Vibram Five Fingers
Some of you may have noticed my unusual shoes in many of the pictures on my site. I’ve been meaning to post about them for a year or so now but keep forgetting. For the past 2+ years I’ve been wearing Vibram Five Fingers. I’ve got 3 pairs at the moment, and these are the only shoes I wear 99% of the time, for everything from martial arts training and casual wear to mountain trekking and kayaking. They’re the best shoes I’ve ever had in my life, and I can say with certainty that I’ll never wear a pair of tennis/running/hiking shoes again. You can find many more enthusiastic reviews of Five Fingers here at BirthdayShoes.com.
Vibram Five Finger KSO
My preferred model is the KSO (Keep Stuff Out). These are minimalist shoes with VERY thin bottoms. They allow you to grip the ground like no other shoe. Wearing them is like being barefoot, but with protection for the soles of your feet. You need to take some time to adjust to wearing them, as the muscles in your feet are likely to be unnaturally weak due to common shoe designs (a real disaster for your body). The other thing about Five Finger shoes is that they tend to bring you back to walking and moving as your body was meant to. Because there is no padding in the heal, you’ll quit doing a “heal strike” when walking or running, which will dramatically decrease stress on your knees, hips, and back. Most people who wear these shoes not only report stronger feet, better balance, etc., but also knee, hip, and back injuries that disappear. Here’s a great video on the science:
The only time I don’t wear KSO’s is when I’m hiking on steep and rocky mountains. In those cases I wear Treks, as they have better grip for such situations, and a slightly thicker bottom to protect against bruising from sharp edges. The black leather is also a bit better for nicer clothes. 
Ditch whatever shoes you’re currently wearing for martial arts/self defense training, and get yourself a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. You’ll probably end up wearing them all the time, but they’re the best shoes for martial arts training you’ll ever wear.
I love the Vibrams too! I mostly use them when kicking the bag as I find it good to still have some type of footwear on as it protects the bottom of the feet when rotating on the supporting leg. It is also light so it feels like kicking the bag barefoot still. I love using them outdoors as well. I actually recently climbed a big mountain near my place and I was concerned they would be too ‘light’ but they were fantastic. Love them! oh yeah, I have the ‘Sprints’. Will prob get others as well like the KSOs here and robably the classics for more of that barefoot feel.
If you like the Sprints you’ll probably love the KSOs. I started with Sprints but liked the KSOs more as they really do “keep stuff out”. The Treks are also great!