Author: Robin #32

Hi there, I'm the founder of TOKAY. Passionate about creating stuff, discovering people, places and learning. I love doing sports in general, and of course playing ultimate, what is more beautiful than a flight of a wild frisbee into the sunshine?

[Dream team] Discover TOKAY’s testers

Posted on by Robin #32

To make sure we’ll produce the best cleats for you, we decided to build a team of high level players who will test the shoes for you! They will receive early prototypes of the shoes to test them and send us their feedbacks, so we can improve the models.

Discover here who they are:

Valeria & Manuela CARDENAS, Revolution, Colombia

Playing both world finals (WUGC 2016) and junior semi-finals (WJUC 2016) the same year is not common! But that’s part of the accomplishments of Cardenas twin sisters this year despite their young age.

Read their interview here.

Laura CHAGNEUX, YAKA, France

Incessant traveler, Laura has been playing in 8 clubs during her 11 years carrier, which led her 3 times to EUCF (won one, with SUN, 2014 Mixed division). She also took part to WUGC this year with the French mixed team.

Read her interview here.

Maxime GARROS, Tchac, France

Playing since 1998, Maxime has experienced ultimate in the UK, Canada, and of course France, where he coached his club twice to victory in the French championship and to a 3rd place at EUCF this year. He’d tell you : “Whatever it takes, do it strong with passion!“

Read his interview here.

Mario O’Brien, Seattle  Sockeye, USA

Mario O’Brien is the Producer and Creative Director of RISE UP, Ultimate’s only professional instructional video series. He currently plays pro/elite ultimate for Seattle Sockeye and the Seattle Cascades.

Read his interview here.

Justin Foord, Clapham, UK

Playing since 2006 with Clapham Ultimate and GOAT in Canada. More recently joined Toronto RUSH to play in the AUDL. 9 times National champion and 5 time European champion with  Clapham Ultimate and GB. Very excited to be a part of the Tokay project!

Read his interview here.

Michelle Phillips, Bauhaus, Australia

Mish Phillips has played with Bauhaus Ultimate for the entire ten years of both her playing career and the club’s existence, and captained or coached the team for the last six. She represented 5 times Australia and two time her club at international level since 2008.

Read her interview here.

Rena Kawabata, Traffic, Canada

Rena has been playing ultimate since 2004. She currently plays on Vancouver Traffic and finished 6th at this year’s USAU Club Championships. She has also represented Canada twice on the international stage.

Read her interview here.

Masahiro Matsuno, Buzz Bullets, Japan

Matsuno is the leading players of the impressive japan open team that made it to the finals in WUGC this year, he’s been in every national, continental or world championship since 2006!

Read his interview here.

[Interview] Ultimate feet injuries by chiropractor Amanda Moore

Posted on by Robin #32

Amanda Moore, healthcare practitioner, and ultimate player contacted me to give me some insight on ultimate related injuries she observes on ultimate players. I thought you guys might find this as interesting as I did !

Here’s the first part of our interview, where we find out a bit about Amanda and the perspective she brings to ultimate. In the coming weeks, we’ll get into much more detail about lower limb related injuries.

Hi Amanda, could you tell me more about who you are?

Hey Robin.  I am a chiropractor and ultimate player.  Currently, I practice in Toronto and where I see a range of people from ultimate players to personal trainers to older people who just want to move better.  The type of practice I have is evidence-informed while keeping current with the latest research & techniques; patients are assessed with movement, given manual therapy and are always provided some exercise based homework.   As for ultimate I have been playing for over 10 years on various recreational and competitive teams. I have played for Union Ultimate since 2011 and had the opportunity to attend Worlds in Lecco and Beach Worlds in Dubai.

And what are the clinical observations you usually make on ultimate players?

If you look at the feet of ultimate players you will see some common trends: blackened toenails, calluses around the big toe and heel area, and maybe some blisters.   Common injuries I see with ultimate players in the lower limb include turf toe, plantar fasciitis, heel bruises, ankle sprains, Achilles issues, shin splints, meniscal injuries and ligament sprains such as ACL and MCL.

Players injuries are usually the result of a player’s biomechanical (how they move) and neuromuscular (how their muscles work) issues however cleats may predispose players to injury.   The type of cleat may contribute to different pressure on the bottom of the foot, how the foot moves within the cleat and the traction forces of the cleat to the ground that can affect the rest of the leg.   The biomechanical and neuromuscular issues of the player can include the mobility and stability of the foot, ankle, knee and pelvis.

