By Barbara (Bobbie) Purvis
Nike® Studio Trainer (Women’s Training Shoe)
With Tai Chi and many other types of training, the shoes we wear can affect our performance. Like many beginning Tai Chi students I went to my first Tai Chi class in athletic shoes designed for another sport. In my case, I wore running shoes. Other popular choices are tennis, soccer and basketball shoes.
It wasn’t until about halfway through my first year of Tai Chi training that I realized my running shoes didn’t allow me to feel much of a connection to the ground. They were heavy and inflexible: with a thick heel for maximum shock absorption, a rigid midsole for stabilization, and a thinner front sole to make it easy to push off at the end of each stride.
After that “A-ha” moment of realization, I began a search for the “perfect” pair of Tai Chi shoes. I started by asking my teacher which shoes he recommended, and observed advanced students to see what kind of shoes they were wearing and asked them why they chose to wear those particular shoes for Tai Chi. I received as many different answers as there were people, but found that responses could be grouped into three general categories.
First there are the “traditionalists” who opt for training shoes worn by some of the top athletes in many different styles of martial arts. These brands include Adidas and Puma (favorites of Tae Kwan Do and Karate practitioners).
Next in order of popularity, there were the “minimalists” who prefer barefoot-style training shoes. These brands include Vibram and Merrell in “five-finger” and the traditional lace-up style shoe. There’s also Feiyue, a brand made popular by martial arts stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li that were given a face lift by a French company and are popular throughout Europe as fashion athletic shoes.
The third category is the “functionalist” who opts for “whatever works.” This category includes training, gym, and studio shoes by many brands including Skechers, Nike, Reebok, etc.
My perfect shoe at this moment is one designed for in studio training – the Nike Studio Trainer sold at Footlocker.com. It’s a light flexible shoe that’s perfect for Tai Chi practice. It has a pivot point on the sole and offers medium support. It’s may not be the best shoe for super high intensity cardio training, but is perfect for our Tai Chi studio. My choice for outdoor Tai Chi practice is actually an indoor competition soccer shoe also by Nike, the Tiempo Natural IV leather. It’s a bit heavier than the Studio Trainer, but flexible and a better choice for wear in outdoor elements.
Overall, I found that the most important thing when selecting a shoe for this kind of practice is comfort and a close second is fit. Don’t be surprised if you wear one size in a particular brand or style and a completely different size in others. Keep in mind that fit matters, size doesn’t.
What’s your favorite shoe for Tai Chi practice? Let us know in the comment section below and check out this list of some of the companies that specialize in fitness-related shoes:
Adidas®, www.adidas.com
AVIA® Select, www.aviaselect.com
Brooks® Running, www.brooksrunning.com
Foot Solutions®, www.footsolutions.com
K-Swiss®, www.kswiss.com
Merrell®, www.merrell.com
New Balance®, www.newbalance.com
Nike®, www.nike.com
Puma®, www.puma.com
Reebok®, www.reebok.com
RYKÄ® Fit Club (women only), www.rykafit.com
Skechers®, www.skechers.com/info/shape_ups
Under Armour®, www.underarmour.com
Vibram FiveFingers®, www.vibramfivefingers.com
For a fun history of modern martial arts style shoes, check out the 5-09-2009 post “Is it The Shoes?” at Scholar warrior: http://reyronin.wordpress.com