Bruises

[bjjamazon]

Kewl website.

[sandy]

I get realy big ugly bruises on the top of my foot from kicking the bag. I hit it wrong somtimes and the nexy day I will have a huge green purple thing all over my foot! I have not had a pair of sandels on all summer. I hope I never have to worry about covering anything up on my face.

[ThehoundofCulan]

Are you meaning to kick with the top of your foot, or is it accidental? If you are kicking Thai style and hitting with the top of the foot, you've got more to worry about than bruises. Thai kicks are too powerful hit anything with the foot, especially a Thai bag. If you make contact with some significant force on the bag, there's a good chance you might break your ankle. It does take a while to get used to hitting with the shin, especially if you've been corrupted by some earlier martial art. Bags are good to condition the shins eventually. The good thing about the shin is that it does get conditioned, your ankle will never get conditioned to the kind of force a misplaced kick will put on it. Just be careful what you're doing out there or the only sandle you'll be wearing is nice rainbow colored one they give you to wear over a cast.

[Joana]

sandy: what kind of MA do you train?
If it's kick-boxing maybe you should try to add low-kicks to your training?
Sounds like you were kicking a stonebag, or having hemophilia.

Bruises can occur due to low coagulability of the blood or because of taking aspirin, which, as I think have nothing to do in this case.
But, is it nessessary to kick that much with your feet during your training?

[ThehoundofCulan]

I'm not sure, I don't take any pills I don't have to, but isn't Aspirin a blood-thinner? I would think that it would make bruising disperse more quickly. I may be wrong, and please note if I am. If you are just starting, though, don't let the bruises worry ya. Everyone gets them. The bruising either means you are doing something wrong or doing something right, depending on where you get them.
Bruises on the shins is quite common. In some martial arts the same can be said for the forearms. I have noticed that between muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, my forearms bones get quite wrecked. They are so weak my arms shake sometimes. It's just from holding the pads for knees and then giant bastards that can do nothing but try to kimura to tap you. It also occurs from holding on against armbars, which I've gotten quite good at rolling against said giants. Anyway, I've rambled once more. Don't worry about bruises on the shins and stuff, just try to massage them if possible after class to keep the blood moving. The bruises will keep comin' back though, eventually the pain will lessen.

[VooDooQueen]

Napoxsyn is very good for bruises..but I wouldnt take anything either unless I really had to. Just ice a bruise down as soon as you can. If you are in something like I am in...then a snap kick is done with the top of the foot. Yeah, it hurts when you first start, but you get used to it. We do kicking drills all the time and I dont bruise my feet at all. You must have been hitting a bag of hardened cement? lol

[KnockOut2]

if you aren't a little bruised, then you're not doing it right


That goes for fight training as well

[bjjamazon]

Voodoo, that stuff is awesome!! I not only helps bruises, swellings, but its also great on cramps. I really hate to take any kind of pills other than my multivitamin, but that has helped me in the past with some other injuries.

[VooDooQueen]

Naproxsyn is the bomb...I got it from the army hospital for my foot...been training on it anyhow. It feels fine but still hurts a lil bit when I do a side blade kick. No pain ..no gain right? Now, if it would just help my side where I took a hit to my kidney last Thursday. We have a new student and he is um...a tad mentally challenged (for real...not being mean) He doesnt understand light contact when we just spar a bit between ourselves. He is a really good fighter though. Says he holds a few different belts in several forms, although, I couldnt tell you because I cant understand him too well. Great kid though, but dayum...that boy can hit. I told him ...its all good...there is always next Thursday. hehe


(Freezing cold mountain stream water is good for breaks too....My family and I went to 11 Mile Canyon and I stood in the water for about 2 hours...I was numb..but my foot seemed to have healed up from that since the day after I was able to walk without a limp.)

VooDoo

[sandy]

Thanks for the concern. Yes, I am hitting the bag wrong, and its a muay thai kick that I'm doing. I am having a very hard time doing this kick right, but it only happens with my lead leg, so that is the foot I'm always hurting. I kick the bag a lot and I srew up a lot. For some reson I have a hard time staying strong as I go up on the ball of my foot. So as I'm bringing my leg in to kick I fall away from the bag a littel and end up hitting the bag with my foot instead of my shin. And becuse I have been kicking the bag so much the foot always stays black and blue. And I'm doing mma a littel bit of everything all mixed together.

[KnockOut2]

it was described to me to think of the kick in this way...

first of all, your bodyweight goes forward when you kick, and across to the side (in the direction you are kicking), NOT backward. A lot of people make the mistake of leaning backward, like a tae kwon do kick.

This will help you kick further. If you lean back when doing a low kick, you won't reach as far and you'll probably land with your ankle or foot. (ouch) You need to penetrate deep in order to cut into their leg with the thick part of your shin bone. That is how you do damage. The forward momentum adds to the power. Leaning back takes away from it.

Also, imagine your front leg is like a screw that is being drilled into the ground. That visualization will help you keep your weight down and centered.

Also allow your hips to turn all of the way. Exagerate the hip movement it at first, just to make sure that you're not locking your hips. A full turn of the hips will also cause your kicks to reach further. If you halt the rotation of your hips then your kick will land short.

Hope this isn't too off topic. She got the bruise because of the kicking.

[ThehoundofCulan]

Yeah, a lot of people have that problem with the swith kick. Make sure you are stepping in a bit (not directly in, angle in out in the same direction you are going to bring your leg towards and lean towards). Do everything exagerated and slow at first, always get the form down. Turn the hips all the way over, pivot the foot 180 degrees and everything. When you get it down, start working on speed and not telegraphic the technique. I usually don't switch kick a lot unless I set it up with a few hand strikes, parrying a jab, or something similar to that. If you are doing it wrong, stop putting the power into it though. Never hit hard before you can hit right, it's asking for injury.

[Joana]

Thehoundofculan: yes, aspirin is a blood thinner
it affects blood coagulation and causes bleeding

anything containing aspirin interferes with the stickiness of the blood
platelets
and I think that person taking aspirin is prone to bleeding