©CraigStephen2014.Union 025

Which kind of cleats are you using for now?

Ahh cleats!  Finding cleats that work best for me has been one of the most frustrating experience as an ultimate player. After running the gamut of football, soccer, and lacrosse I have settled upon Nike Tiempos and an old pair of Umbro soccer cleats.  The biggest things I look for in cleats include light weight; narrow; comfortable upper ( the part around the toes); a good cleat pattern that allows running, pivoting, and lateral movements; and studs around the toe.

The features I’m excited about in the TOKAY cleats are the flexibility at the forefoot and additional stud patterns around the toe and heel for added traction. I also like the idea of internal 3D mesh material to allow the foot to mold to the shoe and may prevent rubbing and blisters.  My hope is that the cleats are comfortable fitting a narrow foot type and the stud pattern doesn’t irritate areas at the bottom of the foot.

6 tips to make your cleats last longer

Posted on by Robin #32

Our cleats are severely tested when playing Ultimate Frisbee. They undergo strong mechanical stress, in hard conditions.Here are some few tips and maintaining routines to make your best game shoes last longer.

Tip #1: Clean them well!

If your cleats are cloggy, they not only loose SWAG, training after training, the mud will enter the pores of the shoes fabric and decrease their performance in terms of breathability, flexibility and – in the end – durability.

To clean your shoes, simply use a wet towel or sponge to remove the mud. Do not put your cleats into the washing machine, it would moisten the inner foams of the cleats and facilitate the growth of bacteria.

Tip #2: Dry them

This icon means : do not wash in washing machine, did you know it? I didn’t…

Drying your cleats is very important to make sure they last, WITHOUT SMELLING. But you can’t dry them too fast, or the material (mainly the leather and synthetic leather) could tear up fast.

The best way is to let them drying naturally in a dry and well-ventilated area, if the shoes are very wet, prefer using journal paper instead of heat (radiator or direct sun).

You can also remove the insole for more efficiency.

Tip #3: aerate your feet between two games

Your shoes will appreciate, if the field is particularly wet, change your socks, you’ll feel like a new person!

Tip #4: Don’t walk on asphalt

It damages the studs.

Tip #5: Use shoes disinfectant or talc to kill bacteria

You can find shoes disinfectant in sport shops, or talc in drug stores to limit the spread of the bacteria. Use it once in a while.

You can also buy one for your friend that has smelly feet. It’s not the most diplomatic way to say it, but that’s rather effective…

cleaning products

The cleaning products I use

Tip #6: maintain their leather

If you have leather cleats, maintain them once in a while by applying grease with a cloth.

Player Tip

A player shared me this tip:  if all your shoes are smelly, maybe it’s because of your sweat that helps the spread of bacteria. To solve this problem, you can try to follow the next steps:

  • Buy a new pair you’ll use all along the process
  • Put talc into all your shoes,
  • place your shoes into a bag, add more talc, close the bag and shake it,
  • Repeat every few days, adding talc, for one to two weeks.
  • Wash your feet with a disinfectant like betadine, every day during the all process.

The objective is to break the circle of bacteria going from your feet to your shoes, and from your shoes to your feet.

You have your own tip? Share it with other players in coments!

We have 5 winners! Here is their story.

Posted on by Robin #32

On September 13th of 2016, we started a contest that would give the opportunity to the 5 winners to win the first pairs of TOKAY cleats. The principle was simple : the more you’d bring people to register to the contest, the higher you’d go in the queue!

On October 13th, it ended with outstanding results, gathering more than 2500 players. We want to thank all of them to believe in our project, talk about it, twitt it, facebook it and email it for an entire month!

We are very proud to have participants from all around the world as shows the origin of our 5 winners, from 3 different continents!

To give you an idea of the excitement we had during this month chatting with participants – discovering new stories and new ultimate Frisbee horizons – we didn’t find a better way than sharing with you their own words.

Om “O.S.” Savani

Credits : Madhav Bhimsariya

  • Years played : 1
  • Club : Game Changers, Surat, Gujarat, India
  • Club number : 7

“Our club team is just beginner and we all are passionate amateurs! I started playing ultimate at age 13 because I was very much impressed by my friends’ skills and the way they used to Snatch, Grab and Layout for the disc, shout outs to my friends Ansh Kapadia and Swayam Narang for teaching me ultimate before I opted my sport preference in school as Frisbee.

