I hate this kind of question. ...

[OneKickWonder]

But I'll ask anyway.

If due to arthritis in the feet, you were to look to migrate away from a style that is kick oriented to a style that makes much greater use of hand techniques, what kind of things would we be looking at?

Just exploring options at the moment.

[mushybees]

Personally I'd go for a jujutsu ryuha. There are styles that are more atemi focused but still has little kicking.

Maybe something totally different like wing chun?

[JR 137]

It would depend on how bad my feet hurt and what made it worse. Is it just kicking, or the pounding on your feet? Have you tried wearing shoes while you train? I get plantar fasciitis from time to time. When it starts getting bad, I wear wrestling shoes in the dojo. The hardwood floor is pretty unforgiving, and the wrestling shoes take the edge off. If it ever gets worse, I’d ask to wear (clean and indoor only) running shoes. Arthritis and plantar fasciitis aren’t the same thing, but perhaps it could help?

If I were to migrate to a hands only style/system, two options immediately come up in my head that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time - Judo and boxing.

But that would be a try and see how it works out thing. The softer judo tatami (mats) may be too soft and exacerbate problems. Boxing has a ton of footwork involved, and the bouncing and pounding associated with it may also cause issues.

I did a little boxing in college. I loved every minute of it. If you’re looking for an effective hands-only style, I can’t think of anything that’s in the same league. If you want the whole tradition and belt ranking system, judo or BJJ.

[sensei8]

Shugyo; suck it up!!

That's what was drilled into us forever and a day by Soke and Dai-Soke. Endure, no matter what.

By that, they both were very mindful as well as compassionate to physical limitations across the board. What they didn't tolerate was whenever the Student Body whined about anything and everything, except of a known physical limitations as diagnosed by a students doctor(s).

As the student, you have to be accountable about yourself across the board, no matter what a Governing Body and/or CI and/or anybody might ever say. If the pain is more than one can bear, and going to a different style is the best thing for you, then that's what you do.

A sympathetic CI would support your decisions across the board. Well, they should. If not, go anyway.

Hang in there...train hard..train well!!

[OneKickWonder]

I think when I started this thread is was perhaps not feeling as positive as I usually do.

Although I must face up to the fact that I will never ever the best kicker because of my defective feet. I can still be good. And if my physical limitations highlight anything, it is just the need to ensure my hand techniques are as good as they can be. That might mean cross training elsewhere where there is more focus on hands.

I love the suggestions so far. All good.

As far as I can tell, there is no wing chun anywhere near me unfortunately. There's a boxing club and a judo club though. Both worth thinking about. But there is also a club not too far away that is a hybrid of kali, escrima and wado with a focus on hand techniques. I don't know if I'd want to commit long term to something like that but I would like to go and have a chat with them, to explore the possibility of training with them for a short while.

[singularity6]

I'm not 100% on board with the "suck it up" mentality of martial arts, anymore. I know my body, and sometimes I don't need a doctor to tell me something's not right.

I recall working a front stance in class, and it was about as deep as it would go. When my instructors told me to go further, I said it'll hurt my foot. They insisted, and said my flexibility will improve. Well, I felt something tear. This was months ago, and it still hasn't healed up. This is the same foot that already suffers from plantar fasciitis, and now another part that foot has pain. Needless to say, there are some mornings where I almost fall over with the first step getting out of bed because the pain is so bad (yes, I've been treating it.)

My advice: Listen to your body.

[tallgeese]

There's a time for "suck it up" and a time to re-evaluate priorities. We're talking about a joint condition where there is permanent changes to your anatomy. That's not going to condition away. You're not going to develop a mental callous around it. There is literally cartilage failing to buffer the joints in your foot. The only way to keep this from being chronically painful AND exacerbating the condition for activities of daily living is to stop doing what's causing it. Kicking things is one of those things that will a) force you into pain every single day, and 2) make it worse with continued degradation of the body.

Given this, there is exactly zero shame in choosing to modify what you do. The fact you're looking at arts that will allow you to keep training without making your condition worse vs. leaving altogether is a testament to how much you like to train.

Look at any hands heavy art. Even consider boxing that 100 percent removes kicking. Maybe a FMA that focuses on weapons. Even grappling that is less ballistic on the feet. All are solid options that will continue to let you train.

Keep us posted.

[OneKickWonder]

There is literally cartilage failing to buffer the joints in your foot.

It's a bit worse than that in my case unfortunately, as if worn cartilage is not bad enough.

I had an accident and few years ago. Unfortunately the x ray technician failed to spot the damage. The conclusion in a very busy A and E department was that nothing was broken, just badly bruised, and a few weeks of rest to light activity would fix it. It was about 2 years later when the problems persisted that an MRI and further xray analysis revealed that in fact the two joint surfaces had actually caved in. Fragments of broken bone from the smashed joint surfaces had moved and reset in the wrong position. If we'd realised this at the time, there's a chance that key hole surgery could have saved the joint. As it's all now well and truly set in the wrong place, it's a case of management until it either fuses or possibly a joint replacement.

As grim as all that sounds though, in about 50% of similar cases, joint degradation stops, and it gets no worse for years.

[tallgeese]

There is literally cartilage failing to buffer the joints in your foot.

It's a bit worse than that in my case unfortunately, as if worn cartilage is not bad enough.

I had an accident and few years ago. Unfortunately the x ray technician failed to spot the damage. The conclusion in a very busy A and E department was that nothing was broken, just badly bruised, and a few weeks of rest to light activity would fix it. It was about 2 years later when the problems persisted that an MRI and further xray analysis revealed that in fact the two joint surfaces had actually caved in. Fragments of broken bone from the smashed joint surfaces had moved and reset in the wrong position. If we'd realised this at the time, there's a chance that key hole surgery could have saved the joint. As it's all now well and truly set in the wrong place, it's a case of management until it either fuses or possibly a joint replacement.

As grim as all that sounds though, in about 50% of similar cases, joint degradation stops, and it gets no worse for years.

Wow! Yup. I'd defiantly move to an art with less trauma on the feet.

[JR 137]

There is literally cartilage failing to buffer the joints in your foot.

It's a bit worse than that in my case unfortunately, as if worn cartilage is not bad enough.

I had an accident and few years ago. Unfortunately the x ray technician failed to spot the damage. The conclusion in a very busy A and E department was that nothing was broken, just badly bruised, and a few weeks of rest to light activity would fix it. It was about 2 years later when the problems persisted that an MRI and further xray analysis revealed that in fact the two joint surfaces had actually caved in. Fragments of broken bone from the smashed joint surfaces had moved and reset in the wrong position. If we'd realised this at the time, there's a chance that key hole surgery could have saved the joint. As it's all now well and truly set in the wrong place, it's a case of management until it either fuses or possibly a joint replacement.

As grim as all that sounds though, in about 50% of similar cases, joint degradation stops, and it gets no worse for years.

It sounds like there’s going to be some trial and error involved in finding the right art that doesn’t make training debilitatingly painful after some time. Boxing footwork may or may not cause pain; being on a judo/BJJ/wrestling mat for periods of time may or may not cause pain, etc.