Sore knees, hurting feet from winter guard?!

First of all, 20 hours a week is a lot of practice!

I'm not entirely clear if the knee pain is mainly from local bruising or from the stress of exercise on hard surfaces. Bruising wil settle but stress damage will accumulate over time. Can you cut your practice back temporarily to see if the knee pain settles? I would speak to your coach/instructor about the knee pain as well.

Bruises will normally just heal on their own given time. You can try resting bruised areas and applying ice after practice. Take care if you are repeatedly bruising the same places.

With regards to your feet, it sounds like you need to work on strengthening them and toughening the skin. This takes time. You are currently subjecting soft skin to a lot of friction. This is what is taking the skin off. You need to gradually develop tough skin called calluses to protect your feet. This is natural process that occurs over time.

Do you tend to go barefoot outside of Guard practice? This is the best way to gradually develop tougher skin on your feet that can withstand the friction and pressure of Guard Practice. Try to walk barefoot as much as possible at home etc. Even the relatively forgiving indoor surfaces of your house will begin the process of strengthening your feet. Gradually introduce short periods of walking without shoes on safe outdoor surfaces such as in your garden or the local park. Don't force the process too fast or you will just develop blisters instead.

Walking barefoot will not only toughen the skin but also both strengthen and relax the overall structure of your feet which will probably also be beneficial to your Guard Practice.

Wear shoes when you need to and don't put yourself at risk of injury or get into conflict with others over this.

Once the tough skin or callus has formed you need to manage it. Moisturize regularly to prevent callus tears or cracks which can be very painful and prone to infection. Try not to exfoliate too much in this process though.

Hope this helps and please remember to talk about your knee pain with somebody to check it out and make sure you don't store up problems for the future.