Though I didn't speak Mandarin, I understood what he was demonstrating to me. That power is generated from the hips and core but requires the body to be grounded as it all starts in the feet. In my Nike Air Max running shoes, I might as well have been throwing punches in outer space.
For a deeper understanding of this concept try this:
1. Stand in a park in a throwing stance and without moving your feet, throw a baseball as far as you can.
2. Now get in a deep pool or river and throw a baseball as far as you can while treading water.
So I started wearing the traditional school issued kung fu shoes, which are just a little bit of fabric and a rubber sole. I immediately felt more solid and connected to the ground, more stable and better balanced. I walked 10-20 miles a day and trained hard 6 hours a day in the shoes until the sole wore down enough to go buy a new pair (for 8 dollars). I wore the new ones for a day but decided that the thinner soled shoe felt better and continued to wear them for the rest of my time in China. (Notice in the picture the uneven wear on my right heel. This is a result of a faulty heel strike pattern from being entrapped in tennis shoes my entire life. None of my shoes since China 2008 have this same wear pattern. In the last 3 years I have done some serious rehabilitation work with my bodies structural alignment and gait pattern.)
When I got back to the states I purchased two pairs of the very first model of Vibram FiveFingers, when they only came in three colors. I've been wearing my Classics and KSO's for years now and have been a huge advocate for them convincing hundreds of people of their benefits and how great it feels to be 'barefoot' and connected to the earth.
For years I've toyed with the thought of going completely barefoot, but almost every attempt has left blisters the bottom of my feet, so I keep all natural for only grass, sand, and soil. In the Arizona desert, that limits you to parks. The Arizona desert is not very forgiving on the feet. But wait a second... who else have I heard about walking across the desert nearly barefoot?...This is a rhetorical question and the key word in the question is NEARLY.
The Jesus sandal otherwise called huaraches are now my 'shoe' of choice when I'm not able to go completely nude with my feet. This is the style of shoe that is commonly found throughout history in native tribes around the world for there simplicity to make and high function and performance. Yes I said performance! It doesn't matter what your running times currently are in your shock absorbing, state of the art running shoes, an improper gait and foot strike pattern will lead to debilitating injuries somewhere down the road (pun intended). If you like to run, I suggest you learn how to do it properly by researching the internet on the topic of forefoot walking and running, and/or come to me and I can analyze your current gait and help you realign your body to move more efficiently.
REMEMBER- Regardless of the 'barefoot' shoe you decide to try. Always start with walking before you try to run, this is especially important for well conditioned runners. The conditioned runner wearing running shoes is not ready for the jarring barefoot impact of an improper heel strike pattern that is associated with running shoes. I recommend walking for a couple months before progressing to speed walking for a few months. Then, if so inclined, gently start practicing forefoot running in the park for a few months before thinking about going back to the pavement treadmill. Ideally you wouldn't run on the pavement at all and would stick to grass, dirt, soil, sand, rock...you know, the earth! Enjoy! The earth under your feet is a great feeling!
