does anyone here own any of those black kunf fu slippers with plastic soles that are adversited in MA mags? Are they slippery as when I looked at their soles they didn't look too safe - imagine doing a sliding kick and keeping sliding in them? Or am I wrong?
Even though I don't practice Kung fu, my training partner bought a pair of those kung fu shoes to wear when she injured her foot. She said they were pretty slippery on the dojo floor (our floor is the typical shiny mulit purpose sport hall floor) Whether they'd be as slippery if you trained on a mat or a different surface is another story. Maybe one the the Kung Fu crew can answer this better? Sarah P.S Welcome to the forum
Hey Side-kick, yeah, I had a couple of pairs of those. They are really slippy if you wear them indoors, but they do allow you to form a proper footshape when kicking, unlike trackshoes etc. Now that there are dedicated Martial Arts shoes about, there is no need for them, unless it is part of a traditional 'look'. The hardest thing is keeping them on your feet when you kick, as they have a habit of coming flying off and sailing across the room. On a plus side, if you wear them indoors, they are nice n slidy for doing stretches, and have little friction on the pivoting foot for turning and spinning kicks, though you do have to have your balance right, or you are going to be on your bum. Andy
those slippers really suck (excuse my french). I have found that the best shoes for kung fu training are those canvas type, skateboarding type shoes (Converse all star, one star, kayo star LA star etc). They are really cheap, and they do the job very well. I also like those feiyoong shoes from china (kwon also have some). Addidas martial arts shoes doesnt work well for kung fu. what you need is something with a flat sole and a comfortable upper (only up to the ancle). cheers Ed ps- Andy - I watched LOTR the other day on vcd. I was a bit dissappointed. I have imagined a few things differently than it came out in the movie. Anyhow, its still pretty close.
Side-kick, while I do not use them myself some friends of mine by the cotton bottomed sort instead of the plastic sort and they all say that they seem to work well on all sorts of surfaces. They cost roughly the same as well. I hae to agree with Eddie though, I wear Vans for all my training and they work great. I can still 'feel' the ground, they are sticky but slide on most surfaces pretty well. And I can walk in and out of class without having to change, a small side benefit.
I do own a pair, and they are very slippery as well as cheap They tore in the corner about the third day I had'em. Though they are still wearable, they are slippery as....... ........ Oh my, they're just so slippery. We need to find what ever company is doing this and get on them about it, and demand better quality. What do you guys say.... Are you for it?
The Kung-fu slipper whould have a white rubber sole like a cheap plimsole. I like cheap plimsoles, as they are light, flexable - but you dont get many designs of slip-on plimsoles whick a kung-fu slipper is designed to be.
(I mean a re-designed improved Kung-fu slipper in the above post - not the plastic slippery thing we have now).
Ah, I remember plimsoles, we used to have to wear them at primary school, and put our real shoes in shoe bags. God knows why.
I've practice in all of the above....those sorry kung-fu slippers.... Regular shoes....and bear foot...oh, and in socks
I'm a china native. I want to tell you someting about the kung fu slippers. First of all, they are not for the kung-fu at all. In China a lot of people wear kung fu slippers everyday. We call them "slice shoe" because of their thin soles. There are two kinds of kung fu slippers in China, one has a brown plastic sole, the other has a white plastic sole. The brown plastic sole, which is cheaper , is made of recycled plastic, So it is very hard and slippery. I highly recommand all of you buy the kung fu slippers with white plastic soles if possible.
I was thinking of that too. These shoes alongtime ago everybody wore , not for fighting only also the cotton ones tears easy , I would get the plastic ones.
