"Like Mike"
As a kid I wanted to “be like Mike” and shoot swishes while flashing Nike swooshes.
For back-to-school shopping, it was mostly back-to-boring at Business Depot for stationary basics. However, I remember my siblings and I ALWAYS got a new pair of shoes for gym class, but they were NEVER Nikes. Never, that is, until grade six—my dad “just did it” and bought me my first pair of black and white Nike trainers. My wishes to the goddess Nike for swishes, had finally come true, and after a few tryouts I made the team. However, our team was sponsored by a re-emerging cat named “Puma”, and I wasn’t allowed to wear my new dream-dunking sneakers.
In my athletic and training experiences, shoes were something to specialize in for sport or to add variety to a standard gym uniform. When we first opened our studio, we adopted our favourite minimalist shoes and welcomed students for bodyweight and kettlebell skills practice.
We slowly and permanently have ditched wearing shoes in our training spaces. Most of our students wear socks – many prefer bare feet. Training in bare feet allows the user to feel the interaction between the body and the ground; to work on balance, coordination and dexterity drills for the lower body. Put your left foot in, or left foot up a wall, and follow along with this simple routine for stretch and strength.
Take your time. Wiggle your toes and move your feet and ankles to support a strong and balanced body. Expect your feet to cramp, experience discomfort, and encounter limitations. Explore and strengthen ranges of motion at the feet and ankles to avoid over-use injuries, to build balance, and to play in bare feet like when you were a kid. Like with all new experiences, we recommend you start slow. Practice the basics with consistency to build balance and strength for the entire body.
Today, I love an efficient trip to the mall, but in my youth, I’d slowly meander through the sports stores at the mall. I never bought anything and employees wearing shirts like referees, probably wanted me thrown in a “locker” and it always felt like the athletes wanted me Bata-ed out of their “world”. Instead of heading to the checkout with the newest colour-way in your favourite brand, check in with your feet first. Can your toes grip, articulate and spread? Can your foot point like a ballerina and could it bend or twist like a martial artist? Eliminate the restrictions and take off your shoes. Play for fun, and stay out of the sand. Firm surfaces are recommended to start. Educate your body to the tension necessary for stability, strength and performance.
More importantly, learn to land before you learn to jump and choose the right shoe to help performance. In university, still never having owned a pair of ‘Jordans’, I went to the Nike outlet on the bus from St. Catharines and bought a pair. I wore them back in my room, practicing as I palmed the basketball to help me dunk, thinking the ‘Jordans’ will surely help. However, they were turf shoes, and I was playing basketball on a wood court. After skating around on the court for ten minutes, I retired for the afternoon and returned to the store for a better pair of kicks. I feel like a kid whenever I go shoe shopping. I am so particular, shoes are so expensive, and most times, I leave with nothing.
So, step outside of the malls and peel yourself away from the online carousel of fashion for your feet. Try new skills, play and live in bare feet like when you were a kid.
Henry was over the other day with his family, training in the back yard. We hopped, dribbled, and hung out on the bars, all the while in bare feet. We learned his dad wants to dunk, as his sister worked on her ‘skin the cat’. As they reversed out of the driveway, Lauryn chased after them, flagging them down with a shoe in each hand. “You can’t even imagine how many times we are halfway home from the cottage and Henry realizes he doesn’t have his shoes,” his father told us. Next time you are training, “be like Henry” and go in bare feet. It will feel so good you too, may leave them behind.
