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I've been training muay thai at the gym for some time, and I'd decided to also train at home. So I bought myself a punching bag and hung it in my garage.

The problem is that I have no mat, and the floor is very hard (and sometimes dirty) for me to train bare foot. So I was thinking, is there any shoes that I could use to train at home? Could I use any kind of trainers? I'm asking this for the sake of training kicks (since obviously there would be no problem to punch with shoes)

HDD
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    Is there really any such thing as too hard or too dirty? How do you think the Thais train? – slugster Jan 20 '18 at 00:52
  • I don't know, but they developed Tatamis for this purpose, right? – HDD Jan 22 '18 at 09:29
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    Nope, wrong culture. Tatami are Japanese while Muay Thai comes from Thailand. The Thais train on dirt, concrete and wooden floors in bare feet. Genuine Muay Thai is one of the "harder" arts, so I'm a bit bemused at your comment that the floor is too hard or dirty, that's why I mentioned how the Thais train. Tatami were originally a form of padding for nobility to walk and sit on, they weren't for training. – slugster Jan 22 '18 at 10:37
  • Oh.... all right then! So, you don't know any shoes? – HDD Jan 22 '18 at 13:46
  • Uhm...what he is saying is that if you train traditional, you should do it without shoes. If you must use shoes, get the most minimal shoes you can. – JohnP Jan 22 '18 at 14:21
  • Yeah, but I got some health issues, which deppending on the floor, prevents me from stepping on it bare foot. I think that there are some korean shoes that have their upper part open, but I can't remember the name – HDD Jan 22 '18 at 15:32
  • @HDD Needing them because of health issues changes the question a little, you should include that in the question (you don't have to say what the health issue is, just that you need shoes because of it). If you do that I'll tidy these comments up. – slugster Jan 22 '18 at 18:21
  • Both taekwondo and "kung fu" sometimes practice in shoes - if you google "kungfu shoes" you'll find plenty of online ordering opportunities.... – Tony D Jan 25 '18 at 21:42
  • You should train in the manner you intend to use your style. If for sport, then you should invest in puzzle or tatami mats, or said dirty concrete floor. If you are training for self-defense, then, you will typically be wearing shoes or sneakers: that is what you should be training in. You don't want to use sneakers on mats, they'll tear the mats up. There are special TKD shoes, they're not unlike bowling shoes: soft leather on the bottom, and can be worn on mats. But wearing these on concrete will wear them out in no time. – Andrew Jay Jan 26 '18 at 02:14

1 Answers1

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Your main concern seems to be about kicking, so I think you can draw some advice from Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is a kick intensive martial art, and it is common to find people practicing using shoes.

But appropriate shoes are used, and not regular trainers. If you search for "taekwondo shoes" you will a lot of options available.

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Some hard line people may think that using them will make you too "soft", but there are also good arguments to use them, specially for those doing intensive practice.

Daniel Reis
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    Note the circle on the sole - under the inside of the ball of the foot. That is designed to allow the shoe to twist on the floor - stopping you from damaging your knees. It is an important part of a TKD practice shoe – Collett89 Jan 26 '18 at 10:30
  • Also regarding my last sentence, I just found this :-) https://imgur.com/a/BJ1ao – Daniel Reis Jan 30 '18 at 12:15