# Should I be wearing thongs when I train?



## Stealthy (May 5, 2011)

:whip1:

In all seriousness though when Australians says Thongs they mean something to put on the feet.

I see all these references to training in Geta and while I never wear Geta I do in fact wear Thongs three seasons a year.

While saying "sure wearing thongs is great cause maybe you might get in a fight one day while wearing them" is accurate it is also barely scratching the surface of their potential.

The key problem with wearing Thongs is you can not twist your foot to re-orient it(which even when wearing shoes presents a whole new set of problems not limited to loss of traction and increased noise).

When it comes to foot placement while wearing thongs one is forced to place every foot perfectly before weighting it. This requires an ingrained forsight which includes range limitations, direction of travel, which foot is going to be placed in front of the other and when conditioning responses to unknown attacks an appreciation for the opponents ranges, weight distribution, and therefore likely direction of travel and potential attacks.

Personally I find thongs indespensible for training, what say you?

With Respect,
Stealthy.


----------



## Tez3 (May 5, 2011)

Stealthy said:


> :whip1:
> 
> *In all seriousness though when Australians says Thongs they mean something to put on the feet.*
> 
> ...


 
Damn! I had all sorts of things ready to write!

Flip flops as we call them aren't good for walking in, they make you scrunch your toes up,  so I find it hard to believe they could be good for everyday training though using them in SD scenerios in countries where one gets to wear them a lot would be useful.


----------



## Omar B (May 5, 2011)

Totally not the thread I expected.  I'm done here.


----------



## Stealthy (May 5, 2011)

Tez3 said:


> Flip flops as we call them aren't good for walking in, they make you scrunch your toes up


 
If you wear them often enough you won't scrunch your toes up anymore.


----------



## newtothe dark (May 5, 2011)

I had been expexting a wild thread oh well


----------



## Chris Parker (May 5, 2011)

Stealthy said:


> :whip1:
> 
> In all seriousness though when Australians says Thongs they mean something to put on the feet.
> 
> ...


 
(Sorry guys, I'm going to be serious here...)

No. Geta would be only for specialised usage, such as high-soled versions for training on ice, when actually training they would be taken off, and training would be in tabi (indoor variety) or bare feet. The best alternative (if we're talking traditional footwear) would be waraji (straw sandals).


----------



## Steve (May 5, 2011)

No idea.  But regarding the usage... when I was a kid growing up in Texas, we called those shoes thongs... but now almost everyone calls them flip flops.  I remember when I first tried to wear a thong swim suit.  I didn't know there was a front and a back, which caused a bit of a scene.


----------



## crushing (May 5, 2011)




----------



## Nomad (May 5, 2011)

Since I wouldn't be caught dead wearing flip flops, I see no reason to train in them.  (I'll not comment on thongs for now )  

If you wear them frequently, then it does make sense to try training in them (even if it's only to kick them at an assailant as a distraction) for self-defense reasons... they will definitely behave differently than other shoes or bare feet, and could cause environmental challenges in a fight.


----------



## WC_lun (May 5, 2011)

I never wear flip flops or thoongs, so I'm okay not traiing in them.  I have to say, if one of my traiing partners showed up in a thong, I'd be a bit put off.


----------



## Touch Of Death (May 5, 2011)

Stealthy said:


> :whip1:
> 
> In all seriousness though when Australians says Thongs they mean something to put on the feet.
> 
> ...


I don't wear them for safety reasons.


----------



## Steve (May 5, 2011)

We had a woman train with us (long gone now) who would wear thongs under her gi.  In jiu jitsu, we have wardrobe malfunctions and such, and they're not a big deal.  I'm not talking pants all the way down, but seeing boxers or whatever isn't uncommon.  Let's just say that, if you're a female trying to be taken seriously at a BJJ school, wearing only a thong and an athletic bra under your gi is a bad idea.  Might want to invest in some grappling shorts and a rash guard.  Just sayin'. 

And, I guess to say with the OP, flip flops would be a no no, although they're very handy if you have to step off the mats and into the bathroom.  One of the few rules we have is no shoes on the mats and always shoes in the bathroom.


----------



## tenzen (May 5, 2011)

In the old days geta would be kicked off and then you would engage. But if u want to train in old foot wear invest in waraji. Geta in training would be something used on the ice or on the side of a hill or mountain to train the hips and work balance. For modern day jjust kick off your "thongs" and go to work. Fighting or training in them could cause you to have to need a new pair because the toe piece would rip out from the sole.


----------



## shirobanryunotora (May 13, 2011)

Omar B said:


> Totally not the thread I expected.  I'm done here.


