Thread: barefooting

Well we'd better stop eating if we ever get a stomach upset.

Or stop driving after any fender bender or road accident.

Or stop straight shaving if we ever got nicked while stropping/honing.

Originally Posted by ofelas

Or stop driving after any fender bender or road accident.

I broke my spine in motorcycle accident 12 yrs ago, had major spinal reconstruction surgery and basically I was in and out of hospital for a long time. First thing I did when given the word from the surgeon - straight out and bought a new motorcycle and I have ridden thousands of miles since.

But I still won't go bare foot when there is glass about, or in the park where there are discarded syringes.

Originally Posted by ofelas

Well we'd better stop eating if we ever get a stomach upset.

Or stop driving after any fender bender or road accident.

Or stop straight shaving if we ever got nicked while stropping/honing.

Not a very thought out statement.

If you cut your foot badly while playing or running around barefoot you could just put shoes on and then go back out and play and run around. People try to compare things that don't have any relation way too often to prove a point.

I don't think we need statements evaluating the thoughtfulness or -lessness of another's replies. one may either accept it or not. offering a counterpoint is sufficient as we are each able to evaluate for ourselves what is said.

If anyone has any other interesting bare foot blogs or links that'd be awesome. There is some advice for starting out in the one I provided.

It looks like the Bfers are not unlike us; believing their niche movement offers solutions better than what the mass market advertisers push.

It is interesting; I feel. Is this just a reaction to increasing demands of materialism, conformity, technology, or is it really (potentially) a better and healthier way to live?

And, not unlike us, there are avenues for consumerism: what with the specialized 5 fingers(even for indoors) minimalist shoes and probably more. Which is not exactly full time bare footing but that might require a full on lifestyle change that most of us might find financially difficult. OSHA wont let me do my job bare foot

Originally Posted by kevint

Is this just a reaction to increasing demands of materialism, conformity, technology, or is it really (potentially) a better and healthier way to live?

Probably the key word there is conformity.

In the twenties when my father went to school, the kids that couldn't afford shoes were sometimes issued with boots from one of the charities.
Obviously in those days they weren't enlightened enough to see the wonderful benefits of walking around barefoot. Or maybe they were just ashamed to be singled out as dirt poor.

perhaps only the theosophist were so enlightened: The Barefoot League

When I went to the west to camp with Wilderness Ventures (think NOLS, etc.) they wouldn't let you walk around barefoot because if you got a foot injury out there you're up the creek. Can't walk out, have to carry you out, which would suck for everybody involved. So you wore tevas when it wasn't boots. It kinda stuck with me. I won't really go around barefoot for several reasons. Some I mentioned earlier in this thread. But that one occured to me as well just now.
PS- I am wearing my new five fingers RIGHT NOW!! I am so excited I could pee my pants!

Congrats on your new bare feet shoes. Which ones did you get? What did I get?: 1 ea. of Cody Lundin's two books.

I agree being in remote wilderness is not the place to start training your feet for shodless activity. I see their position as being most related to legal, and customer service, more that a knowledgeable recognition of danger especially to the conditioned foot.

Originally Posted by JB01

PS- I am wearing my new five fingers!

I looked at these earlier in the year after hearing someone extol their virtues on a radio programme.
Snag is that in the UK they are £95-100, approx $150 US. How much are they in the US at the moment?
It seems UK prices are almost robbery.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

I looked at these earlier in the year after hearing someone extol their virtues on a radio programme.
Snag is that in the UK they are £95-100, approx $150 US. How much are they in the US at the moment?
It seems UK prices are almost robbery.

Hi, they're about $60-$70 shipped per pair.

I always walk around barefoot indoors, and do hill sprints & sparring barefoot as well, it really makes us move the way we were meant to.

As far as going barefoot outdoors - I don't wear beads, headbands or john lennon glasses, so aside from the negatives of a trash/disease laden environment, I'd be too embarassed to walk barefoot outdoors.

When I got my first pair of Five Fingers, it was tough to keep a straight face when folks saw them on me at first, but the pros far ouweighed the cons.