Saturday, September 03, 2005

Metal Geta



I recently bought this pair of weighted metal geta. Geta are a japanese style of footware that are simialr to sandals, except they have wooden blocks on the sole to raise them off the ground and the thong that goes between your big toe and second toe is in the center-line of the geta rather than off to the side. So, there is no left or right geta. You can put either one on either foot. There's a pretty good web page here that describes geta in more detail.

These particular geta I bought are for exercise and they weigh about 5 pounds each. Unlike the traditional wooden style, these are made of metal. I'm trying to improve my side-kicks in karate and am hoping these will help strengthen my legs. I seem to lack the leg strength to perform my kicks properly. The advantage these have over ankle weights (other than simple esthetics) is they put the weight on your feet, so it helps to also strength your ankles and parts of your feet and toes.