Shoes for Bagua

[Anthroman]

Hello all,
I was wondering if anyone had thoughts on types of shoes to use for bagua practice. Normally I would just wear my regular shoes, but the new place that I'm going to start to study at requires you to use shoes that will be used only in the training area (I assume to keep the area clean). So any thoughts or recommendations people have would be appreciated. Thank you.
Anthroman

[Sam Wiley]

If you're required to wear them, I suggest that you get shoes that are both cheap and easily replaceable. I have worn out several pairs of good shoes practicing Taiji and Bagua, and I wish I had worn shoes specifically for practice before now. I prefer to wear no shoes at all when I practice outside, unless the area is rocky or it's too cold out.

[red_fists]

Hi.

May I recommend some of those Chinese MA shoes. We sometimes use them., indoors we normally train barefoot
There are a few styles out there.

If you train indoors get the ones with White Clothes/Fabric soles (anti slip Pad under the Heel). They are often kinda hard to find.
The other ones have a slection of beige/brownish rubber soles designed for outdoor training.

These Shoes are very lightweigt and should not hinder your foot movement as they are basically pure fabric.

They should also be cheap. If I can't find them locally I get them shipped either from Hong Kong or Hawaii.

Hope this helps.

P.S.: They will wear out fairly quickly so get multiple pairs.

[Justa Man]

red_fists,
i don't know what kind of ma shoes you mean. could you be more specific and give their brand name or where they can be ordered from? they sound like a shoe i'd like to try.
anthroman,
i go with ma shoes that have very little "shoe" between me and the ground. you feel the ground better and it helps strengthen the muscles in the feet and toes.

[red_fists]

Hi Justa Man.

They are bassicaly the same shoes you see in all the old KF flicks.

KF Shoes (http://store.yahoo.com/martialartsmart/45-3238.html)

These are the rubber soled ones, But I prefer the fabric soled ones.
I will upload a Pic tonight (JST)

Sorry, should have been clearer on one Point I got connections in both HK & Hawaii. Or I fly direclty to HK to get some stuff (2hrs for me).

Seeya.

[Kevin Wallbridge]

I use Fei-Yue shoes (thats what is written in English letters in the sides). They are made in Shanghai and the brand name is DaZhuanWen. I get them in Vancouver at Kuen-Way martial arts supply. They have canvas upper and lightly ribbed bottoms.

I definitely prefer to have a laced-on shoe to a slip-on. I the winter I train in a gym, so I can't use those cloth-soled ones.

[red_fists]

Hi Kevin.

I train normally on Tatami flooring, so we don't need shoes at all, or simply wear socks.

Yep, soft and tough to stand on one leg, but than we demo on a wooden floor. Big Diff. :)

In the Park I use normal Sport shoes as I like the diff. between the feel of the Forms.
Plus, I doubt if an attacker will hold my Coat until I got my shoes off during a mugging.

When we visit the Head School we train on a wooden Gym floor either barefoot or
using the fabric soled ones.

I find the rubber soles way to stiff, same prob I had with the Shika-Tabi doing Tai-Jutsu.

[Prairie]

I've been using wrestling shoes the past couple of months. I like that they have an extremely flexible sole and form well to the foot.

Previously I have used thin soled athletic shoes as well as those canvas type shoes.

Thus far I like the wrestling shoes the best for indoor practice. I use regular athletic shoes outside.

I don't practice bagua though.

[EARTH DRAGON]

As I teach I wear kf shoes eveyday all day. I have gone through many different kinds and I have found that the best so far has been KWOON brand. they are made of glove leather have a circular pattern on the sole for turning and a good arch. They out last the competition like pine tree and conflux by a long shot. I think you can find them on kwoon.com.

PS the canvas $4.00 kf shoe last about a week and then they rip or come unglued and have little support....

