Vibram Five-Finger Shoes

[cerebus]

Heh, heh. Wouldn't wanna be wearing those if attacked by someone wearing workboots. They might just "riverdance" your toes into non-existence...

[cerebus]

It'd be interesting to see what Parkour peeps could do with those...

[ashe]

i've actually been considering moving in this direction for awhile now. i wear nike free's at work, which still have a modest heel lift and some nice cushion. since i'm on rock hard, perfectly flat concrete all day i still need some cushion. but out of work i mostly wear sandals.

i naturally have very wide feet anyway. my nike free's are size 13.5 and are actually a touch small, but i've worn new balance shoes in a 10.5 but QUADRUPLE WIDE! anyway, the point is my boys have the "higgs" hands and feet. i.e. rather meaty, and since my wife and i are dirty, dirty hippies we've always encouraged a barefoot lifestyle as much as possible around the house and putting the kids in sandals when we go out. the result is my oldest boys feet look VERY much like the images of those from the barefoot cultures listed in the article. i'll post a pic later.

my daughters feet are still more slender looking though, but

[fuga]

I think there is something definitely to be said for the barefoot experience. We don't wear any shoes in the house, and mostly hoof around in flip flops. And now that I'm doing BJJ almost all my training is done barefoot.

I've thought about the Five Finger Shoes, but I would think my feet would get too hot.

I've read that high heels compress the spine of women who wear them. Does anyone know whether there have been similar studies on lower heels like one finds in running shoes or whether all the cushioning impacts the ability to use the leg muscles to respond and adjust.

It's also interesting that those classic chinese cloth shoes pretty much have little cushioning.

[Butterball]

I think there is something definitely to be said for the barefoot experience. We don't wear any shoes in the house, and mostly hoof around in flip flops. And now that I'm doing BJJ almost all my training is done barefoot.

I've thought about the Five Finger Shoes, but I would think my feet would get too hot.

I've read that high heels compress the spine of women who wear them. Does anyone know whether there have been similar studies on lower heels like one finds in running shoes or whether all the cushioning impacts the ability to use the leg muscles to respond and adjust.

It's also interesting that those classic chinese cloth shoes pretty much have little cushioning.

I don't have any links to any studies, but I've been reading alot about this type of thing for a little while and I think the idea is that the barefoot/less cushioned footwear encourages more sensitivity in your feet as well as forces you to run more naturally if you are running with these on. Meaning running with the impact more on the ball/middle of the foot than on the heel which heavily cushioned shoes encourage. The theory is that heel striking is what causes the knee/hip/lower back problems that lots of runners complain about and that if you run with no/little cushioning that your body will naturally adjust to a more joint friendly running technique.

I think part of it also is enhancing the toes natural tendency to grasp the ground and move which isn't present in most normal shoes as the toes are usually kind of compressed together and there is little room to move.

That's what I got out of what I've been reading, anyhoo. There is lots of interesting material out there about this stuff. If any of you get the chance, check out "Born to run". It's a pretty interesting book about Ultramarathon runners, specifically about the Tarahumara runners in mexico. Worth reading.

[Butterball]

i've actually been considering moving in this direction for awhile now. i wear nike free's at work, which still have a modest heel lift and some nice cushion. since i'm on rock hard, perfectly flat concrete all day i still need some cushion. but out of work i mostly wear sandals.

i naturally have very wide feet anyway. my nike free's are size 13.5 and are actually a touch small, but i've worn new balance shoes in a 10.5 but QUADRUPLE WIDE! anyway, the point is my boys have the "higgs" hands and feet. i.e. rather meaty, and since my wife and i are dirty, dirty hippies we've always encouraged a barefoot lifestyle as much as possible around the house and putting the kids in sandals when we go out. the result is my oldest boys feet look VERY much like the images of those from the barefoot cultures listed in the article. i'll post a pic later.

my daughters feet are still more slender looking though, but

I run in my Nike Frees fairly often and have enjoyed using them alot. I haven't tried walking around on a regular basis with them as the cushioned heel feels sort of funny when I'm just walking. (I usually wear flip flops in the summer and cheapie velcro shoes in the winter which are padded evenly which is kind of wierd to adjust to also after the summer ends). I'm interested in trying out the Vibrams for trail running or walking, but I don't think I could deal with people asking me about them all the time if I wore them on the street lol. "What the fuck are those?" "Eeeew, it's like you have grey feet" lol

[fuga]

That's what I got out of what I've been reading, anyhoo. There is lots of interesting material out there about this stuff. If any of you get the chance, check out "Born to run". It's a pretty interesting book about Ultramarathon runners, specifically about the Tarahumara runners in mexico. Worth reading.

