Shoes: Significant or Not Really?

[howtobrew]

As a newbie, I fence in sneakers. $20 sneakers from Target or Big 5 or some other closeout sale. I have gone thru 3 pairs now (year). In every case, the right shoe heel has started to detach from the spongier rubber above it, on the inside curve. (between 6-9:00 position). While I just bought my latest pair (Head (tm) Tennis Shoes), a comment in the What Do I Buy Next thread gave me pause.

Being a frugal person by nature (don't ask me to buy jewelry), I hate the thought of spending $150 on SHOES, but do proper fencing shoes make that big a difference? Do you trip over your own feet less? I was actually considering taking a knife and cutting away some of the heel material to round that corner out some more on my current shoes, as it is apparently catching on the piste to cause the delamination on the old ones.
Cheers!

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

yeah, I've blown through atleast 7 pairs of shoes cause of fencing. For a temporary fix, take some leather scraps, and some shoe goo, and patch the shoe. I'm wearing wrestling shoes now, which are better than sneakers, but not great. Somebody suggested handball shoes, or other court shoes, like the adidas stabil shoe

http://www.paragonsports.com/Paragon...e1prm=Stabil+5

but yeah, fencing shoes are very pricy, and they do not tend to last very long. You might want to check out the fencing shoes at shopeli.net, as they are cheap, but I dunno how well they hold.

[Mr Epee]

HTB,

No need to fret.

Fencing shoes are not that important in epee.

Most folks do fine in a standard court shoe (not running shoes because they are designed for running, and fencing is not running.) Shoes that would be appropriate for volleyball/racquetball/team handball/etc... are great choices.

Some tennis shoes do well also, but be sure to find a model that has a single piece of sole material (soul material = mo town) that curves up around and over the base of the shoe. Fencing movements will rip the soles off pretty quickly if they aren't this type.

I rarely spend more than 60$ for a pair of shoes, and prefer these to my "fencing" shoes.

[mackillian]

I wear indoor soccer shoes.

[Dan H]

I've found that fencing shoes make a difference in, among other areas, gripping the floor. It's not enough of a difference that beginners can really tell, but it's enough that most people who have been competing for a few years can. It's a minor annoyance for me when I have to practice in cross-trainers. I've been using Adidas fencing shoes for the past several years, and I've found that a pair generally lasts about 2 years. I fence about 5 times a week. I haven't bought a pair of cheaper fencing shoes, but I've heard that there isn't a whole lot of difference between cheap fencing shoes and expensive ones. Will a pair be worth it to you? There's only one way to find out, but if you call yourself a newbie, I suspect you won't notice much of a difference yet. Good luck.

[CvilleFencer]

When I first started I fenced in sneakers and thought this could be better, as they did not hold up well and the soles were very high, which made it easy to roll my ankle if I was not careful. I also found that they did not fit tight enough to prevent rather nasty blistering on the feet, especially on the ball of the lead foot and the inside edge of the lunge foot and heel. As such I thought I would save some money and I bought wrestling shoes. I was pretty happy with these, although the lack of support for the heel was a problem and I was prone to knee aches, shin splints and sore feet. Still they were a lot better than basketball shoes. When I started fencing epee one of my first weird injuries was getting a blade through the tops of my wrestling shoes (not a broken blade mind you, they were just really thin on top) and I found a great deal on some Adistar fencing boots.

Night and day. I moved better in my footwork and with more confidence, I had less pain and shin splints and I just felt faster and that I moved better. I am on my second pair of fencing shoes now, and I still have that first pair of Adistars that I wear for coaching and practice (they have a few holes in them and the leather is pulling away from the sole on the rear foot) but I also have gotten into the habit of keeping a second pair for use at tourneys and serious practice. They are holding up very well and I am very happy with them. These are the older style Adidas Atlanta shoes that I found on special for about $40 bucks and they are low top, which is what I prefer now. Unless you have an injury of some sort the high tops just add weight and usually cost a bit more.

I will not use anything other than fencing shoes now. I am a total convert and a fan of the Adidas models as every one I have tried has lasted very well (at least 6 months before I think about retiring then to coaching/lesson shoes and they are not worn out then, just not as spiffy as I would like). They are not cheap, and not everyone, especially epee fencers uses them but for me they are the best option. You could argue that the benefits I get from them are somewhat psychosomatic but I would disagree. They keep you feet low to the ground, are very light weight and are designed for the way a fencer moves. The soles give pretty good traction (some are better for wood floors and others better for metal pistes), and they seem less likely to cause blisters as they are designed with the stress/friction points inside the shoe with fencing in mind.

