Thoughts on wearing shoes with shinguards?

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Andrew861

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This past week in sparring, one of our more seasoned fighters broke his left toe. Apparently, he attempted to body kick another fighter but instead, his kick was blocked by an elbow and the impact broke his big toe. He was wearing his Fairtex shinguards but unfortunately, though there is protection for the shins and in-step, there is no protection on the toe area.

After hearing the story, it left a lasting impression on me. I realize that injuries happen in training and we take that risk by being involved in a full contact sport, but I'd like to avoid his situation if at all possible. I wanted to ask, does anyone on here train with their wrestling shoes underneath their shin guards? Would it be an asshole move for me to do that? I have a pair of soft-suede Adidas wrestling shoes, which seem like it would be both soft and protective at the same time. I do care about the comfort of my training partners but I'd like be as protected as possible.

Thanks everyone in advance!
 
if you were my sparring partner and you had shoes on with your shin guards i would find a different sparring partner.
 
I had a few sparring partners use wrestling shoes and the only problem was "lace burn". Just tie the foot strap to the laces and you should be fine.
 
Can't respect shoes on the mat but regardless you can still break your toe just as easy with those thin shoes. Just learn to target your kicks properly and deal with it when you don't. I've connected the first joint of the big toe to an elbow many times. It's part of the game.
 
There are soft kick boxing shoes some guys in our gym wear em. They actually allow you to wear them in some competitions under your shin gaurds
 
If you were already injured and had to wear a shoe just to train and were either not kicking with that leg, kicking extremely lightly, I'd be okay with it.

Wearing shoes all the time, even if you're not injured, is a dick move.
 
have you guys ever sparred with someone wearing shoes + shin-guards? It only makes there punches stronger, the kicks feel the same expect for some slight rug burn (i.e., like sparring with someone wearing cloth shin guards).

TS, if you want to wear shoes, wear shoes, but make sure they are wrestling shoes.
 
Unless you were steel toed boots, its not going to protect your toes from being broken. Unless you are doing savate, your foot should not be making contact with your opponent anyways
 
Damn, I was hoping to have a unanimous opinion on the matter but it looks like there are some mixed opinions on the subject. I still desire to have that toe protection even if it might be minimal and as such, I will personally ask each of my sparring partners for permission to use my wrestling shoes underneath my shin guards.

slomaro said:
There are soft kick boxing shoes some guys in our gym wear em. They actually allow you to wear them in some competitions under your shin gaurds
Click to expand...

Do you mean something like this? (RingStar FightPro Sparring Shoes - Kumite Sneakers - Martial Arts Sparring Footwear) They look like they have extra padding for sparring purposes.

TheeFaulted said:
Like this?
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly like that. I wonder if Hughes wearing it makes it any more acceptable haha :)
 
You might want to check out savate shoes. One of the old instructors at AKA was a french savate champion and I remember seeing him wear shoes + shin-guards on occasion.

Edit: Ringstaradvantage makes interesting kicking shoes.
 
It is great to see that I'm not simply paranoid about toe protection and that it is a legitimate concern among both TMA and of course Savate practitioners. I have now seen a number of posts over the web asking questions and pointing to products concerning toe protection. And while it is true that we should avoid hitting our toes (like someone else pointed out earlier), shit happens and I'd rather be protected for when it does.

nomilkforsanta said:
You might want to check out savate shoes. One of the old instructors at AKA was a french savate champion and I remember seeing him wear shoes + shin-guards on occasion.

Edit: Ringstaradvantage makes interesting kicking shoes.
Click to expand...

Yup, those were the exact pair of shoes I linked to in my second post. They were designed for sparring, they don't have laces and the shoes themselves are heavily padded throughout. Savate shoes seem overly expensive so I might have to look into these shoes more thoroughly. Thanks for your help.

From the RingStar website:
"The toe box is padded and enclosed, thereby preventing toe injuries"
"The shoe has no sharp edges. Soft, smooth surface of the entire shoe"
 
LRjiujitsu said:
the link i posted is essentially the same thing
Click to expand...

...except yours is 20 bucks more with the UFC logo emblazoned on it :icon_lol: No, but seriously, I think this type of shoe might be exactly what I'm looking for; it can protect my feet/toes and the padding wouldn't make it bothersome to my training partners. In fact, they might appreciate being kicked by padded shoes rather than my big smelly feet.
 
Do what you think you must, but I personally wouldn't let someone else's freak accident shake me up so much.
 
Cannon_6 said:
Do what you think you must, but I personally wouldn't let someone else's freak accident shake me up so much.
Click to expand...

Is it that much of a freak accident? I'm sure many of the Muay Thai practitioners on here could probably attest, they've hurt their feet or in-step at least once while training. Personally, I've stubbed my toes twice and it has nothing to do with technique. Shit happens. I'm just taking an extra precaution, better to be safe than sorry.
 
Wouldn't wrestling shoes hinder your pivoting ability when you kick (due to the wrestling shoes grip soles)? Thus affecting your overall technique?
 
Andrew861 said:
Is it that much of a freak accident? I'm sure many of the Muay Thai practitioners on here could probably attest, they've hurt their feet or in-step at least once while training. Personally, I've stubbed my toes twice and it has nothing to do with technique. Shit happens. I'm just taking an extra precaution, better to be safe than sorry.
Click to expand...

I'm one of them, and yes, your friend's injury was a freak accident -- at least the result was. Elbows get kicked all the time in training (and fights, too), and rarely do they result in broken bones... usually just a bruised shin or foot.

What does your coach think about wearing shoes during sparring? You should tell him your plan and your reason before laying down money for the shoes.

Again... do what you want, but I think you're overreacting.
 
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