Barefoot life

cory

cory

Tree House enthusiast
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I'm barefoot a lot.

Tonite I surprised myself though. We got approx 16" of snow. I shoveled off the deck and sidewalk and snow blowed the driveway in gym shorts and barefoot, took about 2 hours. Walking thru snow up to my knees barefoot was a new experience. I wore a wool hat and fleece neck warmer and 4 torso layers. I was surprised that I was completely comfortable. The feet were too. When I was done, I went inside and they did get a bit itchy so I went back out to garage and walked around on the cold cement floor to lessen the temp change.

That long, barefoot in the snow I wouldn't have thought possible.
 
Cody on Dual Survival supposedly does it all the time: shorts and barefoot, even in winter snow and ice. My toes will freeze through a few layers of socks and boots. Maybe you're cold showers help?

I wouldn't think it possible for people to have a Bare face in temps around 0 to -40
 
cory said:
I'm barefoot a lot.

Tonite I surprised myself though. We got approx 16" of snow. I shoveled off the deck and sidewalk and snow blowed the driveway in gym shorts and barefoot, took about 2 hours. Walking thru snow up to my knees barefoot was a new experience. I wore a wool hat and fleece neck warmer and 4 torso layers. I was surprised that I was completely comfortable. The feet were too. When I was done, I went inside and they did get a bit itchy so I went back out to garage and walked around on the cold cement floor to lessen the temp change.

That long, barefoot in the snow I wouldn't have thought possible.
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awesome
 
We have a fellow in town that has a tree company, used to call him Barefoot Bob. The guy never wore shoes. That was until he stepped on a 3 inch thorn that went through his foot. He wears shoes now and we just refer to him as Bob.

Gosh, I don’t know how you went with out shoes in the snow! I make sure my feet are going to be warm, especially when we drop into in the high 60s, even have socks that allow for the big toe so I can wear my Birkenstocks! If my feet are cold, I am usually freezing.

When we see a guy in shorts and the temp is under 70, we assume that guy is from up north. Even if North means Georgia hahaha
 
This kinda fits in with the cold shower thing, right? Holy crap man, i would be terrified of slipping and running my foot over with the snow blower! I wear boots pretty much everywhere, this time of year i have my knee high mud boots right by the back door for easy on and off all weather protection. I also will wear them anywhere i go, and i don't care how dumb i look either. Wanna see something funny? Me, trying to wear flip flops or sandals, dragging my feet everywhere because i subconsciously think they are falling off. I have a pair of new balance shoes, and a few pairs of dress shoes, but i wear boots 99 percent of the time.
 
Nutball said:
Cody on Dual Survival supposedly does it all the time: shorts and barefoot, even in winter snow and ice. My toes will freeze through a few layers of socks and boots. Maybe you're cold showers help?

I wouldn't think it possible for people to have a Bare face in temps around 0 to -40
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I grow a beard in winter and when it ices over in the cold it helps retain more heat LOL Image 1.jpg Plus saw chips and dust really kick up the R value
 
I trained Kyokushin karate for about 15 years in my youth.
They do a lot of stupid stuff, to "harden your spirit".
One thing we did was go for runs in the snow, barefoot.
We'd do a good warmup first, run around in the dojo, really get the blood racing, then head out for maybe 2 miles in the snow.
Hardly felt cold at all.
Doing kata in the snow is good, too.
 
Pretty hardcore. I used to do stuff like that when I was younger, though I don't remember spending hours in the snow barefoot. I'm a pussy now :^D I'm barefoot around the house, but my feet aren't as tough as they used to be. They feel more generally sensitive with stones and stuff.
 
I ran barefoot way before it became the in thing.
Back in the early 70es I'd go to a 2 week training camp ( Karate) every summer.
Training barefoot on grass for that long, would really wear one's feet out, so I simply started walking and running barefoot to harden the soles of my feet.
Worked really well, by the end of those camps I'd just about be the only one not leaving bloody footprints.

Another thing I gained from it, it turned me into a fore foot runner, which is a much healthier way of running than rolloing over your heel.
 
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Nutball, yeah I dig the whole Cody thing, I wish he was still on tv, dude is a hoot and a half.

vharrison, that is funny about barefoot bob, er, bob. Going barefoot a lot constantly reminds me of the immense level of protection and sometimes traction that footwear provides.

