If you are in the market for some good shoes to wear while you practice martial arts, you will want to make sure that the shoes you are wearing have thin soles.  Not only will thin soled martial arts shoes help to protect your feet, they will also allow you grip the floor, allow you to pivot as well as to pull your toes back while kicking in order to prevent broken toes.  While thin soled shoes may not be the best thing to wear on hard surfaces for extended periods of time, they can actually help build the intrinsic muscles in your feet if you choose to wear them on soft, irregular surfaces like outside on the lawn.

While it may seem kind of backwards that you would want thin soles to practise martial arts, you need to remember that thick, springy soles are good to wear if you are trying to sprint or perform some athletic event where you are worried about propelling yourself forward as fast as possible.  Most martial arts systems that have complicated footwork or rely on throwing kicks that require a combination of balance and pivoting on your foot will require sensitivity in your foot.  The ability to feel through your footwear and into the ground beneath you will not only improve your ability to maintain balance while executing complicated footwork, it will also protect your knees when it comes time to pivot.  The number one cause of a torn meniscus  is planting and twisting of the foot where the foot does not properly rotate on the ground.  Think about the cumulative damage that might occur if you are drilling hundreds of kicks that require you to quickly pivot on the ground.  Each thrown kick has the potential to end your martial arts career!

Not only will a thin sole allow for greater balance and help to protect your knee’s, they will also help those who kick with the balls of their feet.  Anyone who has ever gotten spiked with an elbow or jammed their toe when throwing a front kick will quickly attest to the fact that pulling your toes back while you kick is absolutely vital!  Not only will a broken or jammed toe interfere with your ability to practice martial arts, it will destroy your mobility when it comes to performing activities of daily living.  In martial arts terms, mobility is one of the most important qualities to preserve — even ground fighters who would prefer to fight an immobilized opponent will find that they become quite limited with their ability to scramble or transition to dominant position if their toes are busted up, not to mention their ability to execute take downs.

Im not neccisarily talking about those cheap thin soled kung fu slippers either.  Though they can be comfortable to wear around the house, those shoes are made out of cheap materials and will disintegrate in no time at all if you wear them to do heavy training in.  On the other hand, I have found wrestling shoes to work just as well as any shoes that where designed for the martial artist.  Being a practitioner of mixed martial arts as well as Bando (Burmese martial arts), who has trained on just about every surface imaginable, I recommend the following shoes to train in:

Feiyue Martial Arts Shoes
Wushu Shoes (Feiyue Brand) -
PUMA Men’s Doshu Sneaker
Martial Art Shoes – Thunderkicks (White/Black) -
Adidas Low Cut Martial Arts Sneaker White with Black Stripes
OM3000 Otomix Shoes – Stingray

Martial art shoes have traditionally not been worn by many traditional stylists for a variety of reasons.  In this day and age, specially with the advent of ’self defense’ training, shoes are often warn depending on the style that is being taught.  There are some practical reasons for wearing and training in martial art shoes that you may not have considered.

In many traditional systems, it is considered a sign of disrespect to wear shoes or sneakers in the training area or dojo.  This makes sense, specially when you consider that in olden times, roads and walkways where often not as manicured as they are today.  In systems that involve throwing or groundwork and mats are used, there are also hygenic concearns.  Anyone who has wrestled or trained in a groundfighting system like ju jitsu for some time has seen how disgusting it can be to have to roll around with someone who has ringworm.

Traditionalism and hygenic concearns aside, wearing shoes while training is actually a very practical thing to do for a variety of reasons.  First of all, if you are doing a lot of footwork and fast movement with your feet, the likelyhood of either stubbing your toe or getting abrasions on your feet from the floor is a highly likely occurance.  Protecting your feet will not only make training safer, but it is also most likely that if you ever have to use your training in real life, you will probably be wearing some form of footwear or another.  Training in conditions that will most closely simulate a real life encounter will help ensure that your training will properly prepare you for the real thing.

Another reason for wearing footwear that is specially designed for martial artists, is to protect your feet while you are sparring.  This can help both you and your training parters.   Even if you are point sparring, can you imagine what it would be like to recieve a front kick from someone who was wearing muddy steel toed boots?  The risk of injury and infection will go down dramatically if everyone is wearing the proper equiptment.  Martial art shoes are also made with thin soles in order to help you grip the floor more effectively as well as to help you be able to pivot on the ball of your foot.  To those who participate in martial arts that involve kicking or any kind of precisise footwork, this is a definate plus.

