I usta wear the dipped foam kicks to spar in, but they kinda squeeze my toes together and the plastic strap on the bottom make me slide all over the ring. I now wear cloth shin guards that have padding to cover my instep which provide lots of flexibility, but they leave my toes exposed. After a particularly foot-brutalizing round-robin sparring session on Tuesday night, I'm finding that exposed toes hurt when you kick something over and over again. I need a new solution for my feet, I think...
At a tournament I went to a few weeks back, I noticed lots of participants sparring in shoes with padded tops but that tied/fastened like shoes. I saw an ad in a karate magazine for the Ringstar shoes above and think I may have found something that works. They have suede bottoms that cover the entire bottom of the foot (no more sliding!) and they are easier to fasten (no more velcro that either comes undone or cuts off the circulation to my toes!) - heaven! Of course they are new on the market (so I don't know anyone personally who's tried them) and much more expensive than my $25 foam kicks, so I'm soliciting some feedback here.
Have you tried or know anyone who has tried them?
Hey Felicia!
ReplyDeleteI've got some Ringstar shoes after I saw my instructor use them a couple of years back and HIGHLY recommend them. I haven't tried the new ones like you have pictured yet...I've got what they call the MAXX Lite version that almost look like tennis shoes. I got mine from these guys at www.martialartssupermarket.com...they're a little cheaper and I've been shopping with them for years.
Thanks for the info. I'll head on over to martialartssupermarket.com straight away...
ReplyDelete