Why are MAs done with bare feet??

[Highler]

I've always wondered why we practice MA with nothing on our feet

 

I could understand no shoes but why bare feet?

 

[Shorin Ryuu]

Because the Japanese don't wear shoes indoors and they practice inside of a dojo. The use of a training hall in karate is a relatively new thing. Also, shoes weren't necessarily that prevalent in many places. This next part is purely speculation on my part, but in places like Okinawa, it got really hot and/or maybe they didn't want to ruin their sandals. They didn't necessarily even wear shoes all the time, either.

 

In addition, many of the foot techniques included toe strikes and other ways of taking advantage of the foot structure, which would be marginalized by the presence of a shoe (less so by sandals, which is what most of them wore).

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Because the Japanese don't wear shoes indoors and they practice inside of a dojo. The use of a training hall in karate is a relatively new thing. Also, shoes weren't necessarily that prevalent in many places. This next part is purely speculation on my part, but in places like Okinawa, it got really hot and/or maybe they didn't want to ruin their sandals. They didn't necessarily even wear shoes all the time, either.

 

In addition, many of the foot techniques included toe strikes and other ways of taking advantage of the foot structure, which would be marginalized by the presence of a shoe (less so by sandals, which is what most of them wore).

 

Correct! And welcome back to the boards Shorin Ryuu...I missed you.

 

Another theory is that karate comes primarily from Okinawa, and Okinawa is basically one big sandy beach, thus shoes weren't always worn. China on the other hand was rocky, so kung fu practioneers worn shoes.

[Shorin Ryuu]

Always good to be back.

[Highler]

Thanks for info

[delli04]

Personally, I train with shoes and leave it up to my students to decide whether or not they want to. I always say if it comes down to actually having to defend yourself you'll probably be wearing shoes. So why not train in them? Keep in mind i'm not wearing air jordans when I train....

[aefibird]

Sometimes we train whilst wearing shoes in my karate club, as (as delli04 has said) most defence situations would be when someone was wearing shoes, not without.

 

If we are not training in shoes that night we have bare feet - no training in socks allowed. Not that we'd want to anyway, our dojo floor is slippery, so it'd be like an ice rink if people were wearing socks.

 

In Wing Chun I train in just my socks. It felt wierd at first, but I've got used to it now.

[Grenadier]

The foot muscles gain a very large benefit this way.

 

Normally, in most western nations, we wear shoes all of the time, and as a result, certain muscles in the feet tend to remain undeveloped. Thus, when you remove your shoes, you might feel somewhat unstable.

 

This is even more evident when someone starts training in martial arts. At first, many of the struggle to even keep one foot in the air, but as those muscles strengthen, the sense of balance becomes better, etc.

[1kickKO]

I think what Shorin Ryuu said is the main reasoning. I aso think it comes down to the style...many kung fu dojos wear shoes, but the are a special type of shoes made specifically for kung fu training. Also if you look in the more "street self-defence" dojos, you'll find they normally wear shoes as well, to simulate real-life experiences. But, if you go to a more traditional dojo, such as an Okinawan karate dojo, you will find no shoes, as it is probably more related to upkeeping tradition.

[G95champ]

Shoes are really only a part of everyday dress in America or the West over the past 50 years. Many eastern nations espically the poor people don't wear shoes today.