Shoes - Weapons or hindrances?

[Orange Lightning]

I've been mulling this one over for years, and I still can't decide.
Obviously, it depends on the type of shoe. Anyway, here are my thoughts.

Shoes slow down your kicks. No two ways about it. All kicks become slower, and aside from simply having less impact or missing entirely, it increases the chance that your kick can be caught.

However, they do let you throw kicks in ways that wouldn't be effective without shoes, or would at least be very dangerous to the kicker. They can add a little length to your toe and heel (which is both a pro and a con, depending on the kick thrown), but the material your shoe is made of isn't as hard as your actual heel. But both your heel and toes will be protected from harder materials.
Obviously, shoes are armor. You can kick hard materials harder without it hurting your foot, as well as be able to traverse otherwise problematic terrain. If someone tries to attack your foot during a kick, your foot is pretty well protected.

Also obviously, you're going to be wearing shoes all the time. It's smart to be good at kicking while wearing shoes. They have their pro's and con's for it though. If I knew beforehand that I had to fight someone and the terrain would be relatively clean, I would prefer being barefoot. I'm not going to have that option though.

How do you feel about kicking wearing shoes? Are there certain design features that you look for in your shoe? I try to find a narrow one that doesn't do too much foot arch correcting. The arch takes the power out of a sidekick, and I feel that it lessens the springiness of my feet.

 

[KyleSCSpence]

I know what you mean, i would do it barefoot but its not feasible in most scenarios. I like kung fu shoes, there are many types but they are basically designed with good kicks in mind, might be worth investing in at your discretion. i find them comfortable and pleasant to wear, as well as getting some armored benefits.

 

[elder999]

My feet are always better protected and better weapons when wearing shoes....they are much better weapons wearing sturdy leather shoes, maybe not so much better in sneakers, and maybe not at all in sandals....of course, when you have deformed size 15s like mine, you rarely wear sandals....much less bedroom slippers.

High-heels, of course, are another story-though I never have occasion to wear them...

That said, we should learn to deliver kicks shod with each type of footwear that we have occasion to wear-it[s usually a little different than kicking barefoot.....and I'm not talking about speed, which I've found to be a rather insignificant difference, when it comes to self-defense...

 

[elder999]

My feet are always better protected and better weapons when wearing shoes....they are much better weapons wearing sturdy leather shoes, maybe not so much better in sneakers, and maybe not at all in sandals....of course, when you have deformed size 15s like mine, you rarely wear sandals....much less bedroom slippers.

High-heels, of course, are another story-though I never have occasion to wear them...

That said, we should learn to deliver kicks shod with each type of footwear that we have occasion to wear-it[s usually a little different than kicking barefoot.....and I'm not talking about speed, which I've found to be a rather insignificant difference, when it comes to self-defense...

 

[Touch Of Death]

I wear shoes; so, I don't expect fleet kicks. Leg shots are still fast, though.

 

[K-man]

Any kick I'm likely to do will not be hindered by shoes and if I'm going to be running away over rough ground I don't want to be bare foot.

 

[Carol]

I rarely encounter people or places where being barefoot is OK. Always wondered why more people do not train in street clothes, including street shoes.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Shoes with steel toes and heels when I can find them and boots much like combat boots or winter boots are what I wear when I'm on the street or in public buildings. When at home I am bare footed most of he time. So I train with what I am most likely to be wearing. I do not kick to the head but prefer low kicks and the footwear I choose is well suited to this purpose.

 

[jks9199]

My feet are always better protected and better weapons when wearing shoes....they are much better weapons wearing sturdy leather shoes, maybe not so much better in sneakers, and maybe not at all in sandals....of course, when you have deformed size 15s like mine, you rarely wear sandals....much less bedroom slippers.

High-heels, of course, are another story-though I never have occasion to wear them...

That's an image... Now, any mental bleach to get it out of my mind?

That said, we should learn to deliver kicks shod with each type of footwear that we have occasion to wear-it[s usually a little different than kicking barefoot.....and I'm not talking about speed, which I've found to be a rather insignificant difference, when it comes to self-defense...

Excellent advice.

 

[clfsean]

I've been mulling this one over for years, and I still can't decide.
Obviously, it depends on the type of shoe. Anyway, here are my thoughts.

Shoes slow down your kicks. No two ways about it. All kicks become slower, and aside from simply having less impact or missing entirely, it increases the chance that your kick can be caught.

