Help, I have blisters!!!

Posted by Sorriso on June 4th, 2009 at 11:56pm

Question:

I’ve been playing capoeira for a few months now, and although I’m having the time of my life, I always end up going home with huge blisters on the bottom of my feet. My teacher says that I should cut them off with a knife, but that sounds even more painful. Is there anything that I can do?

Answer:

What you have, has been felt by many a capoerista. Even if you’ve been playing for years, just a few days off can lead to blisters.

Blisters happen when the outer layer of the skin seperate, causing fluid called serum to seep in.

The reason that your teacher told you to cut off the blister is two fold. First of all, all of the extra fluid that has built up under the skin needs to be drained. Secondly, once the fluid has been drained, often times there will be excess skin that will most likely tear and fall off anyways. So one method is to go ahead and drain the blister, and then cut off the excess flesh. This method does sound harsh, but it does take care of the immediate problem.

Cocoa butter not only absorbs quickly into the skin, but it has also been proven to reduse blemishes. Cocoa butter also has the added benefit of being able to strengthen the skin without hardening it, making it perfect for those blister prone feet. Just make sure to rub some on before you get the blister.

Another way to avoid blisters is by wearing shoes. There are many brands of light martial arts shoes on the market these days, which allow the practitioner to train practically pain free (at least far as the feet are concerned). Some teachers do frown on wearing shoes in the roda though, since recieving a kick from a show can add more injury then necessary.

The best thing to do is to wear shoes only when necessary (i.e, your about to get a blister, or you just got one). Therefore you can slowly build up your feet, and eventually be blister free!

Tags: blisters, sore feet

Under conditioning