Callusbuilding

[Harkonnen]

I've a hunch next big thing in fitness will be callusbuilding. It's just like bodybuilding, but instead of muscle, you build callus.

[Harkonnen]

These “Mikoshi Dako” are the badges of honour from a Japanese festival

Rather than hiding the calluses, the bulges on these men are glorified for a very special reason.


If you’ve been to a traditional festival in Japan, you’ll know what it’s like to be in amongst a crowd of heaving bodies, enveloped in the aroma of grilled foods and surrounded by the noise and clamour of an exciting parade. At the heart of the festivities is the mikoshi, the portable Shinto shrine that houses the deity, which makes its way around town on specific dates each year. Supported by long wooden poles, the mikoshi is carried around the neighbourhood by groups of men and women, who shout out various permutations of “heave-ho!” in Japanese as they gallantly hold up the heavily decorated miniature shrine for all the crowds to see.

Participating in the festival as a mikoshi load-bearer is something locals might do once in their lifetimes, or they might do it every year for decades. It’s an arduous task, given that the portable shrines can weigh upwards of 1,100 kilograms (1.2 tons), and the result of this hard work can sometimes be seen underneath the happi festival coats of the carriers.

There’s no mistaking what causes these shoulder calluses, given that they’re known in Japanese as “Mikoshi Dako“, or “Mikoshi Calluses“. Just as players of stringed instruments develop lumps of hard skin on their fingers from years of practice, these mikoshi carriers develop bulges on their shoulders, which actually help to reduce the pain of carrying the portable shrine due to the build-up of hardened skin. Rather than hide the large lumps on their shoulders, however, the men who have them wear them as a badge of pride; as a symbol of their unwavering dedication to the deity, the shrine and the larger community itself.

It appears that giant shoulder calluses are not confined to the men of Japan, however, as similar bulges can be seen on the “cullatori” (“cradle rockers”) of Nola, Italy, who carry giant obelisks weighing more than 2,500 kilograms during the annual “La Festa dei Gigli”, or “The Festival of Lilies”. Like the Japanese, these men wear their calluses with pride; as a sign of religious dedication. https://soranews24.com/2016/06/15/th...nese-festival/

[Harkonnen]

Cullatori: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-festival.html

Mark my words. Callusbuilding WILL be a thing. I might start doing it myself to get a head start.

[Harkonnen]

Early callusbuilding pioneer

[Harkonnen]

Yeah well it seems callusbuilding is too hardcore for this cookie cutter world.

[Hulu]

wow. I saw a guy yesterday with calluses at the arms and I thought he was sick. I am trying to find a pic on the internet to illustrate and can't find any.

[Harkonnen]

wow. I saw a guy yesterday with calluses at the arms and I thought he was sick. I am trying to find a pic on the internet to illustrate and can't find any.

Fookin hell I knew it. I'm starting to be certain I have psychic Mentat abilities.

[Benyzero]

Ultimate chad workout, used to scare off betas when they see you on the beach coming looking like a pakicefalosaurus