Extended Version Pt. 1 - Stop Being a Newbie & Start Training Barefoot!

[PycckuuOrel94]

Thank you!!! I have been wondering what type of shoes I should get for pk for several months now!!! bye bye old sneakers!!!

[danecookisawesome888]

so. question. i'm looking into buying barefoot running shoes, but i don't have the money quite yet. while looking around at prices, i found a neat alternative. someone basically took a pair of aqua socks and removed the insoles. are these good enough until i can afford a good pair? or even better... are they a good pair that i could use for a long time? haha. thanks in advance!

[DemonDrills]

@danecookisawesome888 I have never tried that. Let me know how it works!

[RichJayWar1994]

I sprained my ankle 6 months ago, haven't trained seriously since. Should I switch to these barefoot shoes now in my everyday life, or just when I'm training?

[DemonDrills]

@RichJayWar1994 I would only wear them for warm ups or every day activities. Part 2 of this video explains why. :)

[califfguzman]

Hi,

This video made me throw away my bigger sneakers.

thank you :)

[afran17]

top comment? am i being punked, because i was completely serious..

[blue2kid3]

Vivo is taking a long time to reply so what vivobarefoot shoes model are the best for Parkour and running?

[DemonDrills]

@blue2kid3 Aqua Lites.

[rod213]

@anarchopk alright. slow and steady is always a good thing. thanks! :)

[afran17]

so would Chuck Taylors be a good shoe to train in?

[DemonDrills]

@afran17 They are decent shoes except the soles are a bit too thick and not very flexible.

[anarchopk]

i also realized that the point on running shoes where the side of the shoe meets the base of the shoe is a fulcrum point, meaning that they actually increase your chance of spraining your ankle because it won't allow your muscles to stop that from happening like they are designed to do. i used to have ankle injuries all the time growing up and basically until i switched to barefoot shoes, now i never roll my ankle and the muscles around my ankles and knees are much stronger.

[rod213]

sorry that this is out of topic but are thin shoes suitable for basketball as well?

[anarchopk]

@rod213 i feel like my jumping and running has greatly improved in parkour so i'd imagine that's transferable to other sports too but make sure to take the transition slow from regular shoes to the thin soled shoes.

[TheFlyingTwinkies]

The problem with advice like this is that if some of this people have a low collapsed arch or flat feet they lack the biomechanical shock absorption properties needed to properly disperse the g forces applied during an activity like parkour or free rrunning, they would need to slowly adapt from working ankle and arch strengthening exercises down to less and less support until they have developed enough strength in their foot and ankle to begin barefoot training. To just throw them into is insane

[VitalBalanceChiro]

@TheFlyingTwinkies You must not have watched the entire video/s ;). We discuss this.

[GravityFree29]

i have lowish arches. how do i fix/is that a problem?

[unknownmovement]

@pkfrmedia Haha good to see you comment on video andrew :D Big fan of you! Cant wait for that video to show up... You see i'm already having knee problems for about 4 years (when i started) and i have tryed ALOT. Special shoes, fysio etc. but then this popped up and i am actually willing to give it a try since it makes alot of sence and seeing ur comment motivates me too i guess i will have a look at those Feiyue's

[pkfrmedia]

@unknownmovement Thank you! Beautiful shoes and they're cheap. Make sure to condition. Conditioning is key. If your body can't handle what you're doing, well, let's say you won't be doing what you are doing much longer. Like I said, start small and work your way up to barefoot. If you would like to talk more, feel free to send me a message, I'd be glad to help!

[mdeads100]

What are those black shoes

[longhillrocker12]

almost 2 years ago i fractured and chipped my talus bone (there's still a small piece of bone in my ankle). after it healed i started working on/paying more attention to my landings a lot more and now i train in feiyues and am able to take most landings well and properly. im gonna def start these titanium ankle exercises though, should be good for my right ankle.

[ToddColumbNZFR]

This is a very one sided interview. As there are heaps of possitives on wearing running shoes aswell....

[DemonDrills]

@ToddColumbNZFR Like?

[ToddColumbNZFR]

I'm not a doctor so couldn't say... lol I should of said " I'm sure there are possitives on wearing running shoes aswell"....... Watched part to and you mentioned one postive of running shoes when it came to the big jumps..

