Does anyone else's feet stick to the floor when training...

[rivergirl]

We don't train in a traditional dojo, we train in our Community Centre on cement floors.. I have trouble when doing my kata, if I get nervous, hot etc. my feet get sweaty and then when I try to do my kata my feet stick to the floor, making me wobble and generally look like an idiot..is there anything you can put on your feet so they won't do this? HOw can you overcome this?

[JusticeZero]

Get your feet dusty. Find the spot that wasnt swept up and samba in it a moment to get your soles dirty, so that the dust is between your feet and the floor and the dust sticks, not the floor. That's also how you get ready to practice spinning kicks in bare feet.

[elila]

Ouch- that must hurt when you do sweeping or practice falls. We have a thin mat at my school. But the problem there is that if someone sweats a lot in one area and I move to a different spot then it's possible to slip- eeuuuw.

Can you wear socks during class, or would that make you slide on the floor? They'd probably soak up the sweat.

[Mith]

rubbing your feet in powder (with cornstarch in it).

We have mats at my dojo and let's just say that rolling your feet on one is a very painful experience.

[June1]

My problem is that I sometimes slip on our mats. Boy, when I sweat, I SWEAT!

I suggest talcum powder. Give your feet a good rub with it.

[vertigo]

I've got the same problem... just make sure whatever you do, don't use too much of it - don't wanna be flying all over the floor with no grip.

I'd say that any of the suggested methods above would work... I have never tried any kind of powder, I'm sure that would work well though; I usually just end up living with it until I get enough dirt on my feet to where I can slide better.. happens real quick on those long tournament days

[aefibird]

I tend to have the opposite problem - the floor of my dojo is very slippery.

These days I use sports tape round my feet, which helps with the slipping. It stops me from sticking to the floor too. Sports tape is usually white and is often used by rugby players. I've also known it called zinc-oxide tape, but the stuff I've got seems different to the zinc-oxide tape that you buy from a chemists.

Talcum powder is also a good thing to use too.

[Aodhan]

rubbing your feet in powder (with cornstarch in it).

We have mats at my dojo and let's just say that rolling your feet on one is a very painful experience.

That's true. As does getting your toes caught in the seam as you do a spin kick.

Aodhan

[CapitalKarate]

Powder, and kind of weight lifting powder. I don't have this problem though because for the past 8 years I've kept items of clothing off of my feet as much as possible, even when going outside on asphalt on a 100+ degree day, or on sharp rocks with bits of glass between them. I basically do everything outside (except for church and occassions where I must wear shoes) barefoot so as you can expect, my feet are like two big caluses(sp?), I can't feel a thing on the sole anymore and they don't perspire at all.