There are several people at my school who have gotten them recently, and like them. I typically look for any excuse I can find to not wear shoes, so I'm not about to get a pair. But the people who have them seem to like them.

Thanks, guys. I went ahead and got some through a vendor through Amazon.com after all. I guess I never really said WHY I was looking for martial arts shoes. I've got a problem spot on the bottom of my right foot. I believe it's a Morton's neuroma, though I've not had it officially diagnosed. My class trains barefoot on hardwood floors that seem to have been laid over concrete. The second time I went to class we did some jumping moves. Immediately after class that spot on my my foot was too painful to walk on. Every time after, when I've tried to walk barefoot on that floor (and to a lesser degree on the carpet in my apartment) I hurt. I've adapted my running shoes by cutting out a hole in the insole just under the spot that hurts. That has let me both run pain-free and do my job which involves almost constant standing and walking on tile floors for 12 hour shifts. With my teacher's permission, I tried wearing different shoes to class. My running shoes gripped the floor too well and I was constantly in danger of torquing my knee. I tried some jazz dance shoes, but found they did not grip the floor well enough and my feet were constantly sliding even in static stances. My thought was that a smooth-bottomed martial arts shoe would have less grip than a running shoe but more than a dance shoe (more like a slipper!) and might be a happy medium. They arrived yesterday and I am going to try them out today in class. It's pretty simple - I CANNOT train in that school with either bare feet or with sneakers. I injured my knee once before, and never want to do so again. And I must be able to walk. Therefore, these shoes seem like a good answer. I hope. My only other option is to switch to a school that has a thick padded mat to train on. I like this teacher and the price fits my budget... so switching is less than ideal for me. The school I went to in Raleigh had those wonderful thick padded mats and I never had a problem with my feet. I am attempting to bring padding to my feet with the shoes rather than my feet to the padding with mats. Scottaculous - you're right. Most of what I train with/for is not practical self-defense. But I enjoy the activity so much. I don't train for self-defense. I train because I love it.

I'm too practical.

lol! Nothing wrong with being practical! The only martial arts skills I've ever had to use in real life, I've actually had to use quite a number of times: falling down without injuring myself. For some reason I'm more than a bit of a klutz a times. So learning how to fall was a GOOD THING for me.

I have to amend my post from about a month ago. At the time, the people who got the shoes liked them, but wearing them was a recent development. Now, it seems that most of the people who got them are not happy because the shoes are already wearing through. The mats we use are a little bit coarse, but not very coarse. They don't bother my feet, anyway. It doesn't seem like they should be almost useless after less than two months.