So I have been just walking barefoot recently and I try to incorporate KenBob's techniques while walking so I land initially with my forefoot. I was wondering if I should be landing with my heel first when walking barefoot? What's the consensus about walking barefoot? Should you apply the same techniques as if you were running barefoot?
Walking BF
- Thread starter FNG-OscarMike
- Start date
walking is different
walking is different bio-mechanically....heel should land first...but it's not a "strike"...if you are looking to "walk mindfully" the heel touches down, then the whole foot BEFORE there is any weight on the leg ;-)....then shift the weight, and lift the back foot...but if you are "just walking" heel lands first ;-), but it's still a soft land. You shouldn't FALL into your step.
FYI, these ideas come from my study and practice in taiji (tai chi)...
walking is different bio-mechanically....heel should land first...but it's not a "strike"...if you are looking to "walk mindfully" the heel touches down, then the whole foot BEFORE there is any weight on the leg ;-)....then shift the weight, and lift the back foot...but if you are "just walking" heel lands first ;-), but it's still a soft land. You shouldn't FALL into your step.
FYI, these ideas come from my study and practice in taiji (tai chi)...
If that works for you Ian, I
If that works for you Ian, I would stick with it....but I would question how it feels just a bit...the problem is one of momentum...in running, with the lean, you are "falling" into movement, which makes since for speed, etc....in walking, using momentum increases imbalance...but either running or walking, leading from one's center (navel area) with good posture is probably the most important thing...in running, your center is AHEAD just a bit of your feet, so mechanics suggest (as we know, a fore/mid foot strike)....in walking, the leg goes in front of the body, landing on the forefoot or midfoot here requires one then to set the heel (backward motion) before you can transfer your weight....it doesn't feel natural to me. And everything I've read on meditative walking, taiji walking, etc, supports this....as well as my own practice...
But, once again, to each his own :-D
If that works for you Ian, I would stick with it....but I would question how it feels just a bit...the problem is one of momentum...in running, with the lean, you are "falling" into movement, which makes since for speed, etc....in walking, using momentum increases imbalance...but either running or walking, leading from one's center (navel area) with good posture is probably the most important thing...in running, your center is AHEAD just a bit of your feet, so mechanics suggest (as we know, a fore/mid foot strike)....in walking, the leg goes in front of the body, landing on the forefoot or midfoot here requires one then to set the heel (backward motion) before you can transfer your weight....it doesn't feel natural to me. And everything I've read on meditative walking, taiji walking, etc, supports this....as well as my own practice...
But, once again, to each his own :-D
My theory is that you should
My theory is that you should walk the way that causes the least amount of discomfort. Try walking on a gravely surface and see how your feet land then adjust to the landing that causes the least pain. Then try to emulate that all the time. For me it is exactly the way it lands when I run.
My theory is that you should walk the way that causes the least amount of discomfort. Try walking on a gravely surface and see how your feet land then adjust to the landing that causes the least pain. Then try to emulate that all the time. For me it is exactly the way it lands when I run.
After a year of barefoot
After a year of barefoot living it seems I now walk BF the same way I run BF. I started BFR because I found it the only way I could run without hurting my knees. Over time, I've lightened my step while walking, just as with running, and the result is that I walk with a mid-foot landing and short stride. I have no clue which is more "natural" or "preferred." I just know that this works for me and my knees are thanking me.
BTW -- My walking gait completely baffled my podiatrist. He kept saying, "Interesting. Very interesting." ;-) His fancy computer mat equipment could provide no usable data since it was designed to measure a heel-toe gait. He didn't find fault with it, just intriguing.
Peace,
Karen
After a year of barefoot living it seems I now walk BF the same way I run BF. I started BFR because I found it the only way I could run without hurting my knees. Over time, I've lightened my step while walking, just as with running, and the result is that I walk with a mid-foot landing and short stride. I have no clue which is more "natural" or "preferred." I just know that this works for me and my knees are thanking me.
BTW -- My walking gait completely baffled my podiatrist. He kept saying, "Interesting. Very interesting." ;-) His fancy computer mat equipment could provide no usable data since it was designed to measure a heel-toe gait. He didn't find fault with it, just intriguing.
Peace,
Karen
peacekaren wrote:My walking
Haha thats funny, your off the map and he got " does not compute " the same way shod runners look at us when we run.
I walk all different ways depending on the surface and how fast I'm walking...sometimes its like I run but sometimes its full heel strike walking. Outside on rough surface its like running mostly.
peacekaren said:
Haha thats funny, your off the map and he got " does not compute " the same way shod runners look at us when we run.
I walk all different ways depending on the surface and how fast I'm walking...sometimes its like I run but sometimes its full heel strike walking. Outside on rough surface its like running mostly.
