Bare Foot Training

[Macacoo]

has anyone ever tried it? i have been watching new videos on youtube and there is this guy and he does a lot of bare foot training.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YBR67DMAT0&feature=PlayList&...

does it help in any way?

i think im going to try it or at least use my toe shoes next time i practice.

[Red]

Barefoot training is great. You should really start off just by walking around your yard barefoot, because most of us walk in shoes and bottoms of our feet are really sensitive. But you do get great grip with your bare feet. If you can run and climb with bare feet on broken terrain, then you never have to worry about having enough grip on your shoes.

[greg@bc_parkour]

im the leader of the boston college parkour group, one of the tracuers in the group has been training barefoot in order to build up the strength in his feet so he may be better at parkour with or without shoes... i have had disscussions with him about it and he has said it has been greatly rewarding! the toughness of his feet and overall strength has increased.. he just recently ran a 5K road race barefoot... while training parkour he has slowly progressed as if he was starting with the basics again... this is key! you do not want to push it too much early... you must get used to not having that extra cushion in your shoes... good luck in your training and go slow at first... also i was thinkin about training barefoot myself... well see

[Jonas (ComLink)]

bare footed practice definitely will help you be more gentle with landings and things like that because you dont have pads or anything on your feet but i dont think it is a necessary thing to do.

and to add on to what greg said, you do need to go easy at first, start on grass, then maybe walk then run on pavement, then jump on it. progress.

if you really are interested in it you can look into getting a pair of Vibram Five Fingers
http://www.kayakshed.com/prod/Mens_Five_Fingers_Sprints.cfm?Sale=0
that is a link to the website of one of the pairs they have. im looking to buy that pair for hiking and casual wear, but im probably going to apply it to parkour and hopefully capoeira if i ever get around to finding a class.

[Macacoo]

i own a pair of "sprint"s and im going to start wearing them around in general and do some parkour to get to classes and stuff. i really like Vibram.

[E.rad]

YES train barefoot. it'll do you good ;) just practice low impact movements and be aware of your surroundings.

[Ross]

I have never trained bare footed, but have done a LOT of walking, And pretty much everything else, around without them, and have found that it really does toughen up your feet, which I would find helpful to actually doing parkour without shoes.

[Thane]

The Vibram FiveFingers KSO is a shoe that basically looks like a foot made out of rubber and synth. leather....I tried a pair and it's like being barefoot except you feel safer.

About really being barefoot though, I think it's a great way to train. Personally I never needed to adjust to being barefoot because I up until I was like 15 I LIVED barefoot lol. But adjusting to being barefoot while doing parkour doesn't sound too hard. Just think about how much more dexterity you have with no shoes on! Wearing shoes is like having no toes.

[Macacoo]

so i just finished my first training session with my vibram shoes (essentially barefoot) and man are the bottoms of my feet sore. tho i have learned how to land much softer and how to plant my feet better.

should i train every other day barefoot/vibram shoes or should i do every day?

[greg@bc_parkour]

slow at first! dont hurt your feet before you strengthen them! but yes when ur forced to perfect the basics your feet should strengthen and stop being sore but slow progression is the key in any training... even with shoes... good luck man

[James]

I know how everyone's saying slow, etc, and that's true. I didn't have that issue so much, since I basically use shoes for when I need to go places and pretty much never else. That and that our pool has a horrid concrete (think concrete with 1/2" pointed rocks embedded in the upper surface on a few panels of it) outside, so that helped.

However, as far as I can tell, there are two things to watch out for:
1. Avoid the heels. That seems to me to be a very good way to put way too much impact on yourself. IDK, you might find a running style that works heel-to-toe barefoot, but I haven't.

2. Careful of uneven hard ground. I took an easy drop (a bit under chin height) barefoot a few times without issue. Then one of the times I was unlucky, and landed on one of the bricks that was uneven, such that the raised corner of the brick was about in the middle of the ball of my foot. It hurt to talk for about three weeks, and I still have an unusually strait and perpendicular pair of fold lines in the bottom of my foot.
--Note that my heels never hit the ground; my calves supplied enough to cause the damage.

Moral of the story: Avoid hitting body parts hard, by anatomy or by nasty terrain.

[Steven]

I think that is a very cool idea, its probably as natural as you can get! but im not sure if its the safest idea... so yes, try it with the toe shoes and work from there :] goodluck

[Macacoo]

*dont land on your heels* i found that out fast. lol. i managed to jump over a 5 step set of stairs and didnt hurt my feet. but that was the only time it worked. otherwise i still hurt the balls of feet or toes even. though what i have improved on is movement. barefoot training makes me focus on want im doing more and lets me move more fluidly through my movements.