My objective for this year is to improve my throws, grabs and layouts. I prefer backhand the most as I can get full control on the disc and swings while I used backhand.

According to me this is a very nice game for Fun and Fitness and probably the only sport which teaches us how to behave with people. According to me this sport has a very bright future and hope to see it in upcoming Olympics.”

Scott “Scottie” Xu

“There’s somewhat of an inside joke between me and my teammates that instead of running or lifting weights, I play DDR to train for ultimate.  There is some truth to this, since I do think it is a fun way to cross-train for footwork and agility instead of doing ladder drills all the time.  And for the record, I do also do the team workouts, in case coach is reading this…”

Sam “Mckeen” McStay

  • Years played: 3
  • Club: Possum Party, Durham, UK
  • Club number: 64

“Having taken up ultimate in my second year at Durham Uni it rapidly became my main sport. After enjoying a hugely successful year in the inter-collegiate league with Van Mildert I joined up to the University team at the end of the year. At the end of the year I took part in the Durham Hat 2014, this excellent event would inspire me to go on to run the event in 2015 and 2016 (and potentially 2017!).

Over the next two years I took part in numerous events with many of the Northern UK teams including the Carlisle Lakers, Possum Party, SMOG & The Brown. While impacted by injuries over the last year I’m hoping to once again return to Tour again alongside running a couple of events in Durham this year.”

Hernan “Bueno” Bueno

“I don’t just practice off season for myself, I practice for my team. I want my team to dominate this year and win States like we did 2 years ago. I also want myself to be a great player, not someone who has great throws, but someone who has great leadership, sportsmanship and skill.

My favorite sentence is by K.Sakiya Sandifer and it says : True leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”

Matthew “Silva” Silverman

  • Years played: 3
  • Club: Darkwing, Mansfield, MA, USA
  • Club number: 98

Credits : Lauren Kraemer Photography

“I learned about ultimate at Wentworth for the first time – it only existed as pickup in my hometown of Stoughton, MA. At a tech school like Wentworth where no one leaves their rooms unless there is an offer of free pizza, joining a team like Concrete Jungle was amazing – it created some friendships that will never fade, and some experiences that I will never forget; throwing a scoober is by far the coolest way to break a mark or throw a score.

I am a master student in at WPI and I am studying robotics engineering, which leave almost no time for ultimate or training. As a result, after the end of this year’s season I have quickly gotten out of shape. So I guess my objective for this year and next, ultimate-wise, is to start training properly and get back to that “freshman level of fitness” that I had coming into college. I think I plan on taking a season off from club, and just playing summer leagues, but I always say things like this (” I will not get hurt at wildwood this year”) and it always happens anyway. “

RFO – interview of a youth team

Posted on by Robin #32

The 3 interviewed with their physical trainer Jérôme, club’s mascot Freza & frisbees (yay!)

RFO’s logo

Here is the motivating story of a team of young ultimate Frisbee players. Encouraging for the future!

The first time I met one of those players, I was at the WUGC. He asked me if I was looking for future high level athletes to sponsor. Amused, I told him to send me an email with more details, and… I have been stunned…

“I’d like to have a shoes sponsor, I’ve been playing since I was 8 at RFO, with whom I won as captain 5 France championship titles and 2 titles U15 in Maximum Air Time and accuracy. I will apply to the U17 French selections.”

Nothing more, but it made me want to know more… So here I am, 3 months later, with Kaïs, Mathéo, Arthur and Raph, their coach:

Hi guys, please introduce yourself, for how long have you been playing?

Hi, we are Kaïs, Matheo and Arthur, We are 13 and we’ve been playing in the club for 4 years. At the beginning only Kaïs was playing, he told us about ultimate Frisbee at school, so we came, and we liked it!

Tell me more about your club…

The club has existed since 2002, and the youth section was created on 2006. We train once a week, but we also go throwing in the evenings, or weekends (to be clear: as often as our homework allow us!). The youth section already trained some players that are playing at a high level now (French teams U17, U20 and more…), they often come back to the club, it’s motivating!

We live in a small town (3 000 people), so there are few kids, and we have to mix the ages (from 7 to 14 yo) and levels, but the good part is that everybody knows each other.

This year we will also start training in our school and with adults.

How do you train?

We do a bit of everything, but mainly games, so everybody can touch the disc. There is a big gap of level because of the age gaps.

