As confusing as it is to call something barefoot when it's obviously not, the issue gets even worse when people tell their friends, "Wearing (fill in the blank minimalist footwear) is just like being barefoot." Those of us who subscribe to fully bare feet are often asked, "Why not just wear flip flops? Isn't it the same?" My answer to both of those questions: "No, it's not the same." And let me give an example why.
All of us have cut a finger or had a hang nail in such a way that we've needed to cover a finger tip with a Band Aid-like bandage. It protects the injury and promotes healing, but it also does something else: It screws up our hands! Ever tried typing with a bandage on the tip of your index finger? It's weird. You don't like it. Beyond typing, you automatically adjust how you use your fingers and hands based on that one little bandage. Your index finger may still work perfectly fine. Your fingers may still be able to flex, bend and move just as before. But with a bandage on it's still...different...and wrong.What's changed so drastically just by adding that small bandage? Sensation. You can no longer feel things with your fingertip. The digit may bend and move like normal, but the cut-off sensation between you and what your touching is difficult to handle.
The muted sensation when wearing a bandage for a cut finger is the same muted sensation when wearing minimalist footwear or flip flops. Sure, your feet may be flexible in VFFs and have no cushioning. Yes, feet are generally exposed to all elements in flip flops. But the key difference between that footwear -- any footwear -- and going barefoot is the lack of sensation between our soles and the ground.
Don't believe me? Try this: Grab a box of cheap bandages and wrap them around the tips of all 10 of your fingers. Next, just do what you normally do. Type on the computer. Use the restroom. Eat a meal. I have a feeling that it won't be long before you're itching to take the things off because you can't "feel" anything. Remember: There's nothing wrong with your fingers. Your hands can flex just as well as normal. They can breathe just as well as normal. It's just that there's no sensation where it matters most. You've put "flip flops" on your fingers.
I'd estimate that ground sensation is at least half of the benefit of going barefoot for me. I do enjoy my feet not being cramped inside stiff shoes and I like the fact that I don't have to rely on cushioning, but no matter what footwear I put on I'm always missing 50% of the experience of bare feet. I like a Tweet that Daniel Howell, PhD, author of The Barefoot Book, posted a little while back. Paraphrased, it went something like this:
"To those who say running in minimalist footwear is like running barefoot, I welcome you to actually run barefoot and then say that it's the same."The media and others -- including minimalist footwear manufacturers -- need to stop calling those products "barefoot." They're not and never will be. I don't have anything against this footwear as tools for protecting the feet or keeping them warm as necessary, but "barefoot" they are not.
What do you think of calling minimalist footwear "barefoot" shoes? Do you ever go fully barefoot outside your home or do you wear minimalist footwear? Is my comparison between finger bandages and flip flops on or off the mark? Please leave your comments in the section below. Thanks for reading!
Totally, totally agree!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. Sometimes I have to say, pointedly: "When I say I run barefoot that means my feet are bare."
ReplyDeleteIt confuses me to think I can have something on my feet and say I am barefoot. I guess it would be akin to skinny dipping while wearing my swim suit.
I care not whether something is between me and the asphalt or the cement. The only thing I am interested in is whether or not my feet are allowed to spread out and flex. I don't run on bare ground since there is very little in the city. (The "bare" ground outside the city is mostly covered in mesquite and cactus and is private property.)
ReplyDeleteI never claim to be a "barefoot" runner. If I talk about it at all I am a "minimalist" runner and then I have to explain which is why I usually don't talk about it. Whether or not the philistines understand is of no interest to me.
Phocion Timon
Midland, Texas
Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteI will still call VFF 'barefoot shoes' to my customers in regards to the mechanical effect. I would not for others minimalist shoes that do generate a too different movement compared to being barefoot- but might still recommend them depending on the client and occasion. Flip flops modify the movement so much that can be worse that nowadays shoes. You are very right that 'being like barefoot' implies you are actually not barefoot. This is actually a very important point for VFF you are not actually really barefoot.
Respect for those who run barefoot.
Great Post Michael! I love the analogy of the bandaids on one's fingers to illustrate your point. I often use the rubber glove analogy to illustrate the same point.
ReplyDeleteI'm re-posting this on my blog...
The comparison is right on the money!
ReplyDeleteWhen someone says something to me about bare feet being in danger, I use a similar comparison: Why dont you wear gloves all the time? Your hands get dirty, bacteria, run the risk of getting cuts, burns, etc (in fact, i believe EVEN MORE risks than i take with my bare feet!!). The answer, I believe, is because you require the sensation to do things with dexterity and efficiency!
