Went and trained with another KF group last night for a bit of fun.
Was really suprised that they dont wear shoes when they train.
They were not on mats, it was polished boards.
I found this really odd, everywhere I have been its ALWAYS been shoes on.
Anyone else come across this?
Had a great time but the shoe thing was odd 
I didn’t use shoes years ago when I did Kempo, I don’t use them now when I train Thai boxing, wrestling or jiu jitsu. Even with my Shaolin coaches some days it’s shoes, some days not; it’s up to me. At my school my students can use the shoes that come with their sign up or go bare feet, it’s up to them.
It’s not odd, it’s quite common. Maybe you just haven’t been exposed to many other schools and practitioners yet.
Can understand the MMA side of things.
Trained with a few groups in Oz as well as Shaolin, China etc and have never seen it for Kung Fu…
Greetings,
Barefoot is actually quite good. It encourages the use of the toes in maintaining a strong stance, enhancing muscle activation through movement. The thing is that the surface you are training on has to be antibacterial. It also encourages people to better address their “funk” before coming to class.
mickey
shoes, no shoes, cloth shoes, rubber ones.
It doesn’t really matter if you work on your footing.
I mean what are the odds you get in a confrontation and you happen to have your training shoes on? Pretty slim.
You should be able to do your stuff on almost any terrain in almost any footware. barefoot gives you the most connection to the ground.
My only issue with bare foot training or bare training is hygiene.
People can get lax in their ablutions and therefore become disgusting to train with.
But I digress… 
Shoes or no shoes are fine.
But mattress is important.
[QUOTE=mickey;1171810]Greetings,
Barefoot is actually quite good. It encourages the use of the toes in maintaining a strong stance, enhancing muscle activation through movement. The thing is that the surface you are training on has to be antibacterial. It also encourages people to better address their “funk” before coming to class.
mickey[/QUOTE]
Barefoot on the ground? If most of the people today wear shoes I wonder how much you can train on dirt or even grass barefoot.
Hi mig,
I would not recommend the ground or even beach sand. I was talking about an indoor training environment. Thank you for bringing my scope under focus.
mickey
Having studied okinawan karate, aikido, and kick boxing, I was surprised coming into the chinese martial arts world and seeing everyone with shoes on. I say just go with whatever feels comfortable for you but realize that the chances of you getting into a fight barefoot are probably a lot slimmer than you getting into one with shoes.
[QUOTE=Blacktiger;1171800]Can understand the MMA side of things.
Trained with a few groups in Oz as well as Shaolin, China etc and have never seen it for Kung Fu…[/QUOTE]
After you’ve been training in martial arts for 15 years your feet become pretty conditioned. A big part of the arts is adapting to your environment. If you always practice in a nice school with a comfortable uniform and ideal conditions you never learn to adapt.
Im not making a judgement call on weather its good or bad im just saying the norm is certainly shoes on.
Its true it is the norm in most cma. Actually you, imo, should train mostly in shoes that you tend to wear on a regular basis, or shoes that mimic what you normally would wear. Discounting of course abnormal footwear. On the other side, its a good idea to make sure and train bare foot, various terrain etc. Just so that you will be familiar with those conditions.
eDit: most grappling excluded for shoes.
I have watched people training in a couple of dojo, and they were all bare footed. I didn’t question the reasoning because I didn’t want to seem like I didn’t know what they were doing. I was a young person. I never could understand the reasoning behind it except maybe to prevent a boot heel in the mouth. I can’t walk on a hard surface if it has even sand on it or it hurts like hell. If I were bare footed I would not be able to move about freely enough to fight.
I don’t let anyone wear street shoes on my floor.
For obvious reasons.
If people do wear shoes, they are clean and unsullied by the streets.
I have multiple pairs of training shoes. Most of them are the same shoes I wear on the street.
I have indoor training shoes that have never been worn outside these are used for indoor training.
I was karate and Japanese arts when I was younger and had calluses from hell.
I have worn shoes for years, and now rarely train barefoot unless i am strength training.
I tend to train both with and without shoes depending on the training. We also have days when we train in work clothes, shoes, boots, etc.
My background before CMA was judo, karate, TKS/TSD, etc., all barefoot. Some on mats, some on carpets, some on hardwood floors. Also as a kid, we also often walked to the beach and back every day in summer, about 1.75 to 2 miles each way, barefoot (I used to hate flip-flops). Maybe I was lucky, but I never got any infections, etc. on my feet; only issue was the first hot day of summer, I’d sometimes get blisters on my soles from the hot blacktop, which cleared fairly quickly back then, as your feet toughen up. I wouldn’t do that now, but you’d be surprised how your feet can adapt to going barefoot. How do the native tribes do it I places like Papua New Guinea, many African countries, etc.?
As already mentioned, even when you train with shoes, you need to be aware of hygiene. If the training is indoors, only use a dedicated pair of shoes for that and don’t wear them outside.
There are some MA’s that I would NOT recommend practicing shoeless, such as some of the northern-style CMA that incorporate a lot of stomping into their practices, at least not on a plain hard surface.
When I train on my own at home, I go barefoot, but if doing CMA away from home now, I’ll always wear shoes.
My background before CMA was judo, karate, TKD/TSD, etc., all barefoot. Some on mats, some on carpets, some on hardwood floors. Also as a kid, we also often walked to the beach and back every day in summer, about 1.75 to 2 miles each way, barefoot (I used to hate flip-flops). Maybe I was lucky, but I never got any infections, etc. on my feet; only issue was the first hot day of summer, I’d sometimes get blisters on my soles from the hot blacktop, which cleared fairly quickly back then, as your feet toughen up. I wouldn’t do that now, but you’d be surprised how your feet can adapt to going barefoot. How do the native tribes do it in places like Papua New Guinea, many African countries, etc.
In the past, I’ve tried various types of shoes in training, some just for the experience, some used regularly…tai chi slippers (no good), sneakers, deck shoes (my favorite), steel-toed workbooks, and even cowboy boots once or twice (it was the 90s). You get to feel how they all affect your balance, speed, mobility, etc., in different ways, and the advantages/disadvantages of each.
As already mentioned, even when you train with shoes, you need to be aware of hygiene. If the training is indoors, only use a dedicated pair of shoes for that and don’t wear them outside.
There are some MA’s that I would NOT recommend practicing shoeless, such as some of the northern-style CMA that incorporate a lot of stomping into their practices, at least not on a plain hard surface.
When I train on my own at home, I go barefoot, but if doing CMA away from home now, I’ll always wear shoes.
for me it depends on the rules of the establishment.
I do prefer barefoot, though. Gripping the ground with your feet gives you a better understanding of balance and how to play with it. imo.
If im training in a park or on concrete I wear shoes, at home never.
A friend of mine likes to train with heavy boots on. He told me that if he could fight with heavy boots, he could fight with any shoes. When he kicks me with his heavy industry metal head boots, I have to be very careful to handle his front toe kick. The metal piece that he adds inside of his instep part of his boots makes his roundhouse kick very powerful.