If your training style allows you to wear footwork while you are training, there really isn’t any reason why you should be training barefoot and risking injury.  Martial art shoes are designed specifically to help you with your footing as well as to allow you the ability to pivot on your foot.  Training in the same shoes you might actually wear out in the street is also a wise choice for obvious reasons.  With all of the different varieties and styles of martial arts shoes that are out there today, you can certainly find a pair that are both functional as well as stylish.  Find a pair you like, train with them, grab a second pair to wear in the street and feel the confidence that comes with knowing that if the situation arises, you will be ready to go no matter what!

Choosing the right martial arts shoes comes down to just a couple of things.  First, you have to make sure you stay away from the bin labeled ‘discounted martial arts shoes’ or ‘cheap martial arts shoes’.  These two bins are there because the people haven’t been buying those particular brands or models of shoes.  There is a good reason people haven’t, and why companies that produce quality shoes end up staying in the business for a very long time, while their competitors who are putting out cheap products are falling to the wayside.  There are three main qualities that you have to look for before you drop the money on a good martial arts shoe.

First, you have to look at the bottom of the shoe and make sure that the rubber part is sticky enough to grip on all types of surfaces.  Sometimes, cheap and imitation companies will use plastics inside of the rubber compound to save money.  This does save them money, but when they overdo it, your stability and power take a serious hit.  Even if you don’t feel it, your feet are sliding instead of gripping, and this is caused by the plastics being used.  Every one thousandth of an inch that you slip during a lateral movement is a tremendous loss of energy and power.

The next is the types of materials that the shoes are made from.  If you hold the shoe, and it feels like it might fall apart inside of your hands, you may not want to purchase it.  You are going to be requiring  a lot from your shoes and if they can’t give it back to you, you are going to be looking for trouble.  If the shoe were to blow out while you were in a sparring match, or even a competition, it is going to spell defeat.

Last, you have to look at the types and quality of the stitching done on the shoe.  If they are using poor quality threads, or the stitches are bunched together, creating one strong seam, then they are going to give out on you at the worst possible time.  Having threads give way during a movement can easily cause you to lose your balance because you are caught completely off guard.  This leaves you in a position of being taken advantage of.  A position that no martial artist ever wants to feel.

There are a few things that you need to look into before you go out and make a purchase on a set of martial arts shoes.  The first thing is the quality of the materials that go into making the shoe.  Some manufacturers slack in this area, and it sometimes doesn’t clearly show through.  The next thing is the way the bottom of the shoes are constructed, and the materials that they are made of.  Understanding how a simple rubber compound can effect your stability will greatly improve your game.  If you haven’t figured it out yet, there is more to a shoe than most people give weight to.

Whatever type of shoe that you end up with, you want to make sure that the material is top quality.  You won’t be able to get away with buying cheap martial arts shoes, but you also don’t have to break the bank either.  Staying in the mid price range will allow you a very long life span from your pair of martial arts shoes.  If the shoes that you are looking at feel like they aren’t very durable, they probably aren’t.  You are going to be expecting a lot from these shoes, so you have to make sure they are going to be able to give you 110% back every time you make a move.

When you throw your body sideways, forwards, or backwards, the momentum to either get moving, or to completely stop suddenly transfers down through your body, into the bottom of the martial arts shoes rubber compound.  This rubber material is what helps you turn all of that energy into power, and if the manufacturer put out poor materials during the building of the shoe, then you are going to face the consequences of this decision.  The shoes are going to let you down, not a matter of if, but when.  The reason this happens is simple, because the manufacturer is putting out discounted martial arts shoes, and is planning to get out of the business shortly.

As you can see, there is a whole lot more than what meets the eye with martial arts shoes.  They aren’t all made the same, and if you haven’t figured that out yet, then please don’t go and purchase the most expensive pair you can find.  This is going to lead you in the wrong direction.  Stick in the mid range and you will be good.

When it comes to picking out a pair of martial arts shoes, you don’t have to become overwhelmed with the mass amount of choices.  You are going to want to try to find a shoe that will conform to your foot along with being able to provide you with the ultimate grip.  If you are really trying to get every penny out of your shoe, then you are going to want to make sure you pay attention to a couple of things.  You can find cheap martial arts shoes, but you have to remember that you get what you pay for.  Having a pair of someone’s old martial arts shoes just because you got them for cheap isn’t a very good way to practice the sport.  You are going to want these shoes to be broken in according to your foot structure, and how you move on the mat.