I'll check it out.

[meeks]

when I first started asian martial arts (karate) when I was 18 we had to do a ritual 'cleansing' of the spirit in January (or February) at the beach in Vancouver. I was numb past my knees from standing in the ocean and then on the cold wet sand practising with the class. Then we had to jog as a group along the sidewalk and I realized that although I was barefoot, I was smashing my heels into the ground as if I was wearing running shoes (we were barefoot in karate gi). This is because I was so numb I couldn't feel the pain of the concrete smashing my heels. Ever since then, I've believed shoes actually trash our bodies and that we should all learn to run barefoot on dirt or grass and then run the same way in a shoe designed for that type of natural body action.

[Bhassler]

I don't have any links to any studies, but I've been reading alot about this type of thing for a little while and I think the idea is that the barefoot/less cushioned footwear encourages more sensitivity in your feet as well as forces you to run more naturally if you are running with these on. Meaning running with the impact more on the ball/middle of the foot than on the heel which heavily cushioned shoes encourage. The theory is that heel striking is what causes the knee/hip/lower back problems that lots of runners complain about and that if you run with no/little cushioning that your body will naturally adjust to a more joint friendly running technique.

I think part of it also is enhancing the toes natural tendency to grasp the ground and move which isn't present in most normal shoes as the toes are usually kind of compressed together and there is little room to move.

That's what I got out of what I've been reading, anyhoo. There is lots of interesting material out there about this stuff. If any of you get the chance, check out "Born to run". It's a pretty interesting book about Ultramarathon runners, specifically about the Tarahumara runners in mexico. Worth reading.

I think that's a pretty good summary of the research-- running shoes have been shown to actually increase running injuries.

One other consideration is that feet were made to adapt to uneven surfaces, so we lose a lot of stimulation and take a lot of extra abuse in our feet spending all of our time on hard, level surfaces.

[Ian]

"We don't wear any shoes in the house"

Man you guys say this like it's a big deal... is wearing shoes in the house a common practice?

Out of the house is another issue though. I don't like seeing people walking around malls barefoot. Only American and Canadian tourists do this in HK. Sorry, but it's true

[fuga]

"We don't wear any shoes in the house"

Man you guys say this like it's a big deal... is wearing shoes in the house a common practice?

Out of the house is another issue though. I don't like seeing people walking around malls barefoot. Only American and Canadian tourists do this in HK. Sorry, but it's true

Wearing shoes in the house is a common practice.

I imagine you are talking about the backpacker hippie type tourists walking around barefoot in the mall, not the overweight 40 year old with the camera strapped around his neck and the moneybelt cinched around his girth.

[TaoJoannes]

I wear shoes when I have to leave the house and go inside some place like the grocery store or a bar or restaurant, or visiting friend's houses. Other than that, barefoot all the way just as the Teacher ape intended.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

as often as i can, my shoes are off.

but not in someone elses gym. lol those places are feckin filthy!

[yusuf]

hey

I bought a pair of these on Ian's linkage (cheers and I got the KSO). They are amazing kit. I wear them whenever I can and can say they have changed my movements for the better. I would also highly recommend them if you have any back problems, they align and relax the lower back withing a couple of days of starting to wear them regularly. The only up/down side is that you get lots of attention, I get asked what they are every time I am wearing them. Mainly by hot Yoga women since I live in a cosmopolitan part of London, but that attention means I would not wear them to some of the more dodgy areas.

Am definitely going to buy another pair since they do wear out quite quickly...

yusuf

[ashe]

hey

I bought a pair of these on Ian's linkage (cheers and I got the KSO). They are amazing kit. I wear them whenever I can and can say they have changed my movements for the better. I would also highly recommend them if you have any back problems, they align and relax the lower back withing a couple of days of starting to wear them regularly. The only up/down side is that you get lots of attention, I get asked what they are every time I am wearing them. Mainly by hot Yoga women since I live in a cosmopolitan part of London

do downside there!