However, they do let you throw kicks in ways that wouldn't be effective without shoes, or would at least be very dangerous to the kicker. They can add a little length to your toe and heel (which is both a pro and a con, depending on the kick thrown), but the material your shoe is made of isn't as hard as your actual heel. But both your heel and toes will be protected from harder materials.
Obviously, shoes are armor. You can kick hard materials harder without it hurting your foot, as well as be able to traverse otherwise problematic terrain. If someone tries to attack your foot during a kick, your foot is pretty well protected.

Also obviously, you're going to be wearing shoes all the time. It's smart to be good at kicking while wearing shoes. They have their pro's and con's for it though. If I knew beforehand that I had to fight someone and the terrain would be relatively clean, I would prefer being barefoot. I'm not going to have that option though.

How do you feel about kicking wearing shoes? Are there certain design features that you look for in your shoe? I try to find a narrow one that doesn't do too much foot arch correcting. The arch takes the power out of a sidekick, and I feel that it lessens the springiness of my feet.

How often are you barefoot in the day to day world?

 

[Danny T]

What are you kicking and why?
For competition in a ring or cage you will wear what the rules allow.
For self-defense in a fight back situation I wear whatever is on my feet at the time. Sandals, crosstrainers, boots..., whatever. Train with what you are likely to have to kick with.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

The arch takes the power out of a sidekick, ...

This shoes can help your "side kick".

 

[drop bear]

I do not fight nearly enough people to Worry about how combat ready my shoes are.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I've been mulling this one over for years, and I still can't decide.
Obviously, it depends on the type of shoe. Anyway, here are my thoughts.

Shoes slow down your kicks. No two ways about it. All kicks become slower, and aside from simply having less impact or missing entirely, it increases the chance that your kick can be caught.

I don't recommend wearing 10lb shoes.... I wouldn't say that shoes are automatically going to slow kicks. I normally wear light tennis shoes. They're awfully similar to the weight of ring shoes...

How do you feel about kicking wearing shoes? Are there certain design features that you look for in your shoe? I try to find a narrow one that doesn't do too much foot arch correcting. The arch takes the power out of a sidekick, and I feel that it lessens the springiness of my feet.

What system teaches using the arch of the foot for a sidekick?

 

[RTKDCMB]

Shoes slow down your kicks.

Unless you are wearing high heels or steel cap boots the amount of speed you lose on your kicks will be negligible.

 

[Tez3]

That's an image... Now, any mental bleach to get it out of my mind?

You are going to hate me for this. A very weird ad on our televisions at the moment.

 

[oftheherd1]

That's an image... Now, any mental bleach to get it out of my mind?

Excellent advice.

Post 16 by Tez3, after Elder's post, has pretty much ruined my day.

 

[Buka]

You can look at the best kicking circumstances - I suppose that would be barefoot on a flat, good gripped floor for most Martial Artists who employ kicks.
Or you can look at your most likely arena of combat. "Most likely" being a relative term dealing with where you live and where you spend most of your time working, spending time with your family and friends....and where you chill.

I live in New England. Our snow totals are sometimes in feet. Add a bazillion pounds of sand and salt to all outside icy surfaces you walk on every day for four months - and what you have is a mess. Go ahead and throw some kicks on that. Timing will not be what we are used to in Dojo. And timing is everything in striking, especially in kicking. This is up to each of us to explore, play with and train. Living in New England, most will choose shoes that don't let our feet get frostbit, or to slip and slide on the surfaces we spend most of our winter life on. This is while we're wearing many layered clothing that protects against the cold - which can also change the timing of movement because it's rather restrictive compared to the gi we're used to training in.

All that being said, any pair of shoes I've purchased over the years were never based on fashion. They were based on movement.

 

[RTKDCMB]

How often are you barefoot in the day to day world?

Every day, in the middle of the night when someone breaks into your house you might not have time to put your shoes on. At the beach, at the pool etc.

 

[Danny T]

Every day, in the middle of the night when someone breaks into your house you might not have time to put your shoes on. At the beach, at the pool etc.

Any this is why we train inside and outside, with different types of footwear and without footwear. There is no specific right or wrong.
What Are You Training For?
Specifically for competition then a majority of your training must be for that environment and rule set.
For fighting back in a self-defense situation, then a majority of your training must be for different environments, clothing, and legalities.