Fencing.Net - Your Guide to Fencing & Fencing Equipment

FoilyDeath · 10-26-2007, 08:36 PM

Word on the street for a while has been that Nike has been working on a pair of fencing shoes...is this it?
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGallery...54&image_id=25

fatfencer · 10-27-2007, 12:19 AM

a really good find.

nice post

Hollywood Troy · 10-27-2007, 05:29 PM

Wow. They look kinda cool, actually.

I wonder why Nike would have them to the team from China before the US. I mean, the factory is there, but the corporate office is still here.

GypsyScot · 10-28-2007, 09:19 AM

They're designed in Beaverton, Nike gave them to China to test, Zuganis also has a set, I think a few fencers in OR have them. Are they coming out anytime soon, no. Will they ever? Maybe.

OROD · 10-28-2007, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GypsyScot

They're designed it Portland, Nike gave them to China to test, Zuganis also has a set, I think a few fencers in OR have them. Are they coming out anytime soon, no. Will they ever? Maybe.

Why would they pick the Chinese to test them?

.

GypsyScot · 10-28-2007, 04:23 PM

Because Chinese fencers train and fence nearly 24/7, you want to test equipment you give it to the Chinese team, or CVilleFencer.

crquack · 10-28-2007, 05:44 PM

Are the basketball-style high-tops beneficial in fencing? I have never seen anyone wear high-tops on the piste however my experience is limited.

FoilyDeath · 10-28-2007, 08:33 PM

Its a much debated subject...some study in the 60's showed they barely help, but some people wear them anyway. I do. Maybe its entirely psychological, but I seem to kill my ankles less.

academe · 10-28-2007, 08:42 PM

Nike has an extensive sport research capability both in the US at their world campus as well as in the university research efforts that they fund to help develop certain types of shoes. They would most certainly apply their understanding of science and spend time researching the sport and wear testing product to find solutions that are not just cosmetic.

If they come out with a high top, most likely there is some logic behind it (as well as sufficient testing to back up a marketing effort). In turn, they most likely know that a "high top" is not best for the biomechanics of every fencer, so would (if they were serious about the market, which remains to be seen) come out with several options.

Having said that, the marketing department can ignore the science behind a shoe and encourage changes in a product that can compromise their value as a competitive shoe.

OROD · 10-28-2007, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crquack

Are the basketball-style high-tops beneficial in fencing?

They're beneficial to looking cool. That's all that matters.

.

HDG · 10-28-2007, 10:34 PM

They look an awful lot like wrestling shoes to me. Maybe a modified or new version of the Take Down.

OROD · 10-29-2007, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HDG

They look an awful lot like wrestling shoes to me. Maybe a modified or new version of the Take Down.

Hmm, was just checking out those Nike Takedown III shoes... they look pretty nice. I wonder if anyone has ever tried them for fencing?

.

bigdawg2121 · 10-29-2007, 04:41 AM

Wrestling shoes are so notoriously bad for fencing that I doubt you'll find many people that have tried a specific model.

fatfencer · 10-30-2007, 10:20 AM

Remember I've tried getting someone to make a shoe based on my design.

A wrestling shoe is essentially a shoe with no MIDsole. No adiprene or EVA type substance for cushion.

Adding a 1/2inch of CMEva between the last and the outsole(the rubber grippy surface that touches the floor) would make a FINE fencing shoe.. The key is to make the heel the same height as the ball of the foot. Having a shoe that's jacked up in the back makes it slightly tougher on the hips and back. It tilts the pelvis forward and down. Flat shoes don't have this problem. Your lower back feels 'decompressed' and open which is very nice.

FF

PS: the key to a good fencing shoe is to stabilize the heel so that only the part of the foot that NEEDs to flex is able too. The rest needs to be stabilized with a hard, ultralight plastic.
Shoes that are over flexible can be bad on the knees.

noodle · 10-30-2007, 10:35 AM

i saw a pair of the nike fencing boots on ebay one day a while ago.
they looked pretty bad.
kind of like the awesome puma ones, except they were really trying to be a sports shoe, too. so, they were some lame hybridization.

bigdawg2121 · 10-30-2007, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatfencer

Remember I've tried getting someone to make a shoe based on my design.

A wrestling shoe is essentially a shoe with no MIDsole. No adiprene or EVA type substance for cushion.

Adding a 1/2inch of CMEva between the last and the outsole(the rubber grippy surface that touches the floor) would make a FINE fencing shoe.. The key is to make the heel the same height as the ball of the foot. Having a shoe that's jacked up in the back makes it slightly tougher on the hips and back. It tilts the pelvis forward and down. Flat shoes don't have this problem. Your lower back feels 'decompressed' and open which is very nice.

FF

PS: the key to a good fencing shoe is to stabilize the heel so that only the part of the foot that NEEDs to flex is able too. The rest needs to be stabilized with a hard, ultralight plastic.
Shoes that are over flexible can be bad on the knees.

Only problem is that what you've explained is a world of difference, especially for shoes. Also a half inch midsole is a lot of midsole and the design differences are significant. Say no to actual wrestling shoes unless you're wrestling or doing something else on a mat. The damn things aren't even good for walking across the gym to your bag.

fatfencer · 10-31-2007, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigdawg2121

Only problem is that what you've explained is a world of difference, especially for shoes. Also a half inch midsole is a lot of midsole and the design differences are significant. Say no to actual wrestling shoes unless you're wrestling or doing something else on a mat. The damn things aren't even good for walking across the gym to your bag.

In terms of comfort, feel, etc. I'm more than inclined to agree with you.

BUT in terms of structure I'd have to disagree.

I'm currently wearing a pair of Adidas where the CMEVA actually is removable from INSIDE ther shoe. Yes, that's right, from inside the shoe. Rather than the CMEVA beign glued onto the last, the upper is made deeper, the rubber attached to the last like a fencing shoe. But now the upper is so deep it allows the cmeva to be removed like an insole.

FF

academe · 10-31-2007, 06:57 AM

FYI FF: The last is the form (based on a model of the foot) that the shoe is constructed around. It is what gives a shoe a certain shape. The upper is the part of the shoe that you are calling the last.

fatfencer · 10-31-2007, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by academe

FYI FF: The last is the form (based on a model of the foot) that the shoe is constructed around. It is what gives a shoe a certain shape. The upper is the part of the shoe that you are calling the last.

No no, the last is what the CMEVA is glued onto.. its the bottom surface that the upper is sewed onto. The upper is the cloth part of the she with all the designs on it.

FF

academe · 10-31-2007, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatfencer

No no, the last is what the CMEVA is glued onto.. its the bottom surface that the upper is sewed onto. The upper is the cloth part of the she with all the designs on it.
FF

<sarcasm> Gosh, I guess you know way more than I do about shoes and how they are made...silly me...

</sarcasm>

Do some research...a simple google search "definition shoe last" might be interesting...