Athletic shoe

Abstract

An athletic shoe is disclosed that is lightweight and padded for use in mixed martial arts and other related activities. The shoe includes a soft, flexible sole, and a shoe upper adjoined to the flexible sole. Padding is attached to the shoe upper and the sole such that the padding extends substantially completely around the foot of a wearer. At least two resilient sole pads are attached to the flexible sole, the resilient sole pads being positioned at least under the heel and ball of the foot of a wearer, wherein no resilient sole pad is provided under the toes of a wearer.

1 . An athletic shoe, comprising:
 a soft, flexible sole;   a shoe upper adjoined to the flexible sole;   padding attached to the shoe upper and the sole such that the padding extends substantially completely around the foot of a wearer; and   at least two resilient sole pads attached to the flexible sole, the resilient sole pads being positioned at least under the heel and ball of the foot of a wearer, wherein no resilient sole pad is provided under the toes of a wearer.   
     
     
         2 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the resilient sole pads do not extend across the full width of the flexible sole. 
     
     
         3 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the resilient sole pad positioned under the heel of the foot of a wearer does not extend to a rear heel edge of the flexible sole. 
     
     
         4 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the padding in the shoe upper comprises closed cell foam padding extending around a heel area of the wearer. 
     
     
         5 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the padding in the shoe upper is thicker over forward lateral areas of the dorsum of the foot of a wearer. 
     
     
         6 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the shoe upper has a throat, with elastic material provided across the throat. 
     
     
         7 . The athletic shoe of  claim 6 , further comprising a padded tongue disposed under the throat. 
     
     
         8 . The athletic shoe of  claim 6 , wherein the padded tongue has closed-cell padding disposed therein. 
     
     
         9 . The athletic shoe of  claim 6 , further comprising an outer flap extending over the elastic material, the outer flap substantially covering the elastic material. 
     
     
         10 . The athletic shoe of  claim 9 , wherein the outer flap includes a thin layer of closed-cell foam padding. 
     
     
         11 . The athletic shoe of  claim 10 , wherein the thin layer of padding in the outer flap has a thickness of less than approximately 0.5 cm. 
     
     
         12 . The athletic shoe of  claim 9 , wherein the outer flap and the shoe upper include complementary hook and loop fastener material such that the outer flap can be secured to the shoe upper. 
     
     
         13 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , where the resilient sole pads are formed from a material having a shore durometer reading between about 40 and about 50. 
     
     
         14 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the padding in the shoe upper has a durometer of approximately 0.253. 
     
     
         15 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the padding in the shoe upper has a density of between approximately 1.5 pcf and approximately 4.5 pcf. 
     
     
         16 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the padding in the shoe upper has a compression strength of between approximately 3 psi and approximately 23 psi at approximately 25% deflection and a compression strength of between approximately 9 psi and approximately 42 psi at approximately 50% deflection. 
     
     
         17 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the padding in the shoe upper extending over the sides of the dorsum of the wearer's foot has a thickness between approximately 1 cm and approximately 2.5 cm. 
     
     
         18 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the padding around a heel area of the shoe upper has a thickness between approximately 1 cm and approximately 2 cm. 
     
     
         19 . The athletic shoe of  claim 1 , further comprising an elastic wrapping strap designed to be wrapped around the shoe. 
     
     
         20 . The athletic shoe of  claim 19 , wherein the elastic wrapping strap is secured to the shoe at the heel thereof 
     
     
         21 . The athletic shoe of  claim 19 , wherein the elastic wrapping strap is dimensioned to pass between the sole pads when it is wrapped around the shoe.