Articles on barefoot style running

It is about time I wrote a bit about barefoot running again, so, that I will do.

This week saw little out of the ordinary. I was the senpai/sensei for Monday's iaido, managed again to tie in warm-up with the kata we later did, On Wednesday I was a careless klutz in iaido and managed to cut a small cut in my left middle finger - I will continue to badger everyone lifting a sword that is of less grade than I am to do their noto correctly; with fingers together and good hikite/sayabiki. (That is, the motion of putting the saya back onto the sword). Yes, you can cut yourself even with a mogito (not a shinken) - all you have to do is be careless and find that uttermost part of the tip.
Kali held a few challenges, and some of them I conquered quite well! I am very pleased that my knife-work and -defence is fairly decent for my level. Knife-fighting is definitely one of the things I'm most worried about if I would ever get dragged into one.

The Saturday SecurityFitness Open Mat was great as usual. I suspect I might have possibly impressed the instructor a little when I managed to get in behind his guard and hit him with the knife a few times, but, it wasn't really worth mentioning. I prefer finding out what I can do even better, instead of being complimented on something I did all right mostly by accident. So, a few bruises richer, I then took Saturday off from just about everything. Today I merely took a walk in the sunshine - I have to study, so I can't do much else, though the roads are really clearing up now!

And speaking of that: I want new shoes for running in. And I'd prefer not paying a thousand SEK just because they have a nice brand - I know good shoes are important, but I'm cautious nevertheless. I know what I want, but I can't pay crudloads for it, so if I AM going to buy something, I better read up on it. I'm thinking of finding some sort of running flats.

I ran into a few articles on the matter of barefoot running. There are apparently many styles and gurus and preachers and denigrators out there... and as usual, I try to avoid them. Yes, "Born to Run" is a bit evangelical in tone, but at least it is a fairly engaging read.
Now, this series of articles was made by a professional with a background in physiotherapy, and I'm going to drop you right at the end of the series - here - even though it is in Swedish. The little numbers in brackets lead almost all of them to English-language studies on barefoot- and ordinary running. Some are done by companies, others by those seeking an answer and therefore getting it, and so on. Apply caution!

What the series concludes with, in any case, is with an "it depends". It seems fairly certain that too much padding and oddities in shoes aren't too good, but that few people ought to go straight onto running with actual bare feet. The author runs "barefoot style" a few times a week, but mostly in the heel-down way. He is not convinced by anyone's arguments, but stays somewhere in the middle, with a firm "it depends".
There is a bit about marathon runners, a bit about the choice of shoes and a bit about injuries.
And here comes a, to me, interesting part: barefoot running significantly decreases stress and risk of injury on your knees. That is instead moved to lower down the leg, which can be deflected fairly well by good muscles, careful running and proper shoes for you - yes, you yourself, not anything hyped up. Try those shoes out, and don't just trust what people tell you. Shoes ought not to be constricting, too narrow, and, whenever you can, you should walk barefoot - indoors, for example, doing everyday things.
Some people, when faced with shoes with a thinner sole, began putting their feet down more to the middle of the foot, instead of the heel. This too lessens the strain on the knees and the force of the impact on the ground.

So, there were quite a lot of comments for people who said they'd rediscovered the joy of running, and no longer had trouble with their knees! And then there were those who didn't particularily like it, and were fine with running as usual.

One thing that interested me quite a bit was the talk about changes in performance and "economy of running". That is, the energy expenditure and whether your technique is energy effective... and so on. If I understood it correctly, that is. It seems it requires a wee bit extra expenditure of energy to run barefoot style, which, when it comes to running far, is of course a drawback. But as I do not compete, and run for the sheer joy of it, I find it an interesting detail at most. Something to remember, but not anything I will worry about.

Well, for me, the articles and the tests they referred to didn't change my mind about barefoot style running. It did remind me that "to each their own", but I think it is important to tell people that barefoot style running is an alternative. Maybe it won't be for them, but you can't know until you try, and as long as they go on and try past that first bump in the road that is building up the new muscles for it, I'll accept their declining to continue.

Have you read any articles on barefoot style running, and what positive and negative sides did you find in them? Were they well written, or were they more like propaganda? Did they change your mind?

See you next week!