I often get asked by beginner students why we train in classical kung fu slippers as opposed to other types of footwear. This is a legitimate question, and as I get asked this quite often I figured my blog readers may find the answer of interest.
As you can see from the photo above, the late great grandmaster Yip Man also trained in the same type of shoes. In fact, it is nearly impossible to find a photo of him not wearing these shoes, including when he was present at banquets or otherwise not practicing his art. But is the reason for wearing these types of shoes simple "tradition"? Absolutely not!
While certainly it can be argued that wearing these shoes is part of the look of doing kung-fu, our Wing Tsun shoes are made with much more than that in mind. By using them as training shoes, they give the trainee a few distinct advantages over those who use regular sport shoes.
Here I will examine the reasons one by one.
Safety
By practicing in the Wing Tsun shoes, their soft soles allow the trainee to make contact with their partner during kicking exercises. Of course, controlled force must be used despite the soft shoes, however light contact to the actual intended target (hip, knee, shin, ankle, etc.) can be tolerated. This means kicks must not be "posed" or "pulled short" of the intended target and can allow more accurate targeting without injuring the other trainee. I can not even begin to count how many injuries I have seen by others who practice in street shoes kicking and then stepping on their partner’s foot. This is perfectly legit in street fighting, but in training injuries takes you out of the game and slows your progress.Traction Mastery
The soft soles on a wood floor present a new challenge to the trainee. Traction is slightly compromised, so therefore the burden of stability and mobility rests on doing the footwork as accurately and perfectly as possible. Training should always be more difficult than the actual event, so therefore having to fight in shoes that force good footwork under a lack of traction can only help to improve the footwork under normal circumstances (i.e. with normal footwear on). When a trainee is shoved or knocked back during lat sau or chi sau training, they can not rely on heavy or gripping Nikes to hold them in place - the ability to turn, do proper bracing steps and rebound with quickness can only get better if footwear doesn't allow one to cheat.My other point about traction is that the slipperiness added by the combination of the soft soles on the wood floor can only help to improve ones ability to fight in less than ideal situations. During the winter time when streets are icy, (or other times when one must fight on unstable dirt or gravel or slimy subway floor) wouldn't it be advantageous to feel familiar moving in this slippery environment?
No cheating!
As proper WT footwork has certain conventions and rules (especially for the beginner) it can be taught more easily if the footwear allows the turning and stepping to go unimpeded. Furthermore, if one learns the footwork in grippy sport shoes it can be real easy to violate the basic stepping tenet that the front leg pulls the rear. If a WT student "pushes" with the rear to do an advancing or arrow step, the mistake can clearly be seen by the front foot sliding forward instead of "pinning" as it should. This common error is easily covered by the training in grippy sport shoes and may go uncorrected indefinitely. The slightest flaws in footwork can be easily seen when practicing with these shoes.It's easier to go back to normal shoes and fight but not vice versa
The final worry of many is that if they practice is these types of shoes they will be used to sliding whereas on the street they won't slide. This is also a misconception of why we wear them! After having practiced the footwork properly in WT shoes, I recommend all my students to practice on their own using regular street shoes. It is not that difficult to convert to regular street shoes, but it is much harder for those who only train in street shoes to practice in the WT shoes. Therefore a trainee who practices in the WT shoes regular is much more able to adapt than the sneaker fan.Additionally we minimize the wear and tear on the knees and ankles by practicing our footwork in these shoes. In a class setting we may need to practice hundreds of steps or footwork maneuvers. In the context of a street fight we need only 1-3 steps maximum to finish the fight.
It's better than barefoot!
Don't forget that for many in the martial arts, the issue of footwear is not even an option. Most styles practice barefooted and if we apply the logic that "WT shoes" detractors apply, then barefooted martial arts by default only prepare you to fight barefooted (perhaps only while at the beach)...Our shoes provide us safety, traction mastery and the inability to train improper habits as cheats. The versatility gained by training in these shoes insure we do not need to "slip into our WT shoes" before we fight. We train so we don't need to worry about fighting in boots, shoes, barefoot or even on ice. We adapt like water.