I know a lot of really good fencers that stick with the street shoes, especially for epee and I don't really get it. If you are going to spend a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on fencing kit but to not go for the shoes just makes me shake my head. Fencing shoes are very expensive but you can find some really good deals on Ebay every so often, and if you have very small or very large feet Duelist (remember their sizing is UK) has some great deals as well.

[sreckiki]

If you wanna save money and if you're like me, never buy some expensive fencing shoes!

I used to fence with indoor sneakers (like Volleyball ones) but one day, I bought some dedicated fencing shoes and it was over! I never could re-fence with indoor sneakers. I found them too uncomfortable and I don't find they provide enough traction...

Is someone interested in an almost brand new pair of Adidas Stabil???? (I'm kidding, I can use these shoes for playing squash for example but not for fencing! Damn it! )

[achilleus]

Eric Srecki (FRA)
Ralf Bissdorf (GER)
Fabrice Jeannet (FRA)
Riboud (FRA)
Ganeev (RUS)
Kovacs (HUN)
Nagy (HUN)
Schalm (CAN)


Above are just a few current, and former elite level fencers who don't wear fencing shoes. The list grows longer if you look at the Koreans, the canadians, the Cubans specifically the epee guys...

I almost forgot about to count the American epee team, where 3 of the 4 members don't wear fencing specific shoes.

The list of fencers is quite long if you start counting those that don't wear Adidas fencing shoes.

So, really, shoes (equipment) don't make the footwork (skill). The fencer does.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Eric Srecki (FRA)
Ralf Bissdorf (GER)
Fabrice Jeannet (FRA)
Riboud (FRA)
Ganeev (RUS)
Kovacs (HUN)
Nagy (HUN)
Schalm (CAN)


Above are just a few current, and former elite level fencers who don't wear fencing shoes. The list grows longer if you look at the Koreans, the canadians, the Cubans specifically the epee guys...

I almost forgot about to count the American epee team, where 3 of the 4 members don't wear fencing specific shoes.

The list of fencers is quite long if you start counting those that don't wear Adidas fencing shoes.

So, really, shoes (equipment) don't make the footwork (skill). The fencer does.

In the team WE atleast, on the french team, Hajnalka Kiraly Picot wore the adidas stabil shoes, the royal blue ones. Olympics BTW.

[achilleus]

I know a lot of really good fencers that stick with the street shoes, especially for epee and I don't really get it. If you are going to spend a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on fencing kit but to not go for the shoes just makes me shake my head. Fencing shoes are very expensive but you can find some really good deals on Ebay every so often, and if you have very small or very large feet Duelist (remember their sizing is UK) has some great deals as well.

I can tell you why some really good fencers stick with street shoes. They hurt and wear out quick.

I can spend bucks on a FIE uniform and it will last me years. The shoes, not so. The shoes last me 6-9 months, tops. Regardless of what brand, fencing specific or not. I practice a lot, and do a lot of footwork drills, and after 6 months, either the cushioning, support, traction, or uppers are gone by that point.

In addition, fencing shoes hurt me (and many others). They make my joints ache, they gave me shin splints, and a host of other ailments that are caused by shoes with lack of support or cushion.

Yeah, I tried the insoles. I use the heel cup. They still don't feel comfortable. So, I'd rather spend my limited funds on comfortable shoes rather than blow about $200 every 6 months on a pair of shoes that hurt me.

[wildmoppet]

*shrugs* I like fencing shoes because they give a lot more grip. But my dad swears by squash shoes which are cheaper and apparently more comfortable.
I have to use insoles because I have collapsed arches in my feet.
I fence at some clubs in trainers, some in fencing shoes. Mainly because most of the clubs do not have metallic pistes and the floors can be dusty, reducing the grip on my fencing shoes when I come to fence somewhere important like a competition.

[CvilleFencer]

I can tell you why some really good fencers stick with street shoes. They hurt and wear out quick.

Well then it really seems silly! I mean, if street shoes hurt and wear out quick, why use them? That is why I went to fencing shoes in the first place! Sorry, I could not resist.

