adidas Taekwondo review

We are convinced that the adidas Taekwondo is an appealing option for people who:

• are tired of chunky platforms and need a sleek and feminine silhouette
• are looking for the next 'it' after adidas Samba
• could use the convenience of a slip-on shoe
• want a minimalist kick that packs a bit more comfort for long wear

If you have wide feet, bunions, or simply can't tolerate snug-fitting shoes, the Taekwondo won't be the most comfortable option for day-to-day use. Unfortunately, the same is true for most minimalist shoes, so you may need to turn to more substantial trainers for a roomier fit.

Another obvious reason to look away from this adidas sneaker is its lack of proper shock absorption for all-day use. The New Balance 204L, the Nike Ava Rover, and the New Balance 327 are among the lightest trainers we've tested that offer fantastic impact protection.

A polar opposite of chunky dad trainers, the adidas Taekwondo is built on an extremely minimal sole. So, it's no wonder that its shock absorption is limited to only 63 SA.

But even though it looks more low-profile than the adidas Samba, our lab tests confirmed that the Taekwondo actually provides 35% more impact protection than its popular counterpart! That makes it surprisingly more comfortable for spending several hours on the foot compared to similar adidas silhouettes.

Because there is practically no foam to create a rebound effect, it is only reasonable that the Taekwondo has a low energy return of 42.8%. It is built to feel grounded, and, as a result, somewhat flat and dull.

Cutting the shoe in half allowed us to measure its heel stack precisely with a digital calliper and compare it with that of similar trainers.

Showing 23.4 mm in the heel, it turned out to be on par with the adidas Gazelle (23.3 mm) and the adidas Stan Smith (23.7 mm). But it's actually a few millimetres thicker than the Samba (19.3 mm).

But with a forefoot stack of 15.7 mm, the Taekwondo surpasses all of adidas' terrace trainers, offering notably more cushioning under the ball of the foot and the toe joints.

The difference in stack heights, therefore, showed a moderate heel-to-toe drop of 7.7 mm in the Taekwondo.

Neither too flat nor too elevated, it places the foot in a neutral position that doesn't interfere with natural foot biomechanics while offering a touch of support for the Achilles and calves.

So what's the secret to Taekwondo's more comfortable step-in feel compared to the Samba and other low-profile kicks? The presence of a full-length EVA foam!

But let's be clear, it is still a rather firm foam with very little give. It proved to be harder than the average sneaker foam with a high durometer reading of 62.3 AC.

But no matter how hard the foam gets, it is still more forgiving than rubber. And as you can see in the comparison photo below, both the Samba and the Gazelle rely on rubber soles with hollow sections rather than EVA for cushioning.

Sitting in the cross-section of a terrace sneaker, a ballet flat, and a martial-arts shoe, the Taekwondo is destined to fit like a glove. And as our one-to-one gel mould showed, it indeed does!

This adidas shoe clearly favours narrow-to-medium feet, measuring only 89.0 mm at the widest point of the forefoot. Expect it to fit similarly to the Samba, which is notably tighter than the average sneaker.

A close-fitting toebox matches the rest of the Taekwondo's snug fit. But thankfully, it's no more aggressively tapered than the average lifestyle sneaker, measuring 67.6 mm at the big toe.

However, this adidas kick can cause some discomfort on top of the toes due to its unusually limited vertical space.

With a toebox height of only 22.4 mm, we wouldn't recommend it to people who are sensitive to toe crowding and toenail irritation.

Featuring an old-school gum rubber outsole, the adidas Taekwondo exhibits unbelievable grip even on wet concrete! With a whopping CoF of 0.92, we were impressed by the friction its heel generated in our traction testing machine!

And the curious thing is, the shoe doesn't even feature any complicated tread patterns. It's just a flat gum surface with shallow undulations and a pivot point in the ball-of-foot area.

That's how the 80/20 rule sometimes works in footwear design.

Requiring a moderate force of 11.7N to bend by 30 degrees, the adidas Taekwondo is more pliable than the average lifestyle sneaker, and it feels quite forgiving on the foot.

