Welcome to Memoirs of a Karateka. I broke my foot!

Welcome friend and probable fellow martial artist! I say that because this page will probably be of no use to someone not practicing the martial arts. To think of it, it probably won't be of any use to martial artists either! So why read this blog at all? For the same reason we'd read any blog - We love to snoop in on other people's lives, especially when bad things happen to them. And yes, lots of bad things happen to me in and out of the dojo, so this will probably lead to an interesting read. Or not. I BROKE FOUR TOES TODAY BECAUSE OF AN IMPROPER ROUNDHOUSE KICK. Yeah, that came out of nowhere. In the style I practice, we use the korean kicking style with an emphasis on front leg kicks rather than rear leg. Those of you familiar with korean kicking styles know that striking surface of a roundhouse kick is the top of the foot. A lot of people believe that the top of the foot is a weak striking surface both structurally and in regards to power. Personally, I prefer it to other areas such as the shin. We've all seen the videos of when kickboxers' shins collide and one of them decides to break like a twig. I'll pass. Also, using the end of the foot gives the roundhouse that "whip" like factor and can cause some serious damage to both your assailant/sparring partner and yourself (if not used properly). My problem was that I was so preoccupied with generating power that I forgot to roll the ankle back so that the kick would land squarely on the top of my foot... and not pop my toes in the process. The kick connected with my sparring partner's stomach, just not in the way that I sorta wanted.

So yeah, I'm now hobbling around my house in some serious pain. I probably won't be able to spar for awhile, so I guess I'll give it about 3 days rest and then delve into some deep kata study. Unfortunately, I'm practicing Heian Godan which has a "jump" technique.. which won't probably flow well with Mr. Broken Toes. Ah well. Enough with the griping. I guess it's an experience that all martial artists go through... dammit. I'll leave you with a video of Luca Delasi performing Heian Godan... just ignore the bunkai section.