09, yeah, I dig barefootedness but I totally love my work boots too :dude:

Fine pic, Raj

John, it's just a matter of time spent re sole conditioning

Stig, 2 miles in the snow is awesome. I was just reading a book about a modern, current hunter-gatherer type dude, he said he hikes and runs BF in the snow a lot, I basically didn't believe him, figured there had to be a lot of exageration. Doh!

Stig, what surface did you BF run on in the summer? I go BF hiking a lot in the woods and its kinda hard to believe I could run BF there cuz the trail is often rocky and rooty, seems like a perfect recipe for a bad injury. When BF in the woods, I basically don't worry at all about stepping on sharp/harsh things cuz the sole is somewhat conditioned and also you can react quickly to avert serious damage (well, tell that to Barefoot Bob in FL :|:). But the part that scares me, or at least that I'm wary of, is when the foot is swinging forward from it's last step to planting for the next one, there is a surprising amount of energy in that forward swing and if your toes hit something, I think you could easily break a bone. And if running BF, that forward swing would contain even far more energy. So my point is, even though I'm a big fan of BF'g, there's still lots to learn.

Stig, regarding your running BF and becoming a fore foot runner, did you read the book Born to Run? Theres a lot in there on that topic. The book ignited my BF, um ,journey.
 
Aged 20 wento to my grandmother for a visit, was winter and always the story that mum and aunties and uncles not havin shoes until 12 or 13 years old.
So took my shoes off and walked bare foot for a month.
It was starnge the 1st day then you couldnt feel a thing
 
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That's wild!
 
Cory, I've always run on blacktop.
There is so little traffic around where I live, that I used to run at night and just put a light on each of the dogs, different color.
That way, If a car came, I could see it in time to call the dogs to heel.
The year I finally trained for my black belt graduation was the year the Hale-Bob comet was on the sky.

Running in the dark and looking up at that was really special.
That thing was so bright.
I went to a Seminar with one of the old Okinawan masters in Germany, just south of Berlin and passing Berlin, we could still see the comet, despite all the city lights.
 
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Stig, yes, wow, I think black top is defiantly an excellent surface for BF'g because it's plenty abrasive enough to help toughen the soles but it's got no obstacles/irregularities to break your foot.

Btw, that black belt chit is awesome stuff
 
Thats the silliest thing I have ever heard.


Going barefoot....which they did thousands and thousands of years ago....on asphalt.

Asphalt being a fairly modern travel path.

Thats like using a pointy stick to hunt with while wearing a space suit.

Or a cave man using a laser blaster.


Town people are fugging weird.
 
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FireFighterZero said:
Thats the silliest thing I have ever heard.

Going barefoot....which they did thousands and thousands of years ago....on asphalt.
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I honestly, totally dig your perspective. The same general premise occurred to me as I was typing the post.

But I don't have even a tiny problem with it because, imo, as mankind progresses, I think that very often some of the best methods/systems/answers/ways forward involve a blend of old and new, modern and primitive, yin and yang.

One could argue BF on asphalt is no more outlandish than herding cattle via ATV or snowmobile. Or being comfortable outdoors by sitting on LazyBoy furniture. Or living out in the middle of the prairie (where Native Americans used to presumably reign supreme in their buffalo hide tents) while using electricity, oil, and satellite TV
 
cory said:
I honestly, totally dig your perspective. The same general premise occurred to me as I was typing the post.

But I don't have even a tiny problem with it because, imo, as mankind progresses, I think that very often some of the best methods/systems/answers/ways forward involve a blend of old and new, modern and primitive, yin and yang.

One could argue BF on asphalt is no more outlandish than herding cattle via ATV or snowmobile. Or being comfortable outdoors by sitting on LazyBoy furniture. Or living out in the middle of the prairie (where Native Americans used to presumably reign supreme in their buffalo hide tents) while using electricity, oil, and satellite TV
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I bet you were a walking Under Armor bill board while you did it.
 
lxskllr said:
Where would one an emotional support buffalo? Asking for a friend...

<.<
>.>
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They won't let you take em on an airplane anymore....so why bother?

You want a buffalo? I'll get you a buffalo. Believe me there are ways. I'll have you a buffalo by 2 o'clock this afternoon.
With green nail polish....
 
Ooh... Never considered nail polish. That takes it to a whole new level :^O
 
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