These Boots were made for Kicking!

[Harkon72]

Can I ask what footwear is best for Karate?

In the Dojo; shin and instep pads? Dipped foam Kick-Boots? Kung Fu Slippers? Soft Leather Training Shoes?

In the street; Trainers? Stilettoes? Or Steel Toe-capped Boots?

I kick well in my Highteck Magnums, they are flexible, tough and light.

I know this thread belongs in equipment, but I want to see what is best for Karate. I perform most of it bare foot, very rarely would I kick outside the Dojo.

[JohnnyB]

1.) Biker Boots. Designed to protect your feet, not very heavy, waterproof and with some flexibility, making it an ideal choice for motorcyclists that lack the protection a car usually provides against outsiders.

2.) Low Top Leather Sneakers. The lighest, comfiest and most flexible shoe you can get but lacks the extra weight that will help you deliver a knockout kick. If you are a power kicker then disregard the shoe weight.

3.) Military/Trecking Boots. Not a very good choice for a Martial Artist. Very heavy, quite bulky and very rigid. It will make your feet full of calluses! Sec... u already have calluses from your dojo. Nevermind...

4.) Slippers! The absolute minimum of shoeware. They keep your feet away from dirt and keep your feet dry in hot summer days. Easily ditchable before the fight. Just make sure to find them after...

5.) Formal Shoes. For those formal occasions that did not end up well...

Light, shiny and durable and only more comfy than female stilletoes.

6.) Stilletoes. Imagine throwing a roundhouse kick with a sharp stick in the end of your foot? Now imagine that fragile stick from your supporting leg rapture and break in the middle of your kick. Stilletoes, not for kicking. Women can barely walk with these tortures not kick...

[Kuma]

I prefer bare feet in the dojo. Outside, I'm either wearing 8" boots for work or low hiking boots when I'm not working. I have practiced in both pairs and have to say the 8" boots are my personal favorite.

[pittbullJudoka]

In the dojo I'd for new practitioners shin in steps, as there keep you from killing you training partners are there's little control there. But after some time bare feet and shins. There's nothing more real than a week place kick were the shin diggs into the body or the thigh. Also you experience the real feeling of you shin slamming into another's as they check you kick.

On the street I'd prefer my nike shoes or if its purely for a confrontation I'd pick steel toed boots as I'm not going to kick above the waist. But my everyday wear are Nike shoes and I've messed around in them enough to be comfortable scrapping in them.

[JusticeZero]

Same for both - crosstrainers. I don't have a lot of options for shoes. But it's good to use the same sort've shoes you normally wear. Then again, I consider the best surface to practice breakfalls on to be cobblestone or brick.

[Dark Shogun]

My shoes are light, comfortable and secure. A good kicker can lay someone out in bare feet. No need for extra weight.

[bushido_man96]

My shoes are light, comfortable and secure. A good kicker can lay someone out in bare feet. No need for extra weight.

Yes, true, but many of us have jobs and go places in public that require footwear. I have to wear black work boots for my job. Kicking in those is not fun.

[Harkon72]

I still think my Magnums are hard to beat in the Street!

[seikokaistudent]

In the summer I wear kung fu slippers, vibram five fingers or just bare feet. In fall and spring I wear sneakers (converse) or for work/hiking a pair of jungle boots I picked up at a surplus store. During winter I normally wear insulated hiking boots, or black leather dress shoes (for school...ugh). In the dojo it's always bare feet . All my shoe choices are comfortable and good to kick in