Even chefs dont use gloves because they need precise handling to cut and handle and spice DESPITE the many risks of the kitchen.
You use gloves or protective gear when it is truly warranted, most activity does not warrant shoes.
I agree totally as well, totally barefeet is the greatest, then I would say comes raramuri huarache sandals, then the rest of minimalist footwear.
ReplyDeleteHi Michael,
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that running barefoot is certainly DIFFERENT than running with "minimalist" shoes like VFFs (which is what I run in), I think barefooters have a hard time proving that barefoot running is better for one's health. I'm always striving to live the healthiest lifestyle possible, and am willing to change just about anything that I discover is hurting me, like eating the wrong foods, or running with the wrong form.
However, running barefoot, as you have pointed out, is a preference, pure and simple, for those who prefer to feel the ground underneath their feet, not really a health issue. I don't think it's "the same" as minimalist shoes, but that doesn't mean running barefoot is beneficial to health in the same ways that moving from traditional running shoes to minimalist shoes is beneficial. In the latter, there is a measurable biomechanical benefit to getting rid of clunky "cast" shoes.
Until I'm convinced that running or walking barefoot is better for my health, I think I'll stick with my VFFs.
Still like your enthusiasm for the subject, and that you bring awareness to the issue for many more-uninformed people. Also like the re-design of your blog!
Allison
I completely agree. There are differences between minimalist footwear and going bare foot. And, they are major or minor depending upon how you look at it.
ReplyDeletefirst, as you clearly demonstrate with your bandage example, i would say that all forms of footwear affect the gait, which then affects the whole body/movement. It is a big deal. Even socks change the way one's foot moves.
But with this, comes the statement that "if you are going to cover"--and some people always will for whatever reasons--then some things are better than others.
VFFs and it's cousins, as well as huarachis and other minimalist sandals, allow for movement much closer to the ways our feet function, when other shoes do not. In addition, though, they actually do not have as negative an effect on the gait as other shoes do--even flip flops.
For me, flip flops are really terrible shoes because you have to hold your foot in a certain way to keep them on, which dramatically affects the gait itself. The foot might be moving in a relatively normal way (eg, no arch support, so strengthening there and such), but because the body is also trying to hold onto the shoe itself, the gait is actually rather insane.
It's similar to wearing stilletos, actually--not that the gait is the same in both kinds of shoes, but rather that both *greatly* affect the gait.
minimalist shoes do this--well, minimally. they bring the foot and the gait back into more normal patterns.
Still, i grant, it is not *the same* as being bare foot.
For my own part, I think that for people who have qualms with going barefoot (whatever those may be, and they can be varied), minimalist footwear is their healthiest option.
I think it also has a place who are transitioning to barefooting--who are moving toward more and more time barefoot, but may have concerns that they need to work through before going barefoot entirely.
and finally, i think that for those people who live barefoot, minimalist footwear can be a great option when the days are cold, or when the terrain is particularly rough, or the circumstances may demand it (eg, a wedding or church or some such).
At the end of the day, while the footwear is not barefooting, it does have it's place as part of the process.
I agree with Jenifer, basically. While I also agree with Michael, barefoot footwear is certainly not the same as actually being barefoot, I don't have a problem with the term "barefoot footwear". It makes sense to me.
ReplyDeleteYou could call it "barefoot-like" footwear or "barefoot-esque" footwear, and it would be more accurate. But it just doesn't sound good.
Barefoot Footwear or Barefoot Shoes makes you think of exactly what is intended. Since it's an oxymoron (you can't be barefoot and wearing shoes at the same time) I don't think it creates much confusion for people. On the contrary, it creates the image in their of exactly what you intended.
I disagree with Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteI am invedstigating the barefoot lifestyle after learning about earthing. That philosophy is that our feet benefit from direct contact with the earth for grounding purposes. The rubber based soles of, for instance, VFF's are insulators that prevent us from being able to connect to the natural electrical force of the earth.
Carol
As a movement coach and naturalist, I completely agree. Go barefoot when you can for optimal, natural gait and it's multiple benefits to overall health, body, mind, spirit, heart & soul including electromagnetic grounding to neutralize free radicals. Use minimalist shoes if/when you absolutely cannot be barefoot.
ReplyDelete