Tai Chi Shoes – Know Before You Buy

Choosing the right shoes for tai chi class is actually a really important discussion and is always one of the first things we talk about with the new students joining our class. It may sound counterintuitive but the shoes that you wear for most athletic events might actually limit your tai chi progress and in the worse circumstances cause injury.

As a general rule, the best tai chi shoes have a low profile so that the ankle can rotate, have a low heal or no heal at all so that your balance is not pitched forward. Tai chi shoes can have a rubber sole but limited traction is needed so that added pressure isn’t placed on the knee when turning because the sole grips the floor.

The good news is that great shoes for practicing tai chi are relatively cheap, great quality, and easy to find on the internet so you don’t even need to find a store near you that sells them. You just need to know a few really important things so you can buy shoes for tai chi that improve your health and strength and don’t lead to injury.

How do you know what shoes to wear for tai chi?

There are three important things that all good shoes for tai chi have:

1. A low profile around the ankles. The low stances and stretches require a lot of bending. The sides of the shoes should not come up above the ankle bone and the best tai chi shoes are rounded so that the ankle can rotate.
2. No or only a very small heal. One huge benefit of practicing tai chi is an increase in balance. After a very short time of practicing, you are not only more stable when walking and standing, but also when balancing on one leg and squatting down. This is difficult to accomplish if you are wearing a traditional athletic shoe. The big cushiony heal might be important for running but in tai chi it can pitch you forward.
3. No or very limited traction. Wearing athletic shoes is okay to begin with but understand that the soles of these shoes have been designed not to slide. Your foot is rotating frequently throughout tai chi which can put strain on the knee if there is any drag.  When you step in tai chi, eventually you don’t have weight on a foot that is rotating but initially this takes a little bit of practice. This is the greatest cause of tai chi knee pain which I cover in depth in an article on the knees. It’s a must read if you are practicing for long sessions, have extra weight on you, or are teaching others.

Most of us have our favorite brand of shoes which is great but they should all meet the above criteria. I will share my favorites and what my students have reported back that they like from some of the bigger brands. Then, I want to tell you about a brand of shoes that really know martial arts and tai chi and their shoes are specifically designed for us to practice. But first, let’s talk about whether you need shoes at all.

Can you do tai chi barefoot or in socks?

There are only two times that I can think of where it is okay to do tai chi barefoot or in socks. If you are on a beach, being barefoot is actually more stable that wearing shoes. And, it just feels nice! I also have students that come straight from work and they have to choose whether to go home and change or be late for class. Sure, kick your dress shoes off and attend tai chi class barefoot.

In most cases, we are jumping, pivoting, stamping our feet, sliding, and working on our stability on one leg. This doesn’t lend itself to bare feet. Secondly, with the weapons forms or working outside I image this would be painful. Thirdly, if you are in a class that does push hands, you will probably get stepped on. Tai chi requires a lot of concentration and if you are thinking about your feet it makes progress difficult. So begin class with the shoes you have and then upgrade to one of the three cool choices below.

Traditional Shoes for Tai Chi

Traditional cotton shoes that are made of cotton or cloth are very practical for some practitioners.  The chief benefit is that you have immediate connection with the ground.  They are also comfortable, really cheap, and they pack up flat so they are easy to carry.

I can be a martial arts superstar and wear slippers? Yes! How about my bathrobe?  It depends on your school.

Traditional taichi shoes can wear out on pavement, get dirty, and don’t protect you from rocky ground.  Additionally, if your school has a gloss/slick floor your feet can start to slide out from under you when you begin entering deeper postures.

Cloth shoes are ideal for indoor training where the floor has a rug or provides some sort of traction.  Note that these shoes also stretch a bit because they are made of cotton.  If you want to wear traditional cotton tai chi shoes make sure that have elastic at the entrance and/or heel.

Rubber Sole Traditional Tai Chi Shoes

Rubber sole tai chi shoes are a hybrid of the cloth shoes and sports shoes. They are often one of the best shoes for women because of the smaller sizes.

All of the rubber sole shoes seem to be the same regardless of where they come from. They are very comfortable, last a long time, and are inexpensive. I think these are a better option than the all cloth traditional shoes because they are more versatile and definitely more weather resistant. One great use of these shoes are for schools that have a uniform or do performances and want everyone to wear the same thing. The downside, like the cotton shoes for tai chi, they can stretch out so the size you start with can feel a bit big and loose after a short while.

