Fat Aikido Feet?

I've been practicing aikido for about 4 months now and I love it. I'm in better shape and even lost a little weight. But one weird thing is happening to my body I never expected: my feet are getting fat!

I've always had pretty bony feet and small ankles. I was a runner through high school and college and played other sports like softball, soccer, and basketball. But I always had bony feet.. up until aikido!

I noticed about a month ago my feet were looking a little fleshy. This was very strange because my ankles weren't swollen and I actually lost a little weight. Why do my feet look fat?

So I started looking around at other people's feet during class. Everyone's feet looked pretty fleshy, from the skinny to the in-shape to the heftier types. It ends up that my feet aren't swollen or fat, they're gaining muscle!

Who would have thought you could build muscle in your feet? For someone who has always been active (especially with lower-body activities such as running) this is very strange that only aikido has had this effect. Has anyone else noticed this?

I wonder if I will need to buy bigger shoes!

If you ever get the chance, check out Kevin Choate Sensei's feet!

Hhhm.. I don't think my feet have gotten bigger, but I do think they are uglier. HAHA. Despite my lotioning, they are still getting dry & hard. YUCK!

Celeste Lyn Paul wrote: I noticed about a month ago my feet were looking a little fleshy. This was very strange because my ankles weren't swollen and I actually lost a little weight. Why do my feet look fat? So I started looking around at other people's feet during class. Everyone's feet looked pretty fleshy, from the skinny to the in-shape to the heftier types. It ends up that my feet aren't swollen or fat, they're gaining muscle! Who would have thought you could build muscle in your feet? For someone who has always been active (especially with lower-body activities such as running) this is very strange that only aikido has had this effect. Has anyone else noticed this? I wonder if I will need to buy bigger shoes!

Personally, I have lost muscle mass on my lower body because I can't run as much as I used to (falls and throws get your joints sore), and this includes my feet. I can see how you could build muscle on it with all of the sinking and centering we do, but I have not experianced this (my wife was complaining about it in her feet not too long ago, though).

I believe it has to do with the mats. Walking and moving constantly on such a deep surface. I suspect if one were to take a look at the feet of surfers who spend a lot of time running on sand the same might be seen.

Hey at least fat feet can be hidden by shoes and sock outside the dojo. And its not likely someone is gonna look at you and say," boy your feet are fat."

I don't know about "fat" but certainly anything that involves being active and shoeless will result in a natural "splaying" of the feet. I thinks it is a GOOD thing to have that time to explore proprioception without shoes - better than all the sports and exercises that people wear special supportive footwear for - because humans were meant to walk and run and jump barefooted and experience their relationship to the rest of the world that way.

Janet Rosen wrote: I don't know about "fat" but certainly anything that involves being active and shoeless will result in a natural "splaying" of the feet. I thinks it is a GOOD thing to have that time to explore proprioception without shoes - better than all the sports and exercises that people wear special supportive footwear for - because humans were meant to walk and run and jump barefooted and experience their relationship to the rest of the world that way.

lo

l ya know I keep trying to explain the same thing to horse owners regarding horse shoes. And the cool thing is that very often horses feet do expand and get larger when they are taken out of shoes and allowed to develop a healthy bare foot. Surefooted increases, tripping decreases and the whole mechanism of the foot becomes healthier. Of course all of this takes time. now you got me thinking barefoot is not such a bad thing for us humans as well.

Dear all,

strange! I do aikido since nearly three years, and rather intensively, and it changed absolutely NOTHING in my body. I was thin and over-flexible before, without much developed muscles, and that's exactly what I stayed. My feet were small and bony before, and they still are. But I read somewhere that there are people who are just "untrainable", and no matter how much they train they never develop more muscle mass...I suppose I am of these (anyway, I'd like to
get more muscled ARMS, not FEET!)

Best regards,

Eva

Cherie Cornmesser wrote: lo l ya know I keep trying to explain the same thing to horse owners regarding horse shoes. And the cool thing is that very often horses feet do expand and get larger when they are taken out of shoes and allowed to develop a healthy bare foot. Surefooted increases, tripping decreases and the whole mechanism of the foot becomes healthier. Of course all of this takes time. now you got me thinking barefoot is not such a bad thing for us humans as well.

yeah, but I'll bet you won't be working around the horses barefoot! At least *I* wouldn't...

Best,
Ron (squish, ouch! squish, eeeeewwwww)

Ron Tisdale wrote: yeah, but I'll bet you won't be working around the horses barefoot! At least *I* wouldn't... Best, Ron (squish, ouch! squish, eeeeewwwww)

yeah well then we would be posting about Flat Aikido feet.....I've been stepped on by a 2,000 pound horse... not fun. This is where tenkan comes in really handy at the barn.

Cherry the draft horse used to sneeze at my tenkan. All 16 hands of her! And then she would lean on me, and snicker when I fell over....

B,
R

ROTFL dontcha just love a horse that knows Kokyu-ho?

Cherie Cornmesser wrote: yeah well then we would be posting about Flat Aikido feet.....I've been stepped on by a 2,000 pound horse... not fun. This is where tenkan comes in really handy at the barn.

see your horse and raise you a water buffalo. got step on by a water buffalo while knee deep in the mud. after lots of screaming and yelling for the darn thing to pickup its foot, decided to kick it in the head. buffalo turned head and foot connected to teeth. big gash on the bottom of foot. swelling on top, gash on the bottom. hurt for weeks. funny thing was folks kept telling me i have woman feet. i guess i have small aikido feet. does size matter?

Hmmmm....note to self: When trying to get the attention of a water buffalo, do NOT kick it in the teeth!

B,
R (what ever possessed you???)