Anyone know of slippers that can be used on the mat?

[marmaduke]

Looking for some slippers or soled socks that can be worn on the mat and also will survive kicking a bag. My son went in to the Dojo a couple of Sundays ago for practice and it was 54 Deg. inside. Floors freezing. And of course he got sick.

They have slippers for the Tia Chi class but those won't survive a few kicks. Was also looking at Ninja boots. $35 seems a little high.

Any suggestions?

[pittbullJudoka]

Tiger claw makes a shoe just for the martial artist or find some wrestling shoes.

[DWx]

Plenty of TKD shoes around that are made for the mat and survive bag work (though nothing too heavy).

http://www.kwon.com/kwon/shop_artikelliste.asp?kid=5

Adidas, Nike, Macho, Mooto, Blitz are some of the other well-known brands you could look at.

[IcemanSK]

Ask your child's instructor what is allowed before buying something, tho. As mentioned, Kwon, Adidas & others do make MA shoes.

[marmaduke]

The Sensei says I can pick out what I like as long as I check with him before buying. I was looking cheep first, but decided to splurge instead. I'm looking at these...

http://www.ringstaradvantage.com/purchase.cfm?id=1

So, I guess my first dumb question is do you wear socks with shoes like these or not?

p.s. My "child" is a Black Belt. 1st Dan.

[pittbullJudoka]

Also remember you maybe able to find something on ebay. I picked up my last pair of wrestling shoes for about $20 after shipping. Most ma shoes are designed from wrestling shoes.

[marmaduke]

Also remember you maybe able to find something on ebay. I picked up my last pair of wrestling shoes for about $20 after shipping. Most ma shoes are designed from wrestling shoes.

I wish it was that easy/cheap. I had some shoes picked out from Tiger Claw but the Sensei said they were not sparring shoes. So even though he could walk around on the matt and practice/excersize with them, they were not good enough for sparring.

Mabe I'll give e-bay a shot anyway. Who knows. thanks for the tip.

[AikiGuy]

A few years ago, I was thinking about some light weight low top shoes for Karate class. Then one day during sparring, we both kicked at the same time and his foot hit my Achilles tendon(?). I could walk but it was sore for a few hours. That day, I decided on high top shoes. I bought wrestling shoes from a store only because there's more of a selection. MA shoes and Wrestling shoes really are pretty much the same thing. Just my thoughts.

As an alternative, I tell my students who prefer socks to buy those footies (half-socks) with the rubber pads on the bottom like hospital socks. Of course, in my class we can wear whatever we want: tennis shoes, MA shoes, wrestling shoes, socks, bare feet, steel-toed boots with 3 inch steel spikes on the toe and cowboy spurs on the heel... Ok maybe not that last one...