Last year we also had a 2nd coach, which made stuff with scales and things to jump…

How could you explain the success of our team?

We are very competitive, that’s why we often win the direct elimination games, and paradoxically it’s the qualifying games that can go wrong.

But well, above all, we are all friends, super-motivated, and WE ARE WARRIORS!

Did you have some hard times into the team?

… Yes during the 2014 indoor championship, we finished 4th… We were leading but they came back… A good lesson…

And what’s the coach’s point of view?

They always train outdoor, and since we live near from the sea, there is often wind or rain. That’s why they can throw in any weather; it helped them during a few games.

I teach them some tactics, but I don’t want to lock them into schemes. I want them to be able to feel the game. It worked well last year, there was a lot of wind, and we set up a zone D. They had tried it only once before, and if proved very efficient.

I also often set the stall to 5, to teach them to play fast.

And what are your goals for this season ?

We had quite a lot of victories last year, so this year we will focus on the next steps: the selections for the French U17 teams.

They will also do some training to be “Young officials” during WCBU in Royans next year.

A last question, how do you see your sport in the future ?

Later we do not imagine our sport as ultra-publicized, but we hope ultimate Frisbee will be at Olympics games!

7 tips to find your feet

Posted on by Robin #32

Be prepared for a tournament also means to be able to rely on yourself and make sure you won’t face any kind of problem before or during the game. Here are a few tips to make sure you’ll be able to give the best of yourself on the pitch.

Tip #1: Take care of your feet

It means taking care of your nails and remove dead skins. An accumulation of these ones can reveal some high tension zones between the foot and the shoe, which may lead to skin wounds.

The best option is to wash your feet the day before the game, so the skin won’t be too soft for the game (which may cause blisters).

To avoid skin cracks between the toes – also named athlete feet – it is also recommended that you dry your feet carefully after a shower. For the players that frequently have this kind of problems, here are some other tips to get rid of it:

  • Use talc to absorb moisture,
  • Let your feet breath us much as you can.

Tip #2: use flip-flops, but please, WITHOUT socks!

In addition to kill all the SWAG of the flip-flop, the socks prevents your feet from breathing.

Wearing flip-flops is also important in change rooms that are full of bacteria bad for the feet.

Tip #3: Know your feet

You can start by reading our feet facts, but an examination at a podiatrist would be a very good option.

Each foot being different, podiatrist can explain to you how to solve your little problems, pains, etc…

They will also be able to tell you if you need specific insoles to solve postural disorders.

Tip #4: beware of the blisters !

We are not all equal when it comes to blisters. People especially sensitive to blisters can use either tanning creams or acid products – like lemon juice – to strengthen their skin.

For example, these products can be used every evening, for two weeks before a competition. Since it could dry the skin, the use of a hydrating cream is recommended in the morning.

Once the blister is here, you can prevent it from getting bigger by using a special plaster. If it is already too big and disturbing, you can follow these steps:

  • Wash the skin with soap and water
  • Prepare the skin with an antiseptic solution
  • With a sterilized needle, pop the blister, and completely drain it,
  • Apply a plaster and / or compressive bandage.

Tip #5: don’t neglect the socks

While they are not recommended with flip-flops, socks are very important to maintain the foot in a healthy and dry environment.

Good sport socks are highly recommended since they will better manage moisture and decrease friction between the foot and the shoe.

Changing socks between two games can be a good option. Changing shoes between two days is COMPULSARY, may it be just for the fair-play…

Tip #6 : Warm them up

Warming up your feet can decrease the risk of injury. The most important is to prepare the muscles and joints, which will support repeated and numerous stresses during the day.

We all know the basic exercises; just take your time to warm up.

Tip #7: Take off your shoes between games

I’m not talking about the party, you can take off whatever you want during the party, but between two games it can be a good idea to take off your shoes. In addition to the subtle titling of the grass between your toes, the foot will dry and breath and the muscles will relax.

Extra Tip: At the end of the day, bath your feet!

Seriously, footbath is a way too underrated part of heaven on earth. To experience it:

  • Find a basin,
  • Fill it with warm water and soap,
  • You can massage your feet with some micro bead soap (or sugar, if you can’t find micro bead soap on a tournament…)
  • Have a beer, relax.

Footbath is not recommended if you have any wound on your feet.

