The Littlest Orange Belt Is Feeling Clever

[swan_tower]

Yes, I really do mean to use that icon.

When you have a (popped) blister on your left foot that extends partway under the edge of a callus and you don't want the skin to tear because it's going to be unpleasant when it does and besides you'll be grinding dirt into it all karate class long which is a good way to get an infection but band-aids come flying off the moment you pivot unless you put tape over them and that leads to you STICKING TO THE FLOOR when you try to pivot . . .

. . . then sometimes, just sometimes, you get clever.

You dig out your old lyrical shoes -- which only barely qualify as "shoes" -- and that protects the necessary area while still leaving you 95% barefoot.

And you don't stick to the floor.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Eleven years after leaving the studio and you still have those?!

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Also my ballet slippers, my jazz boots, my jazz sneakers, and (God help me) my pointe shoes, which I probably can't even fit into anymore.

[lady-puck9999.livejournal.com]

I vote for karate in pointe shoes next.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Very smart. I've been thinking about getting a pair for belly dancing.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

If all you want is a system for holding a patch of leather under the ball of your foot, they're pretty awesome.

[kendokamel.livejournal.com]

Oooo, great idea!

Also, for popped blisters, have you used those gel bandaids? They're really great! I used them when I was starting kendo (or restarting after a long time off) because I'd get blisters under the callous on the ball of my left foot. They seal it off so it can heal, and they provide a nice squooshy cushion.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

That's what I used in London and afterward. But they don't hold well enough to survive the dojo floor; I still have to put tape over them, and then we're back to the "sticking to the floor" problem.

[lady-puck9999.livejournal.com]

I am imagining a ballet/martial arts choreographed type thing. Sort of like the scene in Across The Universe when all the football players are Twyla-Tharp-dancing through their drills. Except with karate.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

There is a scene in Mercedes Lackey's Puss-in-Boots retelling where a young ballerina, told by a big strong man that she needs protection, takes a good look at him and demonstrates that she could probably break his nose if she wanted to.

[lady-puck9999.livejournal.com]

Is that "Reserved for the Cat" ? Or something like that? I think that's the only Mercedes Lackey book I've read.

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

Yup.