Every time I change I have blister on the bottoms of my feet for just a short while, then the problem goes away.

Good luck to you. I hope the same happens for you. And good luck on your test.

 

[bluemtn]

I have trained (and still train to an extent) on no mats. One place was a hard wood floor, and now I'm on concrete- luckily there are mats for throwing around. The only thing I can recommend is to lotion up about 30 minutes to an hour before hand, so the skin is soft, but not slippery. Although, you'll still get blisters and calluses, and only time will get you over those. Have you thought of asking your instructor if it's ok to wear training shoes? Considering your problems with your feet, it might be a good idea.

 

[Lynne]

I have trained (and still train to an extent) on no mats. One place was a hard wood floor, and now I'm on concrete- luckily there are mats for throwing around. The only thing I can recommend is to lotion up about 30 minutes to an hour before hand, so the skin is soft, but not slippery. Although, you'll still get blisters and calluses, and only time will get you over those. Have you thought of asking your instructor if it's ok to wear training shoes? Considering your problems with your feet, it might be a good idea.

I had thought about the training shoes but I might lose the balance and control I've gained. The Pyung Ahn forms have really helped. I've learned to compensate to some degree.

Once we begin training on the hardwood, I'll try the lotion. I hope we train often on the hardwood floor so the feet have a chance to toughen up instead of getting blisters every few weeks.

 

[Kacey]

The first 9 years I was in TKD, we trained in a room with a cement floor - we only put the mats out for falling, rolling, and throwing, because they were too soft, and if we tried to work out on them, people hurt their knees by not turning far enough. I've also worked out on carpet - you end up with rug burns on your feet. Hardwood is much easier than either of them, in the long run; it has slight give, and the surface is smooth, so it doesn't catch rough spots on your feet.

You're going to have sore feet until you get used to it; there's no way around it. Work up to a full class on the hardwood gradually - when you have time before or after a class, do a few exercises or patterns there, and add a few more minutes every time. Walk around your house barefoot (weather permitting - I have hardwood in my house, as well, it gets cold in the winter). Over time, calluses will build up on your feet, and then it won't bother you. If you get sore spots or slip a lot, try tape, which will prevent tearing but still allow for the skin to callus and thicken - the problem with lotion is that ultimately it will take longer for the skin on your feet to thicken, and if it doesn't soak in all the way it could rub off on the floor, making areas slippery.

 

[Lynne]

Passed my third gup test today and I have a huge blood blister on my big toe. Some of my toes on the opposite foot are a little sore. I imagine it's from practicing the spinning hook kick on the hardwood floor during testing or even doing jump roundhouse kicks. Who knows? And that's just from one hour on the floor.

Anyway, I'll be using tape as Kacey suggested.