Everything you didn’t know about your shoes

Posted on by Robin #32

Shoes are everywhere, and we tend to see them now as a quite common product. Still, if we have a closer look, we can see that they have to fulfill many functions such as: dress, protect (from weather, impacts…), be the interface with the ground and other specific features depending on each case. All this while remaining light, durable, and comfortable…

That might be worth a closer look…

Requirements

In itself, the study of the needs is a huge work, it will determine all the technical and fashion aspects of the future product.

In ultimate frisbee for example, technical needs will be to resist to the inner forces during cuts (mainly), ensure a good grip without disturbing some other movements, be breathable but water resistant… To identify and prioritize these functions, we do a lot of video analysis, during games, and then by filming specific movements.

Some elements (such as weight, comfort…) are identified as specifically performance ones, and will help us to evaluate the design ideas, to choose one.

Shoes being one of the most iconic fashion elements, it would be unreal to think that a pair of cleats is only chosen on its technical characteristics. The trendborad is here to guide the designer into his choices.

The design of a shoe is hence a clever mix of all these elements, which will help the team into the choice of the general looking of the shoe, the construction (see below), materials, colors…

The price is of course a results of all these choices, and in particular: the upper complexity, materials, but also the number of model and sizes proposed.

Each brand develops its prototypes in one size. Then the production will proportionally change the dimensions to develop the other sizes. At TOKAY, every prototype are developed in size 7.5UK, my feet size 😉

Last

The last is the shape on which the shoes will be made, it determines their inner shape.

To make a last, the shaper uses a standard foot shape, to which he will add or remove some material to obtain the properties he desires. For example, to provide more agility with the ball, soccer shoes lasts tend to be narrowed.

Shapes depend on many parameters:

The making of a last is a subtle mix of art and science, and require a lot of experience.

Once the wooden last has been validated, it is scanned and a plastic copy is made for production.

Upper

The upper is the fabric or leather part on the top of the shoes. Often made of many parts from varying materials, its manufacturing can require up to 70% of the overall production time of the shoes.

Last years, with the decreasing of the workforce cost in Asia, brands tended to increase the complexity of this part, adding more kinds of materials and more operations (just have a look to your running shoes). In addition the environmental impact due to some materials, the complex shapes of the parts often implies a lot of wastes.

It is also in that step that are added the reinforcements, mainly in the heel, that allow a good foot support.

Once the prototype is validated, each part is drawn on 2D in the reference size, and then proportionally modified to produce the other sizes.

Outsoles

The ousole is the main investment in a shoes project, since in implies molds (mainly a big machined aluminum bloc) for each size.  Its design is a big step for the project.

The outsole is mainly responsible of the interface between the foot and the ground and will determine your grip. But it also provides support to your feet, for example a rigid outsole will give good results for fast sprints, a thin sole will be used for agility, while a wide one will be preferred for stability.

Equipments

Last but not least:  the accessories, mainly shoelaces and insoles that have an impact on the overall quality of the product.

In particular, the insole can provide different functions such as cushion or choc absorption, foot support also, etc…

Conclusion

To facilitate all this, every steps are interdependent… it was lucky that I had no Idea about how complicated it would be, or else I would have never started!

This article is also a good opportunity to thank all the people that took the time to explain me all these details, a special thanks to Patrick and Antoine that accepted to follow me into this project!

6 steps to choose your ultimate frisbee shoes

Posted on by Robin #32

Finding your perfect fitting cleat is not an easy task. Each foot is different and most of the cleats are designed for other sports than Ultimate Frisbee.

So here are some few tips to find the one to make your life with: your next beloved game cleats!

Buying shoes in a store :

Comfort is a critical aspect of the shoes, and each pair of feet is special, so you may want to test your shoes for real before trying them. Here are a few steps to follow:

  • Bring your own socks
  • Choose for immediate comfort: the shoe will deform with the time, but if some parts of the shoe are initially uncomfortable it is better to try another model.
  • Shop in the evening: feet swell during the day, so don’t shop first thing.
  • Test shoes on both feet: we all have a foot larger than the other.
  • Buy a beautiful shoe: the one that give you the game winning swag!

Buying online :

Buying online shoes isn’t easy, given that brands tend to have their own characteristic shape of shoe… But with more and more websites allowing customers to return shoes, it can be a good option to find more specialized cleats:

Studs shape :

Many studies tend to show that I shaped studs tend to increase the risk of injury (especially under the heel, where they restrict your foot during rotational movement). You should seek out cylinder-shaped studs.

