Shoes

To cut to the chase, I will start by saying: Yes, by all means! You want to go do karate or judo then go ahead an be barefoot, but taichi was meant for footwear. In fact, the fact that practitioners of the art wore shoes was one of the things that first appealed to me. The barefoot way of the Japanese martial arts just left me. . .cold. OK, so that is a personal thing on my part, I admit it. There is reason to back my gut reaction up though, so I will jump right into that. 

I remember at the first taichi class I ever went to, a free Yang style class in Winston-Salem, the teacher told me what to wear to future classes: loose comfortable clothes and flat flexible shoes that are not "grippy." He then added with emphasis: "No bare feet!" Despite my offering no argument to that point, he nevertheless felt it worth expounding upon, and within a few seconds he was holding a big Chinese I not being a fan of barefootedness in public places :) was satisfied with that admonishment alone, but the teacher felt more needed to be said, and in support of that point he rolled out a big Chinese Reflexology diagram of the human foot, something like the one below:

He said something to the effect of "every point on your foot has a connect to an organ in your body, and so stomping your foot like this could be damaging your liver, or your spleen, or your pancreas. . . " and so on he went. His point was made, though I wasn't sure I was convinced since it can all work both ways, good or bad. At any rate, the chart was colorful and the concept interesting.

I have, however, never heard that particular claim made by anyone ever again. Instead, what teachers tend to focus on is the nature of taichi in terms of what is going on with your feet. Sliding and spinning can do damage to the skin of your feet if you are on the wrong kind of surface. Sweat on those same feet go on to make it unsure how good or secure your grip will be at any given moment on smooth surface like linoleum, tile, varnished wood, or gym mats. 

Of course, the same thing can be said about the type of shoe you are wearing. While wearing shoes will protect you from slipping due to sweat or from skinning or tearing your skin due to an unfortunate slide or spin, the nature of your shoes' soles can have a very important effect too. Too smooth, and you might be sliding all over the place like a curler in street shoes or be so grippy that you might very well twist your ankle or knee when your leg makes its move but the foot fails to comply. It can truly be dangerous, a point I know from near experience.

Which Shoes to Get?

The basic rule of thumb about shoes for Taichi is to get something that is pretty much flat - no rise or heels and is not, as that first teacher specified, not too grippy. You have no doubt noticed that a lot of taichi teachers and masters online wear shoes of that nature, often the brand that has the yin-yang symbol on the side. These shoes usually come up if you do a search for Taichi shoes, as do those with the Wu character (as in Wushu) on the side. Unfortunately, I have no idea if these are good or not since I wear a size 14 shoe, and let me guarantee that said shoes do not come in size 14 (47 Euro sizes).

What I did find in my size, however, were the old Chinese martial arts tennis shoes - Feiyue. These used to come in white with red and blue striping or black with red and blue striping, but now they come in all sorts of colors, which makes them a rather fun choice. You can see that my beige pair have proved so popular with me that they. . .well, are in an interesting state of wear. The soles though hold up quite well, and why they are somewhat grippy, they tread pattern helps prevent them from being a danger. When doing Wu (Hao) form, I wear these outside, where they work very well. Inside, the slight grip does provide more resistance than I'd like given all the spins one does in Wu (Hao), at least the Hao Shaoru line. 

Another Taichi shoe I found in my size was the Ohtsuka Tiger, which is a nice looking and quite high quality leather shoe (made in Japan, I think). It has a very thin sole but one made with a very durable material. The grip is very good, but due to the tread pattern it can be a bit of a nightmare for any sort of sliding or spinning, at least on an interior surface. I almost ripped my knee using these the first time, so beware. Anyway, I don't really use them anymore since they don't match my current needs.

Finally, there is the good ol' fashioned cotton soled Taichi/Kungfu shoes. These are definitely not for outdoor wear since the sole is made out of cotton, but they are really good for working out on smooth flooring or gym/dojo mats. They are a dream for doing the spins one does in Wu (Hao). They do wear out somewhat quickly, but the prices are low, so you won't be spending a fortune on shoes if you go this route. 

Remember that there are also black cotton shoes that have a brick red, hard plastic surface. These are the black cotton shoes that were commonly sold at hipster shops in the period just after and even a bit before China opened back up to the west after the Nixon visit. Think China Books in SF, the Soap Plant in Los Angeles, and various touristy shops in Chinatowns around the world. I don't recommend those as the sole surface is an odd thing and thus hard to figure out. I suppose they might be ok for practicing outdoors, but I don't think they a good choice for indoor practice or learning. I recommend sticking to the cotton sole versions.

How about Practicing in My Socks?

Eh. The only time I think this is a good idea is, perhaps, when you are practicing on carpet. Carpet and shoes don't get on well, so the sock on carpet can give you some slide and spin assist and protection from skin burn. No protection for your vital organs in the reflexology sense.

How About Regular Sports Shoes?

One thing you will notice is that a lot of the students in videos, from the US or China, practice in regular ol' sports shoes. I mean even Hao Yinru often practices in sports shoes or regular ol' lace ups! That all said, sure you can do it. Given the postures and movements that you do in Taichi, however, you may well find it more comfortable and good-posture-encouraging to wear the flatter sole shoes.