Let’s talk about the comfortability, because it is a must.  Without it, you are going to be keeping your mind on the pains and irritations of not having a properly fitting shoe, and are going to end up missing a beat because of the constant distraction.  There are a lot of things going on when you are on the mat, and having something like this bothering you is really going to slow you down.

Manufacturers use different types of materials for the bottom of the shoes, and purchasing a pair of cheap martial arts shoes could easily land you in trouble.  These rubber/plastic hybrid compounds are made to grip the mat, and the floor, in the same way that a tire grips the road.  The manufacturers of cheap and discount martial arts shoes often use more plastic because it is cheaper.  This causes you to slide around, making it incredibly difficult for you to gain your footing, or any power.

There is a lot that goes into a good martial arts shoe, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.  If you are in the need for a new pair, make sure to stay away from the cheapest ones you can find, and also make sure to avoid ones that are being passed down from people who aren’t the exact same shoe size as you.  Having to break in an already broken in martial arts shoe is going to be harder than just buying a new pair, and starting from scratch.

Finding martial arts shoes doesn’t have to be a difficult task. If you are practicing martial arts, you are going to want something that is comfortable, provides you with good grip, along with conforming to your feet for the best possible leverage. These few things go into determining exactly how good your martial arts shoe really is, and whether or not you are getting your monies worth. Finding cheap shoes for sale is a great way to save some money, but they are usually used, and somewhat broken in. This can be a good thing, because you don’t have to go through the process, but if they have been too well broken in, they aren’t going to provide you with the qualities that you are looking for.

When I speak of finding a shoe that is comfortable, I highly suggest this is the first quality you look for. If the shoe isn’t comfortable the first time you put it on, it isn’t going to get any better over time. If the shoe doesn’t fit your foot right, its too easy to just pick up another one and try it on. Being comfortable is key in something that you are going to be moving around in so much, especially using your feet as often as you will.

You want to make sure that whatever shoe you end up purchasing, whether new or used, has grip on the bottom of it. Without grip, a martial artist has absolutely no way to stay in control, and maintain the energy he needs to really be effective. It is the transfer of energy and momentum that makes martial arts so powerful, and the grip on the bottom of your mens or womens martial arts shoe determines how much power you can transfer in your movements.

The last thing to look for is how the shoe conforms to your feet. This kind of falls under the comfort of the shoe, but comfortability doesn’t mean that the shoe wraps tightly around your foot. If it slides at all, you are going to be losing the transfer of energy and momentum, because your foot will be moving around inside of the shoe. You want to have an incredibly strong plant onto the floor to ensure that you are performing at your maximum capabilities. If you have a shoe that doesn’t wrap completely around your foot, you are going to be at a huge disadvantage.

When shopping online to find a good pair of martial arts shoes, it is important to keep a few things in mind. First of all, they need to be functional. Shoes also need to be appropriate to the training surface. Last but not least, you need to make sure that the shoes you pick are going to fit will and not cause any damage to your feet.

What makes a shoe functional for training in martial arts is a little bit different then what will make a shoe functional for regular wear and tear. Shoes for martial arts will generally have very thin soles so as to allow the wearer to ‘dig in’ to the ground with their toes or to pivot on the balls of their feet. The tops of the shoe should be made with material like leather so as to afford flexibility to the foot. A stiff shoe that does not bend is what we are looking to avoid.

What type of surface you are training on will have an impact the type of shoe you choose to train in. If you are going to be training on a smoothed out canvas surface like a boxing ring, having rubber soles may cause slippage if the ring gets wet with sweat (or god-forbid blood!) Some people choose to train on uneven ground, in the sand as well as on grassy areas, in this case it would be more advisable to find a shoe that will have a little more versatility.

Finding good fitting martial arts shoes to train in is probably one of the most important things to consider. What point is there in training if you are going to be aggravating yourself with blisters, corns and whatnot every time you train. Your desire to train on a regular basis is going to disappear when unnecessary injuries like the ones listed above begin to interfere with your quality of life outside the dojo, gym, or wherever it is you train.

Knowing what the most important things to consider about martial arts shoes are when looking to buy a pair will help you make an informed decision that will have a noticeable impact on the enjoyment and productivity of your workout sessions. You will find a shoe that is functional, tailored to your training environment, and provide comfort to your feet.