But on the other hand, it is significantly stiffer than most other Samba-like silhouettes because its sole is a little thicker in the forefoot.

An all-leather shoe that disappears on the foot? Yes, please!

At only 10.6 oz (301g) per shoe in a men's US size 9, it is notably lighter than average, even among minimalist trainers!

The adidas Taekwondo's base model, which we tested in the lab, features an all-leather upper with no mesh inserts, ventilation pores, or any other visible sources of ventilation. And yet, the shoe surprised us with excellent breathability!

With an above-average result of 82 BR, its materials demonstrated highly effective sweat management, pulling moisture away from the skin quickly enough to keep the foot fresh and dry. Especially if you are wearing it for only a few hours at a time.

However, longer periods of wear can start causing trouble because leather cannot evaporate accumulated moisture quite as quickly as mesh or textile.

After exposing the Taekwondo to artificial sweat on a heated footform in a special chamber for 3 hours, we found that it had released only 25% of the moisture collected. That's a rather slow drying time for a casual sneaker, which can lead to sweat seeping back into the socks during long walks and all-day wear.

It's nearly impossible to feel unstable in a minimalist sneaker like the Taekwondo.

However, people with prominent overpronation may still find their feet and ankles rolling inwards due to the shoe's ultra-narrow base and lack of supportive overlays. For a similar silhouette with more arch support, we highly recommend the adidas Handball Spezial.

But folks with neutral pronation or even mild overpronation should not have any issues with this adidas sneaker. Our torsional rigidity test showed that at 17.4 Nm, it has sufficient structural integrity through the midfoot to provide basic support.

Applying pressure to the Taekwondo's heel counter, we found it slightly more pliable than the Samba's. Thus, on a 1-5 stiffness scale, we rated it as 2.

It's not too rigid to aggravate the heel bone but offers a touch of support in the rearfoot.

The adidas Taekwondo has the slimmest midsole we've ever seen on a lifestyle sneaker! And that's what gives the shoe its distinctly low-profile vibe.

The widest part of its forefoot measures as narrow as 91.9 mm, making it even narrower than the adidas SL 72 (95.1 mm).

And at only 61.0 mm, the shoe's heel also contributes to the kick's remarkably slender silhouette.

Although it's not premium leather, our burn test confirmed that adidas uses real leather for the entire upper of the Taekwondo. Once the silver coating burned away, it revealed a tan, fibrous leather that charred in fire rather than melting or bubbling.

Depending on the version and colorway, the Taekwondo features different upper finishes.

In the silver one we tested, the metallic finish over leather proved quite resistant to the Dremel! But because of visible cosmetic damage, we lowered the shoe's toebox durability score to 3 out of 5.

Meanwhile, the silky lining inside the Taekwondo collar stood up to the challenge with flying colours, earning the highest rating of 5 out of 5 for heel padding durability.

Last but not least, the shoe's gum outsole remained practically unscathed after a gruelling 18-second drilling session! There is no trade-off between grip and durability here, as the damage was only 0.9 mm deep!

As thin as its sole is, this adidas kick still packs enough rubber to withstand long-term use on concrete and asphalt.

A moderate 4.2-mm-thick insole complements Taekwondo's underfoot comfort. It adds a touch of padding without compromising its grounded, minimalist appeal.

The insole is removable too, but we'd be careful with custom orthotics given the shoe's ultra-shallow toebox.

Despite its shiny appearance, the Taekwondo does not reflect light in the dark. At least not in the colorway we got.

The shoe's glove-like design also dictates minimal padding in its collar and tongue. And because there are no laces to cause lace bites on the instep, a moderate tongue thickness of 3.9 mm feels sufficient.

There are no gussets on the sides of the shoe's tongue, but it doesn't feel free-floating either, thanks to Taekwondo's signature lace-cover design.

There is no finger loop on the back of this adidas shoe, but slipping into it feels relatively easy.

We found the adidas Taekwondo to be reasonably priced compared to similar low-profile silhouettes and can confirm that it offers solid value for money.