NakedSoleNate wrote: walking
I agree 100% that is exactly the way I walk barefoot. For me it came natural without any study. I studied to run barefoot but I didn't study to walk barefoot I was already a barefoot walker.NakedSoleNate said:
[/quote]I studied to run
[/quote]I studied to run barefoot but I didn't study to walk barefoot I was already a barefoot walker.[/quote]
me too....been walking barefoot most of my life LOL...it was just the study of taiji that made the movement "conscious"
.....Every time I "study" BF running though, it effs me up...while I notice the natural tendency to land fore/mid foot while running, if I pay attention to all that other "stuff" I end up screwing myself....but if I stay with what works for me, due to the years of my other modalities of movement (moving from my center, lifting my legs from my core, keeping my posture erect, knees bent, no "up/down" movement of the torso, staying relaxed--all things we work in kung fu and taiji, as well as yoga) I have no problems with blisters, tofp, no kind of pain (except this recent injury, which I attribute to BF running ONLY because if I wasn't BF, I wouldn't be running...it's more an over-training thing I believe...especially since one of my best friends, a life-long distance runner, did the same thing with shoes on years ago in his training)
The things that have helped me with the running though are the cadence issue, and "not pushing off the feet" issue...forward movement via forward lean at the ankles, using momentum helped as well, as it makes perfect sense to me from my other disciplines.
all that said, while there is a "proper way" for Taiji walking--since we are talking about a martial art and efficiency in that regard--for everyone, I think finding what's comfortable for you is suitable...just because it doesn't make sense to me, doesn't mean it's wrong for anyone else :-D I think we all have a tendency to over analyze just about everything under the sun, instead of relying on our own direct experience.
[/quote]I studied to run barefoot but I didn't study to walk barefoot I was already a barefoot walker.[/quote]
me too....been walking barefoot most of my life LOL...it was just the study of taiji that made the movement "conscious"
.....Every time I "study" BF running though, it effs me up...while I notice the natural tendency to land fore/mid foot while running, if I pay attention to all that other "stuff" I end up screwing myself....but if I stay with what works for me, due to the years of my other modalities of movement (moving from my center, lifting my legs from my core, keeping my posture erect, knees bent, no "up/down" movement of the torso, staying relaxed--all things we work in kung fu and taiji, as well as yoga) I have no problems with blisters, tofp, no kind of pain (except this recent injury, which I attribute to BF running ONLY because if I wasn't BF, I wouldn't be running...it's more an over-training thing I believe...especially since one of my best friends, a life-long distance runner, did the same thing with shoes on years ago in his training)The things that have helped me with the running though are the cadence issue, and "not pushing off the feet" issue...forward movement via forward lean at the ankles, using momentum helped as well, as it makes perfect sense to me from my other disciplines.
all that said, while there is a "proper way" for Taiji walking--since we are talking about a martial art and efficiency in that regard--for everyone, I think finding what's comfortable for you is suitable...just because it doesn't make sense to me, doesn't mean it's wrong for anyone else :-D I think we all have a tendency to over analyze just about everything under the sun, instead of relying on our own direct experience.
Thanks for the input guys, I
Thanks for the input guys, I really never did anything barefoot prior to trying to barefoot run so I think I still need to work out the kinks.
Thanks for the input guys, I really never did anything barefoot prior to trying to barefoot run so I think I still need to work out the kinks.
peacekaren wrote:After a
totally the same for me, (except the podiatrist), running or walking shod hurts my knees and ankles. I usually just try walk forefoot firest, because that seems to use teh butt musecles the most, but really I just try and land as soft as possible and have been alternating landings for a while.... just wanted to post because I've been wondering about how to walk for a while also.
cheers
peacekaren said:
totally the same for me, (except the podiatrist), running or walking shod hurts my knees and ankles. I usually just try walk forefoot firest, because that seems to use teh butt musecles the most, but really I just try and land as soft as possible and have been alternating landings for a while.... just wanted to post because I've been wondering about how to walk for a while also.
cheers
Oops, I never got to my
Oops, I never got to my reason for posting... I tend to ramble... as evinced by this post.
anywho, for me the key to staying pain free is to always keep my knees bent when walking... this looks stupid (i think), but I perfer looking dumb to being in pain. the tradeoff is it seems to take a lot more energy, I dismiss this as building my muscles for running more.
Oops, I never got to my reason for posting... I tend to ramble... as evinced by this post.
anywho, for me the key to staying pain free is to always keep my knees bent when walking... this looks stupid (i think), but I perfer looking dumb to being in pain. the tradeoff is it seems to take a lot more energy, I dismiss this as building my muscles for running more.
Interesting...very
Interesting...very interesting.
For me, it depends on the surface and the incline. Don't know. Never really think about walking. I just do what I've always done. On flat concrete, it's heel to toe normally, but definitely varies with terrain.
Interesting...very interesting.
For me, it depends on the surface and the incline. Don't know. Never really think about walking. I just do what I've always done. On flat concrete, it's heel to toe normally, but definitely varies with terrain.
