Amazing Uchimura Training Video

[Alvaro Antolinez]

I completly agree with that!. I´m trying to learn now but not easy to do on your own(I have to try with some videos of me running).

I asked because here in Spain is mostly unknown. Some people I´ve been asking who runs and compete marathon and cross, know nothing about running on the balls of your feet. They even say if you do so will have more injuries!!!??. That created some doubts on me I must say. The scarce guys who write in spanish forums about pose or chi methods are atacked because some "knowledgeable people" say that there is no scientific basis for it(spanish sports federations are too much politized and very slow to adopt better methods, the successful coaches usually are working on their own as far as I know).

I supose it will take more time to arrive to the comunity here.(same or worst applies to gymnastics, every time I say Im training with GB I have to expend 20 min refuting old miths).

[Alvaro Antolinez]

An interesting article about the effect of running shoes

http://www.pmrjournal.org/article/PIIS1934148209013677/fulltext#back-bib19

[Joshua Naterman]

WOW, that sounds really tedious and annoying. Sorry you're surrounded by so many closed minds!

[Alvaro Antolinez]

One of the great things I love of the US is that when you see something or someone who has something interesting to offer people turns to him trying to learn. In spain usually envy is the rule, if somebody is doing something great first move is trying to smash him, his ideas or his product. Here works who you know not what you do .

Pd. Don´t take me wrong there are great reasons for living in Spain, but that is not one of them.

[Joshua Naterman]

Outstanding article! For those who aren't going to read it, the short version is that in all planes of motion and all three lower body joints, running shoes actually increase the forces acting on the joints compared to barefoot running. And in the knee, forces are 36% higher when wearing running shoes.

Unscientific conclusion of Slizzardman: Run in Vibram Five Fingers.

[Neal Winkler]

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Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners

Daniel E. Lieberman1, Madhusudhan Venkadesan1,2,8, William A. Werbel3,8, Adam I. Daoud1,8, Susan D’Andrea4, Irene S. Davis5, Robert Ojiambo Mang’Eni6,7 & Yannis Pitsiladis6,7

Humans have engaged in endurance running for millions of years1, but the modern running shoe was not invented until the 1970s. For most of human evolutionary history, runners were either barefoot or wore minimal footwear such as sandals or moccasins with smaller heels and little cushioning relative to modern running shoes. We wondered how runners coped with the impact caused by the foot colliding with the ground before the invention of the modern shoe. Here we show that habitually barefoot endurance runners often land on the fore-foot (fore-foot strike) before bringing down the heel, but they sometimes land with a flat foot (mid-foot strike) or, less often, on the heel (rear-foot strike). In contrast, habitually shod runners mostly rear-foot strike, facilitated by the elevated and cushioned heel of the modern running shoe. Kinematic and kinetic analyses show that even on hard surfaces, barefoot runners who fore-foot strike generate smaller collision forces than shod rear-foot strikers. This difference results primarily from a more plantarflexed foot at landing and more ankle compliance during impact, decreasing the effective mass of the body that collides with the ground. Fore-foot- and mid-foot-strike gaits were probably more common when humans ran barefoot or in minimal shoes, and may protect the feet and lower limbs from some of the impact-related injuries now experienced by a high percentage of runners.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v4 ... 08723.html

[Mark Weaver]

I'll second slizzardman's conclusion. I love my vibram five fingers.

Read Born to Run if you're interested in running barefoot. Has some great chapters on how our bodies are designed, and one on persistence hunting as well.

[Tarun Suri]

I love my vibrams. That and Pose running actually made me develop a bit of an arch (I am so flat footed, the muscle or skin flops o and rounds outwards from the inside center of the foot!

[Joshua Naterman]

Me too, I have size 14 feet American, and the military told me I was getting flat feet lol! I have good arches now from being in the vibrams so much! Though I havent worn them in almost two months because it's been so cold and wet! I can feel the difference...

[Charles Weill]

Though I havent worn them in almost two months because it's been so cold and wet! I can feel the difference...

Check out Terra Plana's Vivo Barefoot selection. My chiropractor recommended them, and I have been wearing them daily for the past seven months. They have a special puncture proof 3mm sole that you can flex with you feet and come in wide sizes. They are tough and promote a barefoot runners technique when running. I highly recommend them.