are calluses necessary?

[Blade96]

Help me know who is right, me or my mom. I'm a 2 and a half year student of shotokan karate. Of course some here know who I am. anyway, my mom said I should take the calluses off my feet and make them soft and beautiful. She said if she went to a dojo she would make sure her feet are soft clean and the most beautiful with no calluses. I said as a martial artist I kinda need them because they protect our feet in the dojo from blisters and other injuries. Mom says that is garbage. Mind you she is not a martial artist in the least. Who is right? Do we martial artists need calluses or can we take them off?

[MasterPain]

As much as it pains me to say this, if the callouses help you or are a point of pride, then you should just wear shoes around your momma.

[JohnnyB]

Like u said we need calluses to protect our feet from blisters when there's lots of heat and friction involved.

On a sidenote, having hardened feet soles would help your leg hit harder than a softened feet sole in the same manner a bare hand hits harder than a gloved one. There is no soft cushion in between.

Edited July 3, 2012 by JohnnyB

[DoctorQui]

No calluses I would be in some serious pain ever time I train, its painful enough WITH the calluses.

My only caveat is that, for me, calluses do sometimes prevent me from a good slide into Kokuts during kata.

[evergrey]

Keep the calluses, is my advice!

[Dobbersky]

I love my feet, so hard, I walked around the Dojo (a Church Hall) for 5 minutes with a drawing pin in my heel thinking it was a stone or bit of glass till I decided to look what it was. Chuck Norris would have blunted a drawing pin if he'd have stepped on it LOL