[Justa Man]

EARTH, I've used the kwoon shoes before. they are good, but i've found them to lose their stickiness after a short while, which $ucks for me cus i train on a wood floor.
i've found the adidas samba shoe to be great. little sole and sticky bottom. the samba classic i think offers less sole than the samba millenium.
kevin, are those the shoes that are sold as 'shaolin kung fu shoes' in Inside Kung Fu or something? they have a blue or red arrow or some$hit?

[Kevin Wallbridge]

The shoes I'm refering to are not cheaply made. They are specifically for martial arts and are very robust. They are closer to Chinese army sneakers than slippers. By the way, Chinese army shoes are also great to train in.

Justa Man, I don't know if they are sold in IKF as I never bother to look at that magazine (I stopped being interested in Bruce Lee some time ago :p ), but they are white with blue and red stripes down the sides, so maybe. Samba's feel great too.

[Crimson Phoenix]

The best MA shoes I ever wore are...table tennis shoes...yeah, table tennis, ping pong, whatever you call it...really, the sole is just great, they provide a lot of support, have a great stickiness to wood floors while still enabeling you to slide when you want...they are just perfect, and the soft suedine on the tip makes it better when you kick your partner...
My shoes are from a brand called "Yasaka", but I saw that T-bars or Butterfly brands shoes seem good too.

[Drone]

Crimson Phoenix where do you get table tennis shoes? I've been using my old fencing shoes, they are really light weight have a great grip and are extremely comfy. Downside they cost way too much, and if I ever need to get them replaced I think I might try the table tennis shoes.

[Sam Wiley]

They make table tennis shoes? Okay, now I've heard everything.;)

I've been thinking about getting these kangaroo leather indoor soccer shoes made by Adidas. According to a friend of mine, they are pretty comfortable and flexible, and they aren't that expensive. The soles aren't too thick, either. They look pretty good. I'm seriously thinking about giving them a try.

[Nexus]

Sam, are these the shoes you are talking about?

http://www.kappsoccer.com/Shoes-A.html

They say $165.00!!! Where do you see them selling for cheap?

[Sam Wiley]

No, those aren't the ones. I couldn't find a picture of the ones I'm talking about. Maybe they don't make them any more. The closest ones I could find to them on the Adidas site were still $120, which is more than I care to spend.

I wasn't trying to say they were cheap, as they are not, but they were certainly more expensive than $10 kung fu shoes or cheap beach shoes. $80 -100 is about all I'll spend on shoes or boots. Anything over that is pushing the limit for me.

For someone who is required to buy shoes that are to be used only in the training area at their school, I still recommend something REALLY cheap because they don't want to be stuck with shoes you can't wear on the streets (like mat shoes, wrestling or boxing boots, etc.).

You know, some of the best shoes I ever had for practice were Nike All Conditions Gear sandles. They were some of the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. After a couple of years, they finally gave out on me. I'd love to have another pair but I haven't seen any like them in a long time. All the others I have seen are too fancy looking and too d@mn expensive.

[beaudacious]

i use the white canvas ones from wing lam they are about 19.95. They are advertised in IKF. Adidas sambas are also very good and i agree with Earth that kwoon is also very good. I am sure if you look around you will find others

[TaoBoxer]

Hands down the best shoe out there.

I was tearing the outsole off of my Nike's doing Ko Bu and Bai Bu all the time, not to mention there was not enough support....

Wrestling shoes were terrbile because of the way the bottoms of the soles kindof wrap under like the sides of a canoe with no good flat bottom.

The Disciplines are like a wrestling shoe with a flat sole like a regular shoe. Light, well made, and provide a good stable base.

[Nexus]

Their shoe looks very elite. I think i'll pick up a pair of them and see how they feel! How much do they cost$?

[TaoBoxer]

I think mine were in the 60's...... to be honest I don't readily recall.

Bill

[Leimeng]

I prefer the flat soled scatboarders shoes like Vans or something like that. But I work out wearing everything from time to time to get the feel of the different things on my feet. The hardest thing to wear is a gas mask with full chemgear and flack vest! (I am in the military.)
I dislike running shoes or basketball shoes though. The slope of the heel feels unnatural.....

Peace

Sinloi

yi beng kan xue