Shoes that allow easy turning

[cloudedhands]

I need to turn/spin on hardwood floor as well as on low pile carpet.
Which taichi shoes makes this easier? In other words, I'm looking for shoes with low traction, kind of like dance shoes or bowling shoes, but are designed for taichi/kung fu.

I searched online for kungfu shoes and many of them have large ridges on the bottom. They look like they have good traction and would be difficult to turn.

[fchai]

Hi cloudedhands,

On hardwood floors just about any shoes should suffice. Low pile carpet? Seems a strange surface to regularly be practising on. My preference is to always practice in the garden rather than indoors, with the exception of classes where being indoors may be the only option. I normally use sports runners as they are my normal everyday footwear. Why wear kung fu shoes when it is not what is normally the footwear one uses? I've even practised using ankle height outdoor walking boots, as I happened to be wearing them at the time and in the great outdoors. So basically, my opinion is that you should be able to practice in just about any footwear, but adapt to the terrain or surface conditions. So, my humble opinion is to save your money and just wear comfortable flat soled shoes.

Take care,
Frank

[maria.j]

I have always went barefooted for Tai Chi, but having read a lot of posts that flat footwear is best I sometimes wonder if I should try footwear. I turn on the floor fine at the moment and my tutor has no problem with me doing it in my barefeet.

I suppose I never gave it any thought until I started reading some of the comments on here. As I have learned most of the form now I would worry it might do more damage than good.