Also just wondering do running shoes prevent bone jarring more so than barefoot running??

[ericds33]

@ToddColumbNZFR

No. Barefoot actually prevents this through shock redistribution and other things. Google "running barefoot Harvard" and look through the information.

[RedOctagonStudios]

@DemonDrills The most immediate thing I can think of is not getting your foot cut up if you step on something sharp you didn't see...

[TheTraceurBoy]

My problem is that whenever I train barefoot or use thin shoes (even just for running), I get really bad pains in my shins after a few days. "Shin Splints", I believe- how do I avoid these so that I can start training with thinner shoes?

[SolomonRiversage]

@TheTraceurBoy If you are heel striking in your landings or your running you have to stop, and also just decrease the amount of impact you are taking in your landings. Also conditioning your feet and legs will help heaps.

[DemonDrills]

@TheTraceurBoy You probably need to take it slower. Limit yourself to just walking in barefoot shoes. Or just do your warm up in them.

[RafeKelley]

@TheTraceurBoy

If you are getting shin splints you are most likely still heel striking and also striding with your foot to far in front of your body. Running in a minimalist shoe or barefoot helps cue you to run properly but it doesn't always fix the problem. Video tape yourself running see how far your foot is landing in front of you the further your foot is in front of your body the more impact your experiencing, Train to land with good posture and your foot directly underneath you.

[anarchopk]

@TheTraceurBoy and make sure you're stretching a lot too. after a while, you're feet will get used to the shoes and you'll feel a lot more strength around your ankle and knee joints.

[zohan007]

@TheTraceurBoy If your not running on the balls of your feet(heel striking) that will cause pain in your shins. If you are training barefoot/minimalist shoe you should not be striking with your heel when you run, shift the point of contact to around the ball of your foot. Your shins will feel much better and it will strengthen your calves as well. The only downside to this that I've found so far is your calves will be sore when you first start training.

[tvgee95]

ha. way ahead of you, been goin barefoot since middle school :) but still thanks for letting us know more! keep up the demon drill vids!!

[rdcpatches0]

I always used to train barefoot in the summers, i live on the east coast and there's not many open gyms at the time(luckily i live near a cool place called Pinnacle now), but i always had a different motive then strengthening my feet and ankles. I, and it honestly works, I always had the idea if you can do a jump bare foot or you can do a climb barefoot you can do it 10 times better with shoe protection. it always worked for me.

[Julesnathan]

Great video but come on... a "barefoot islander from a 3rd world country?" I'm from Hawai'i which is part of your country, and we go barefoot all the time. No offense taken. Love the demon drills vids!

[swinginstyle]

The first thing I heard from Ken when I sprained my ankle: it's a good thing you were wearing your Vivos, otherwise it would have been much worse. I've wearing these nonstop during my world travels- hiking, long city walks, crossfit training, and teaching dance workshops. Barefoot is the way to go. Thanks DemonDrills and Vital Balance for posting this.

[UchihaDemon24]

What are those thin black shoes called? They're really nice. Overall, this video is very informative and more people should know the benefits about barefoot training. I'm about two-three weeks in of training barefoot and it's awesome.

[DemonDrills]

@UchihaDemon24 Aqua Lites by Vivo Barefoot.

[GravityFree29]

@DemonDrills where can i buy them?

[VitalBalanceChiro]

@ImogenMystline Dropping 1.5 M to concrete isn't natural. It's better not to do the drop at all if you can't do it barefoot.

@unknownmovement most people due to early shoe wear have flat feet in the US now, so yes, it applies to you. However, legally I can't countermand any doctor's orders.

@MarkRileyParkour Turf toe is just a sprain of the big toe. Just like any sprain, don't re-injure it, rest, you can take it for extra support, and stop spraining it.

[ohsnapitsBRYC3]

QUESTION! How do you feel about Kalenji eikidens 50? I currently wear those and they feel very thin and get even thinner after about 2 months of training.

[Xyphyrus]

Been trying to look into good pairs of shoes for barefoot running, what would be some good shoes when it comes to training parkour and are barefoot style shoes?

