What Are Good Wrestling Shoes?
Wrestling shoes have seen tremendous growth in popularity in recent years. This rise in popularity has resulted in people wearing wrestling shoes for weight lifting, cross fit, boxing and other non-wrestling activities. When you put a pair of these shoes, you will see the reason why they have gone mainstream. Today, there are so many different types of wrestling shoe in the market.
It is hence essential that you consider a list of factors to consider to get yourself an ideal wrestling shoe. Wrestling shoes give you your best performance on the mat as you make the winning takedown. This article exclusively goes through what are good wrestling shoes.
The material of Shoes
The perfect shoe material should be durable and lightweight. Some of the best materials include nylon, leather or mesh. They are good at increasing your comfort, speed, and flexibility. Material with good airflow is also a vital aspect that you should look into.
Good wrestling shoes should have perfect ventilation that does not allow build-up of sweat in the shoe. Leather or nylon shoes are the strongest and durable and would be suitable for heavyweight and professional wrestlers. Light wrestlers need shoes that are light to boost the speed of their movements.
The Level of Ankle Support
Wrestlers need to have a firm stance on the mat. This makes the ankle support to be very crucial. For maximum support of the legs and feet, the manufacturers tend to extend the shoe over your ankle. A right wrestling shoe should have relatively high ankle support with the shoe lacing fitting comfortably against your foot, lace garage, and angle. Some of the wrestling rules require the laces to be covered; hence you might be forced to tape the laces if your wrestling shoe does not have a lace garage.
Soles
The shoes have two distinctive types, split and insoles. These soles are suited to different types of wrestlers depending on whether they are lightweights or heavyweights. Heavyweights mostly have their legs on a flat stance on the mat making insoles perfect for them.
You will be able to distribute your weight effectively as you give heavy throws. Split soles, on the other hand, have separate rubber strips ideal for lightweights. The upper strip will give support to the ball of the foot while the lower supports the heel. They allow for flexible and fast movements.
Fit
A wrestling shoe needs to be of the perfect fit. It should mold to your foot the same way socks do. Loose shoes will affect how easily you move around the mat and inconvenient you in terms of speed.
When you go out to shop for a good shoe, you should know that a perfect fit is a half size smaller than your normal athletic shoe size. A lightweight will require a tighter shoe than a heavyweight because they need to be quicker and flexible.
Conclusion
It is essential to buy the right wrestling shoe as it is the essential part of a wrestler kit. A good wrestling shoe should offer you comfort, support, flexibility, and support to ensure you have everything you need to win a match.
