I am not wearing shoes right now for classes and I encourage my students to not do so, but it is not mandatory. I like the conditioning that the bottoms of my feet get by working on a rough surface. Shoes are fine, but it is just my choice to not use them.
Shoes during class?
- Thread starter Icewater
- Start date
still learning
Senior Master
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- Nov 8, 2004
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Hello, In our school wearing shoes or going barefoot is your choice. We train in a school cafeteria with hard floors.
If one looks at where the old traditional schools train at? It is only naturally to take off your shoes before entering the class(the floors were not design for shoes). This was expected. Most homes in Hawaii everyone takes their shoes off before going into the house. Old japanese custom.
Sometimes the old ways are still carry out. Today wearing shoes is more natural for us than barefoot. Your teacher will decide how he wants you to dress. There is no right or wrong here....do you agree?
Martial art shoes today are great! Feels good and can move fast! Some are so bright! If they only make ones that can jump high (roof top).....Aloha
If one looks at where the old traditional schools train at? It is only naturally to take off your shoes before entering the class(the floors were not design for shoes). This was expected. Most homes in Hawaii everyone takes their shoes off before going into the house. Old japanese custom.
Sometimes the old ways are still carry out. Today wearing shoes is more natural for us than barefoot. Your teacher will decide how he wants you to dress. There is no right or wrong here....do you agree?
Martial art shoes today are great! Feels good and can move fast! Some are so bright! If they only make ones that can jump high (roof top).....Aloha
J
jbclinic
Guest
here's the deal about that. in the dojang shoes will help ruin the mats faster if worn everyday all day, so you want to limit the use of shoes on the mat unless buying new mats everso often is affordable. and trianing in shoes is practicle because you'll move different in boots, high /low heels (women) and would need to learn to adjust,i try do demonstrate all angles to those i teach
Asics split soled wrestling shoe here. I love the pair I found and it's the best pair I have ever owned.
ginshun
2nd Black Belt
My teacher doesn't teach MA as his main job, so our indoor training is in the arobics room of a local health club, no shoes allowed.
When we train outside we always were shoes.
When we train outside we always were shoes.
CuongNhuka
Senior Master
There's a reason most of the time you're told to go bare foot. Know what it is? It's all about your skin. Confused? When you train barefoot and slide your feet, it's because it wears away the layers of skin, which are then built up thicker. That makes it so that if you're in a fight without your shoes on, then your feet are tougher. In fact before I started martial arts, my feet could be easlier injured. And just recently I was helping pull down an abouve ground pool that had gravel around the base. Any time I needed to cross I could just walk across, no problem (I was bare foot by the way). But if you have a foot or leg condition, it makes sense to wear shoes. Infact one of our formur students (he ended up changing to Tae-Kwon-Do) tour his hamstrings, and know has to wear shoes or risk massive damage to his legs & feet. But just my thoughts.
Sweet Brighit Bless your Blade,
John
Sweet Brighit Bless your Blade,
John
T
twayman
Guest
Traditionally, training has been done with no shoes... Mats on the floor would get damaged with shoes being used. I don't mind bare feet. I feel that if I can do it bare foot then with shoes would be devastating.
T
twayman
Guest
mantis said:
Okinawan (kobayashi-ryu) :duel:
I wear adidas MA shoes, my wife just threw away my pine trees after about ten years and she thought I was gonna cry. The adidas' seem pretty good so far. I wear them during kenpo, 75% of the time, since I also have fallen arches and monkey toes. Have broken all of my toes at least three times. Jujitsu I go bear foot.
kenpoworks
Purple Belt
HOW!RichK said:
I have broken both my big toes in 29 years.......all of your toes at least 3 times..WOW!
ALL of your toes? Are you trying to beat Evel Knievel's record?
LOL...don't want the record that man has. While I was in the military I had to take a physical for some of the special schools I went to and I always got the "can you play the piano with those" and "bet you can swing from trees with feet like that". I wear size 14 and part of the size is toes. I just badly broke my right big toe about 6 months back by getting it folded under in one of those rubber mats. Broke 2 of them at the same time a few years back in Aikido when I was doing a technique moving around a huge guy (I am 6' 240pds) and jamming myself into the back of his grounded foot. 15 years ago went to put my feet up on the coffee table and caught one of my toes on the lip of it. When I was 4 I ran across a broken milk bottle (how many remember those) and cut my little toe so bad it had to be sewn back on. Many more stories but gets redundant after awhile. I need to learn "Iron Toe"....LOL.
Dalum
Green Belt
It all depends on the environment to me. Doing a class where realism is the key, shoes and regular clothes are important. In a traditional class, bare feet for the class.
K
KingofSpades
Guest
I perfer not to wear them, it feels better for me, and i can kick a lot higher without shoes.
CMS
Yellow Belt
For me, it depends upon the class. I like barefoot for BJJ, but shoes for Savate (naturally) TKD and FMA. Doing FMA barefoot often results in a dropped (or disarmed) stick landing painfully on a toe.