Would 5.10 daecents or warhawks be any good?

[ImogenMystline]

I think its good to train barefoot but i don´think that it´s healthy for your foot to do like 1,5m drops down to concrete. You know what i mean?

The concrete isn´t something natural. 

[therealorberon]

the shot around 7:46 is quite awkward lol. Since there's nothing to show and tell. But great education non or less.

[unknownmovement]

Look I'D REALLY appreciate of someone would reply to this: I have a littlebit flat feet and my feet are bending outwards and knees still normal, i have been having knee problems for 4 years now since i started training basically... Tendonitis and a bunch of other stuff. I was wondering if this still works for people like me with flatfeet etc.? otherwise i'll start training barefeet right away! BTW i also have the ankle stuff he talks about pain on the side and upperside.

THANKS!

[MaximumZorbtion]

@unknownmovement With tendinitis you really just have to rest your knee for about 1-2 months. No exceptions. Tendons take fucking forever to heal because of the minimal blood flow to them. To give you an idea about how slow it is, bones heal faster than tendons.

[unknownmovement]

@MaximumZorbtion Yeah i know... but that wasn't my question I have no tendonitis at this point... i'd just like to know if training barefeet would also work out for people with my conditions as mention below: feet bending outward etc. And if i would still have to wear my ortopedic support soles (if you say it like that)

[MaximumZorbtion]

@unknownmovement Pronating and flat feet can be corrected through self-discipline and barefoot-esque training. Learn to correct your natural walking style before you move on to the flat foot thing:

1. Pronating requires you to rework your muscle-memory pathways, so you concentrate on walking dead straight *every* single time you walk, just as if you are learning how to write, you need to focus and fine-tune every movement until it becomes natural.

[MaximumZorbtion]

@MaximumZorbtion 2. Flat feet require less intense-mental-focus to combat, after correcting the pronation, you can start the barefoot stuff, the idea is to place each foot down, balls of the feet first, as if you would if you were gingerly walking through a lawn full of prickles. Back in the shoe-free days, people didn't naturally slam their heels into the ground as they ran and walked. Proper form! Modern sneakers have cushions in their heels... big mistake.

[unknownmovement]

@MaximumZorbtion THANKS ALOT for replying, And still one question left: u tell me that i need to walk straight now ( my feet are pointing outwards quite ALOT) but if i do so that means my knees will be facing inwards... so does this still aply in this case? And if i would wear the shoes (bendable ones, without padding etc) would i still have to wear my ortophedic soles in them?

Thank you very much!

[MaximumZorbtion]

@unknownmovement Im not all that sure about the orthopaedic soles, once you establish the muscle tone, and force yourself to engage all your foot muscles as you walk, your actual need for them will be gone. But in the mean time, I wouldnt recommend a full transition to zero support. As for the knees, eventually they will sort themselves out to work with your new walking style. You will have to treat your knees like glass when you train, however, but only til you have adjusted

[MarkRileyParkour]

Does Dr Kao have any advice specific to parkour training for recovering from turf toe?

[Tullaris666]

now this gets my highly motivated :D

[Havagrim]

Great stuff. Ive been training barefoot for some time now, both parkour and also alot of running. Ran my first marathon last year, and I actually did it barefoot. Went great, and I ended up running another one a couple of weeks later, and Im runnning again this year. No injuries, and I have actually had less problems since I started barefoot training, then I used to have when I only trained in shoes.. Keep it up, and nice to see the barefoot promotion from you Ryan! Keep up your great work!

[LibJumper]

I spent thousands on medication, chiros and physios to help with knee pain. Walking, trekking and training barefoot completely stopped this. I now use fivefingers as my only casual/training shoes.

[bgcorporation]

What an excellent video. Thank you very much for making an awesome video.

[1ableL0]

So if I get this right, it´s better to train in flat shoes than in sneakers?

[CWSSje]

@CaptainKing48 just search up "Dogen's Titanium Ankles ":D

[Brinemusic]

Thank you for this video! Totally has changed my out look on training with barefeet now.. Genius!!!!!

[LordNokturne]

Nice vid. It's been too long since I've trained barefoot.

[CaptainKing48]

Titanium ankles link Ryan! C'mon :P