issues with traction?

[TheHighlander]

I have been having issues for a while now while sparring in class, and not sure what to do about it. Curious to know others advice.

I train on a wooden gym floor. I can't get the traction I need when shifting, which leaves me open or I missing an opening for attack.

The floor usually as a little dirt/grime on it, and no matter how many times i try to quickly wipe the soles of my feet, I can't shift like I know I could if I were wearing shoes. It gets really frustrating. front-to-back shift isn't too bad but side-to-side is really bad.

Once in a while we train on a floor that is carpeted, and forget it! My dry feet on the carpet; I might as well be on ice...

When on the mats for tournaments, it is not nearly this bad, but I don't feel I get to train as well as I would like, so my prep for tournaments is lacking IMO.

I have even tried rubbing grip gel on my feet that tennis players use for their rackets, but that only last so long. We also cannot spar with shoes on.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Toptomcat]

Your problem is that your feet are too dry? On hardwood? Odd. I've never seen someone have traction difficulties for that reason, but I have seen a lot of people slip on their own sweat.

Try doing some jumping jacks or laps around the dojo, something to make you break a sweat. See if that improves things.

[TheHighlander]

they are dry only because of the dirt/dust that may be on the floor. I mean, I am sweating! I swear!

I don't know, it's not like the gym is filthy, but it seems to be enough for me to not feel like I can really push off at times.

[Toptomcat]

Do your classmates have similar problems when working on the same surface? If so, it may be a good idea to talk to your sensei about cleaning the area you have class in. I doubt he'll object if you volunteer to mop

If not, then obviously the dirt on the floor is not the whole of the story. Examine others when they're sparring: what could be different? Is their footwork different? How? If you're wearing pads on your feet, do others wear them differently? Take a look at the sole of your foot and compare it with others'- there could be a physical difference of some sort, something about the shape of the arches or the skin.

[WireFrame]

I have seen a lot of people slip on their own sweat.

Guilty! Worst thing about wood floor (that I actually like regardless) is slipping like that. Especially if you stop for a while and your static feet create condensation or sweat to be exactly where you don't want it to be when you try to move off again quickly.

[Lupin1]

This makes me kinda glad our dojo has carpet floors...

[WireFrame]

It happens extremely rarely.

[TheHighlander]

Talked to my sensei about this on Saturday. Another sparring day where I felt my feet slipping a bit. He watched me for awhile, and noticed that I am not using my toes to try and "grab" the floor. My toes are almost pointing upward, not really providing much help. So I sparred again concentrating on really trying to dig in. It helped quite a bit.

Unfortunately, it will take a little while before I don't have to actively think about this during sparring.