Beware the Flapper (Gross Factor 21%)

No, I don't mean a talkative young girl from the Art Deco period. I'm referring to that eternal training-sport-adventure injury known as a "blister." If you feel a warm or burning sensation inside your shoe (and you know it isn't Athelte's Foot) due to excessive friction OR if you're training barefoot on an unfamiliar surface, say karate training at someone else's dojo, take measures to prevent this:


I should have buffed the callous on my little toe with a pumice stone so that it wouldn't "grab" the wooden floor of the dojo I visited. I normally train on a waxed maple floor which has less grip than the floor where this injury occurred. Luckily, I had packed moleskin and extra sport tape in my handy first aid kit. Callouses on your knuckles might be a "seasoned" look for an old fighter, but having to baby an injury like this on the dojo floor can make anyone, including me, look like a freshman. Do yourself a favor: Get a pumice stone...or a pedicure at the day spa!