Different people are made/move different and as such, some things work better than others based on your body/style/location etc. As someone said before, the only way to know for sure if fencing shoes are for you is to try them and find out. There are strong opinions on both side of the fence based on what works or does not work for the individual in question. Try to find some cheap on Ebay or in the Fencing classifieds and try them out before you drop a lot of money if you want, but I think you should try them at least once and judge for yourself. They good news is that if you try them and don't like them, as long as they are not to well used up you can resale them pretty easy to other fencers for about 25-75% of what you paid for them. Best of luck!

[aikijohn]

Given the various responses to this topic, I must say I'd love to try fencing shoes, but having outragously wide feet (EEEEE) limits me to some sort of court shoe, at best; even those are hard to find in my size. If any one knows where I could find wide, wide, wide fencing shoes, please let me know... I've searched every manufacturers website to no avail.

[Boo Boo]

Having suitable shoes is important - whether, or not, they are fencing shoes is less important.

You want something light weight, grippy, that allows you to "feel" the floor. Fencing shoes are good for this, but there are plenty of other shoes that will do a very similar job for a lot less money.

Just avoid BIG, CLUMPY, PLATFORM cross-trainers and similar....

Boo
(wears fencing shoes - currently D'Artagnan 2s - but knows quite a few good fencers who choose to wear alternatives)

[Larrison]

Hmm... do good shoes help your fencing? Absolutely!

But... how much do you want to spend? And how important is it to have the absolutely optimum shoe for the sport? And what surfaces are you going to be fencing on regularly? Polished wood floors? Polished concrete? Ground metal strips? Tile? Linoleum? other?

I've found that the best shoes I get have the yellow/orange gum soles and I can get a good pair of raquet ball or indoor volley ball shoes pretty inexpensively (around $40). These work well in giving me good traction and cut through a lot of the dust you typically find on wood or linoleum floors. Other people swear by slightly different patterns -- one of my fencing buddies used to swear that Van's deck shoes (designed for high traction on boat decks) was the absolute best.

In comparison to the cross-training shoes I wear to run or walk or work out, the difference is night and day.

If I was a much more serious competitor, I might consider trying a pair of specific-designed fencing shoes to compare, but for my level of competitiveness, these are fine. (I also haven't shelled out for full FIE-level gear, either....)

But in any case, use NEWER shoes with a good SOLE PATTERN. I've found that once the tread pattern starts to go on the shoe, it doesn't matter what you have on -- your foot is more likely to slip, the traction goes down, and you're more likely to turn an ankle, over extend, or slide unexpectedly. Which unfortunately, is another reason to buy cheaper shoes -- so you can replace them more easily

[Zelda]

I have a confession to make....I rotate my shoes..

For comps I have a lovely spiffy pair of adidas assymetrics which I love...however for training I used to have Hi Tech squash shoes which finally fell into little pieces the other day. I now use $20 skate shoes, nice flat shoe, pretty white and pink motifs and I just need a gel insole. I bought 4 pairs of them so that as they wear out I can swap in the next one.

[melihop]

I met somone tonight who uses indoor rock climbing shoes.. apparently great grip.. and light too.. lots of padding on the botton.. it amused me! lol.. i had never heard of that before!

[sabreur]

I recently got a pair of adidas climacool response 2 volleyball shoes--they are fine for training, and even competing, although I still love the adidas fencing shoes best--they just wear out too damned fast.

I had fooled around with court shoes by a lot of other manufacturers, but came back to adidas because their last fits my foot best.

MR

[Schiavona]

Given the various responses to this topic, I must say I'd love to try fencing shoes, but having outragously wide feet (EEEEE) limits me to some sort of court shoe, at best; even those are hard to find in my size. If any one knows where I could find wide, wide, wide fencing shoes, please let me know... I've searched every manufacturers website to no avail.

WOW! And here I thought I had a problem with my EEE feet.

[Alain]

Wearing proper fencing shoes won't magically improve your footwork. As achilleus pointed out, a lot of top fencers don't wear 'em - it's your feet that do the footwork...

For as long as I can remember, I've always worn proper fencing shoes. They are expensive, but are very comfortable and last well because of the fact that they're designed specifically for fencing. And if you get sentimentally attached to a pair of shoes, you can always have them re-soled.

Hope this helps