Low Profile Tai Chi Athletic Shoes

A few years ago I wouldn’t have been able to write this article because the right style of shoes had to be ordered from China. This was difficult because the sizing charts never seemed to be right, it took forever to get your shoes and was always a gamble as to if you would be able to return the wrong ones. That’s no longer the case.

With the popularity of CrossFit and powerlifting, shoes with minimal tread and no heal are more available. Soccer fans who can wear a narrow shoe also have a great selection. Then we have the flat platform of many of the skateboarding shoes. These shoes tend to be heavier but they do have the right heal and ankle profile. So lots of choices exist today that meet the three criteria for shoes for tai chi classes listed above.

Best Name Brand Shoes for Tai Chi Class

Many of us have our favorite brand of shoe that fits our feet perfectly. I will share some that I really like and ones that my students feel are great for them. If you are dead set on getting a certain brand of shoes then these might be the ones for you. As you click through them you will see that they are sometimes 4x the price of Feiyue choices and how they define “low profile” still has quite a bit of heal in some shoes. Check them out and then scroll down because Feiyue were designed for tai chi, they are high quality, and the price is right. Here are some examples. These are online so you can search them to read the reviews.

Brand	Best Shoes for Doing Tai Chi
Asics TaiChi Shoes for Men	WHITIN Men’s Cross-Trainer
Asics Tai Chi Shoes for Women	ASICS Women’s Gel-Rocket 9 Volleyball Shoes
New Balance TaiChi Shoes for Men	New Balance Men’s Minimus TR V1 Cross Trainer
New Balance Tai Chi Shoes for Women	New Balance Women’s WXC700
Nike TaiChi Shoes for Men	Nike Men’s Ah7453-007
Nike Tai Chi Shoes for Women	Nike Women’s Sneaker Running Shoes
Onitsuka Tai Chi Shoes	Onitsuka Tiger Unisex Mexico 66
Puma Tai Chi Shoes for Men	PUMA Men’s Roma Basic Sneaker

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Best Tai Chi Shoes – Feiyue Shoes – Made Specifically for Tai Chi

For those of you wanted to get your tai chi shoe mojo on, the brand Feiyue is the way to go.  Feiyue shoes began in Shanghai in the 1920s and they have been the go-to Chinese tai chi shoe for decades. The company transitioned to France in 2006. This a really good thing because they retained all the quality and design but became more of an international brand so that they are available to us, everywhere, at a good price. They also have a kid’s line which my shorter female students are so thankful for because they can actually find women’s tai chi shoes in their size.

When you look at their styles and colors you definitely see that they are branching out into more fashionable shoes. Again, I am happy to see a high-quality company be successful because it means we continue to get good products at a good price. There are two things you need to know before you buy though

1. Choose the low profile Feiyue shoes. They have started making mid-top shoes but these come up too high on the ankle for some of the tai chi stances.
2. Only buy Authentic Feiyue shoes: Unfortunately, there are knock-offs or fake Feiyue shoes. I don’t know why someone would take the time to make fake shoes especially when they are so inexpensive already. Designer handbags? Sure, I get that. But shoes? Anyways, fake shoes fall apart. So this is one brand that if you buy them on the internet you are taking a risk

Feiyue shoes meet all the criteria for being the best shoes for tai chi:

• They wear well
• The traction works well on the floor but is also good outside
• The sides are not high so your ankle can rotate
• They are inexpensive

Their website has all the styles, immediate shipping, and a great return policy. Black is the most popular for tai chi because the match your pants (and don’t look dirty!).

Feiyue Tai Chi Shoe Options

Men’s Tai Chi Shoes

Women’s Tai Chi Shoes

Tai Chi Shoes for Small Feet

Black Tai Chi Shoes

Do we need to buy shoes to practice tai chi?

The verdict is yes.  Protect your knees and hips until you get the stepping and rotation down.  Tai chi is a very inexpensive hobby or sport but this is one place where a few dollars are worth the investment. Clothing is optional. That is, tai chi clothing is optional! And there are a lot of comfortable, inexpensive things to wear to tai chi these days too.