how feasible is this? I have a bunch of puzzle mats at my house that we use for lifting weights and grappling, and noticed it had absolutely PERFECT traction for my feet. It's also squishy enough to support jumping. AND it's about the same width as your shoes, so you would be at the same height relative to the net while playing.
Put your bare feet on a puzzle mat. It grips better than official mats and high quality shoes, just without the squeaking.
In that case, then you can expect a lot of blisters. But if you start playing like this, keep us updated as to how it works.
martial arts gyms use these mats everywhere, and they stand up to their rigours of kickboxing and judo (both sports require good traction, and a twisting motion with your feet, especially muay thai).
Badminton has so much more lunging (just imagine going for a net shot or drop shot), how are you feet going to contain the friction?
i just worry that the mat will compress too much that when i land after a jump and about to move laterally i will roll my ankles...but i've never played barefooted let alone on a mat like that, so i'm just speculating...maybe you can set up a court on these mats and play a game and show us the video of it, that would be very cool
the compression actually prevents rolling your ankle, because you have solid contact with the ground at all times. Rolling comes from the space between the bottom of your foot and the ground, which is why the sole of badminton shoes are much thinner than basketball shoes. Now imagine eliminating the shoe altogether? Honestly, the best analogy I can draw is that it would be like trying to do a tight rope walk with sandals on, versus doing it in socks or barefoot. the foot is incredibly complex, and we miss all the NUANCES and POWER EFFICIENCY when we put on a pair of shoes and socks (which cause slippage, and restricted blood flow). Think of the difference of playing at your local rec center and a rubberized competition mat at a private facility. see how much more powerful and controlled your shots are? playing barefoot you can literally feel your individual small muscles articulating power into your legs, especially with your toes. It's not just about more power, but CONTROL, and being able to create a whole new level of deception as well.
Here's a study that shows barefoot ppl actually jump higher and suffer lower impact when they land http://davidpotach.com/barefoot-jumping/
yeah? Look at the actual study first. Not what somebody 'reports' on a study. Just eyeballing it, do you think a study that includes 20 persons (n=20) can be extrapolated and generalised to a whole population? More convincing evidence would have to be demonstrated for your 'revolution'.
Nobody would wear a pair of gloves while playing badminton due to "lack of feel". and yet we commit that same crime every time we put on our shoes. for shame.
it supports my argument. we're not talking about launching a new heart medication drug. i'm just trying to open up the discussion.
Well, describing something as the 'coming revolution' induces a healthy amount of skepticism. So, what's your evidence of fewer injuries? What's your scientific evidence that it is better. Have you access to a few scientific papers that support your assertions? There is evidence based on good scientific methodology and there is also bad scientific methodology. You can't expect a 'n of one' to be a coming revolution. Neither is extrapolation of martial arts as proof is a good idea. Different sport, different movement and they have their share of injuries as well. Where it is a significant advantage for a martial artist is that the floor will cushion falls to the floor and reduce injury.
Yup. The difficulty here is that you got a person here who is interested in exactly that sort of thing, and will definitely ask (and disect) the scientific proof (and look at the stats as well) .
i submit hardly any scientific scrutiny went into making badminton a shoe wearing sport either. it was probably taken as a given, because other sports wear shoes.