Hi-am bit confused about the "thank you" usage in this forum-your comment seems innocuous and provides no real/useful data to the original query yet you received some 4 thankyous-am i missing something?? No disrespect just confused-till the next rr


----------



## Stealthy (May 13, 2011)

shirobanryunotora said:


> Hi-am bit confused about the "thank you" usage in this forum-your comment seems innocuous and provides no real/useful data to the original query yet you received some 4 thankyous-am i missing something?? No disrespect just confused-till the next rr


 
Incase the little Whipping animation didn't tip you off, it was my intention to elevate the mood with a little light humour while also opening the floor for technical discussion.

I thanked him because he reciprocated the mood.


----------



## crushing (May 13, 2011)

stevebjj said:


> We had a woman train with us (long gone now) who would wear thongs under her gi. In jiu jitsu, we have wardrobe malfunctions and such, and they're not a big deal. I'm not talking pants all the way down, but seeing boxers or whatever isn't uncommon. Let's just say that, if you're a female trying to be taken seriously at a BJJ school, wearing only a thong and an athletic bra under your gi is a bad idea. Might want to invest in some grappling shorts and a rash guard. Just sayin'.


 
Was she intelligent and did she have a great personality?


----------



## Stealthy (May 13, 2011)

crushing said:


> Was she intelligent and did she have a great personality?


 
 Not quite "keeping with mood".


----------



## Supra Vijai (Jun 19, 2011)

Hey Stealthy, much like you, I wear thongs (or flip flops for our non Aussie friends) 3 seasons a year - 4 if I can swing it without freezing my toes off! I agree that you stop scrunching your toes with time and you don't need to think about what your feet are doing however I personally don't like doing any sort of training in thongs. 

The heel isn't attached to your foot in any way so can flap around and land awkwardly when your foot comes down from a kick, the damn things can just go flying off in no clear direction, as mentioned above the toe bit can rip out meaning you've wasted a pair for no reason, 0 toe protection and if you tend to sweat in the summer they can cause your feet to slip on the suface of the footwear itself making everything else so much harder. Personally if I'm meeting up with friends to get some training in and I turn up wearing thongs (we usually train in a park or some such with soft grass for ukemi) then I just kick them off and train barefoot. In the dojo I recently purchased a pair of psuedo waraji to go to/from training and a pair of indoor tabi to actually train in. While the toe protection on the tabi is still non existant, the other problems are not nearly as present. Just me though


----------



## Thesemindz (Jun 19, 2011)

I wear sandals a lot when I go out, so I make sure to train in them a lot. But I also train in my work shoes, and barefoot, and in socks. I train for self defense, so generally speaking, I try to train in whatever clothes I might regularly be wearing. I also try a few moves in the fitting room when I'm trying on new clothes before I buy them to make sure I can move and fight.

Training in sandals is worth doing if you're going to be wearing them regularly. Or boots or heels or snow shoes or whatever else you will wear day to day. Should it be a significant part of your training? Maybe not. But I'd say it should be in there somewhere. Just like training with a backpack or briefcase or purse if you will be wearing/carrying one a lot.


-Rob


----------



## Thesemindz (Jun 20, 2011)

stevebjj said:


> We had a woman train with us (long gone now) who would wear thongs under her gi.  In jiu jitsu, we have wardrobe malfunctions and such, and they're not a big deal.  I'm not talking pants all the way down, but seeing boxers or whatever isn't uncommon.  Let's just say that, if you're a female trying to be taken seriously at a BJJ school, wearing only a thong and an athletic bra under your gi is a bad idea.  Might want to invest in some grappling shorts and a rash guard.  Just sayin'.



Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill here so I won't belabor the point, but I don't see how a person's choice of undergarment, male or female, has any bearing on whether they are a serious martial arts student. You show up, you train hard, you respect the other people in the school, that's all that matters to me. What you wear under your gi (with the exception of the cup which is necessary safety equipment) isn't any of my business, whether I end up seeing it or not, and I certainly wouldn't think less of someone because they dressed differently than I do. Of course I would recommend appropriate training attire, but if they want to wear a thong and a bra, especially knowing that their gi might come off/open which is common when we practice ground fighting, that's their decision.

The karate school doesn't have room for sexism. It only has enough room for karate.


-Rob


----------



## Indagator (Jun 20, 2011)

stevebjj said:


> We had a woman train with us (long gone now) who would wear thongs under her gi. In jiu jitsu, we have wardrobe malfunctions and such, and they're not a big deal. I'm not talking pants all the way down, but seeing boxers or whatever isn't uncommon. Let's just say that, if you're a female trying to be taken seriously at a BJJ school, wearing only a thong and an athletic bra under your gi is a bad idea. Might want to invest in some grappling shorts and a rash guard. Just sayin'.


 

PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!!! 

jks...


----------