According to the type of shoes you’re buying :

Each shoe is developed for a particular sport, according to the athletes’ needs (agility, springiness, protection, etc.). Here is a chart of pros and cons of the kind of cleats you could buy to play ultimate Frisbee :

Pros Cons
Soccer
  • Easy to find
  • Lightweight
  • Very narrow forefoot
  • High lacing that limits the fitting
  • No toe stud
American Football
  • Toe stud
  • Mid-cut models
  • Bulky
  • Narrow Forefoot
  • Lacking Comfort
Rugby
  • Good grip on muddy fields
  • Studs are too big for use on hard ground
  • Heavy
  • Metal studs are not allowed in Ultimate
Lacrosse
  • Toe stud
  • Mid-cut models
  • Bulky
  • Difficult to find in stores
Field Hockey
  • More cushion
  • Higher soles that limit stability and explosive power

For indoor practice, handball shoes present a good alternative since the sport is played with similar movements (short sprints and hard cuts).

Fit your feet:

Each foot is different. Their length can vary, but also their width, arch, toes shapes, etc. . . Unfortunately, no brand exists today that would provide a different fit for a same model of cleat (just like Asics – for example – does this for running shoes).

In this article you can learn more about what makes a great fit for Ultimate.

Depending on your finances :

There are cleats for any kind of budget; you even often see the same model from a brand presented in different ranges. In these cases two factors should be taken into account: the quality of materials and the finishing of the product.

For example in the lower prices range you will have poor quality synthetic leather (non-breathable, poor durability) and a unicolor outsole; whereas in the higher priced scale you will have real kangaroo leather and a nice finishing of the outsole, plus a cushioning insole.

Feet facts

Posted on by Robin #32

Made of 26 bones, 33 joints and about 100 muscles and tendons, our feet are one of the most complex parts of the human body. They have to be agile enough to adapt to any track, but rigid enough to ensure our stability. It’s not worth saying that ultimate players are sorely testing them…

Here are some interesting facts about feet.

Each foot is different:

In addition to the length, that defines our shoe size, feet can vary by width, shape of the arch, shape…

Each person tends to have a difference between left and right foot. A study led on a large number of people has shown that :

  • 36% of the people had their feet length varying of 3.5mm (0.13 in) or more, which represent half an european shoe size
  • 60% of the people had their feet perimeter varying of 2.5mm (0.07 in) or more,  which represent half an european shoe width size

Depending onhis morphology, one also can be pronator or supinator.

In addition to length, that defines our shoe size, feet can vary of with, eighth of the arch, shape… Each person tends to have a difference between left and right foot. Depending on our morphology, one can be pronator or supinator. You can easily observe by watching the sole of your old running shoes, and the way they are worn essentially on the inside or on the outside of the foot.

Our feet being the base of our mobility, they can be the cause of movement inefficiency or even pain until in our spine. This is why it is recommended to see regularly a podiatrist.

Biomechanics:

The shock absorbing properties of the feet come from the arch shape of the bones. When you take a step, this arch bends your tendons.

To feel this, you can do the following:

Sit on a chair (so you don’t put weight on your feet), put your foot on a white sheet of paper and drawn the circumference of it.
Then without moving your foot, stand up, put weight on it and draw the circumference again.
You will observe that the second sketch is larger than the first one.

The ankle joint is also incredibly complicated, since it allows us to keep our balance even on irregular terrains. 

Sweat:

The foot contains more than 250 000 sweat glands, a figure that might help to remove smelly feet’s complexes!

This sweat is necessary to regulate our body temperature, but it also can develop bacterias or other skin problems due to its acidity.

One of the most common problem due to sweat is athletes foot. In this case cracks appear, generally between the toes, because of too much humidity. In this case, it is important to keep your feet as dry as possible (especially after your shower).

Nails:

For ultimate Frisbee players, nails can be subject to problems such as :

Black nails : in ultimate they are generally caused by shoes that are too tight on the forefoot where the nail will hit
Injuries around the nail and ingrown toenails : to avoid this you have to cut your toenail straight across, not curved, as shown on the picture

Fungal infections: if you are subject to a fungal infection, you can find efficient fungicides in drug stores.

In the end, our feet are sensitive beings…

When you know that our feet gather more than 8 000 nerve endings, you better understand why they are so sensitive to tickles (also why some people have foot fetishists, but that’s another story…).

Part of Chinese medicine is also based on feet to care numerous pathologies.