Ninjitsu
Most martial artists practice barefoot - so shoes are rarely a concern when training inside the Dojo or training hall.
However, many people are beginning to start training in the outdoors and some Martial Arts Systems focus most of their training in the outdoors. One of the major benefits of training in the outdoors would be the experienced gained training on a variety of different terrains. This is great for realistic self-defense because you will not always be in your pajamas, on a soft mat, barefoot, with no obstacles in your giant rectangle.
In a realistic self-defense situation, you have to think about your environment. You have to think about the concrete or what is outside and what you might fall on, into, or step on.
The only martial art system known to wear shoes is that of Ninjitsu. Those that practice the art of the ninja wear shoes designed specifically to match their uniform, they are called Tabi boots. Tabi are great shoes for students wearing a black uniform because they offer a light weight split toe design which is great for balance (due to the separation of the big toe) kicking (due to the light weight) and climbing up a rope ( as your toes can grab around the rope).
However, if you are in a traditional white karate uniform - wearing Tabi may not be the most realistic shoe for your system Tabi tend to be more aligned with students practicing the ninja arts. Thankfully, there is a variety of other shoes that you can consider for your outdoor martial arts training.
The most practical and tough shoe to use in the outdoors would be the “approach” shoe. This is a rugged hiking, running and cross training adventure shoe that is sold mainly as rock climbing and scrambling footwear. The reason for this is because the bottom of the approach shoe is layered with climbing rubber (the same rubber you will find on the smaller shoes used in the climbing gym). This rubber is specially designed for sticking to rocks and very different from the rubber you see on the bottom of other outdoor shoes.
One of the major pros for approach shoes is that they are very tough and offer a lot of protection. Also, they have hard rubber which makes a solid surface to kick with. The negative point of the approach shoe is that they are bulkier and not as good looking with a martial arts uniform. Approach shoes are more realistic in a street situation, and go great with combat fatigues or the typical military type of pants.
The newcomer for foot protection are barefoot shoes or a shoes that are as close to being barefoot as possible while still offering protection. One such shoe is the five-fingered shoe by Virbram - these shoes actually have a slot for each toe so it actually looks like you are still barefoot. You have a lot more mobility of the toes. These are the best martial art shoes for training as close to barefoot as possible. But they are not limited to the martial arts. You can also swim, hike, run and even climb in these shoes.
Serious martial artists will have a variety of shoes in their closet to choose from – consider your feet when you want to take your training to the outdoors.
Photo Credits: magoexperto
Originally posted 2010-04-06 03:05:04.
This post involves:big toe, climbing gym, cross training, Dojo, footwear, great shoes, karate uniform, martial art system, martial artists, martial arts systems, ninja arts, realistic self defense, rope, self defense situation, tabi boots, toes
... and focuses on:Gear, Martial Arts
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