It's the way thumpsky puts his points across. Any coming revolution would likely be in a tea cup. I think progressiveness to a certain extent is good. But it is a fine line between that and fanciful puff.
^^ what he said. Playing barefoot might be OK on a very social level. But when people start stopping, starting and changing direction on barefeet, I. E. Trying to play games and matches in bare feet, there is a lot of potential for injuries. Why try to convince people of a revolution when the potential drawbacks don't seem to be well thought out? You can run barefoot as it is a straight line (even as recently as the 1984 Olympics track event). Changing direction is a lot more stressful on the feet and ankles.
Exactly. Long-distance barefoot running is a natural activity, in the sense that our bodies have evolved to do exactly that (we used to hunt antelope like this. Some people still do). There is a strong argument that barefoot running is healthier than running with supportive shoes. Badminton is not a natural activity. Badminton footwork is not natural. The lunges, jumps, and rapid changes of direction are not what our bodies were "built for". Therefore we cannot assume that the healthiness of barefoot running applies to barefoot badminton. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'm sceptical and I would advise players to be careful. Your feet and joints take a lot of abuse in badminton.
I would like to give it a try at social level badminton. At high levels my phobia of twisted n dislocated toes would hinder my commitment to lunging n jumping and landing. I can imagine the skid burn on my feet already
So I just read through everything here... I did martial arts for a couple of years, around 6 hours a week. I've also played badminton for some years now. The movements in martial arts differ to badminton movements quite significantly. Most notably is that there's less stopping in martial arts. You don't need to regain your composure as quickly as you do in badminton. When you do say, a forward kick, your back heel is raising off of the ground, your kicking leg contacts while your back heel pivots, and then as you pull that kicking leg back, your back heel moves back toward the floor. In badminton, you lunge. You have the potential to put the entirety of your weight and movement energy onto the ball/toes, and the side of one foot. There's no pivot in a lunge, there's no deceleration of that movement. It's one sharp accelerating movement to the other, and my toes are the first thing I'd be concerned about. I think you have some valid points, I find shoes a pain. But especially with those forward and sharp accelerating movements like lunges, I would be too afraid of wrecking my toes. I still have a bruise under my toe nail where I stubbed my toe on the end of my shoe. If that were on the floor, that'd be a broken toe, no question. You need shoes to diffuse that force across more of your foot, and that does take away some control from you, but that is to protect your foot. I'm not even bringing slipping into the equation here. There is a good reason running shoes aren't recommended for badminton. They are too high, the heel is too tall, and when you try to apply that force onto something not designed to take it, that heel goes over sideways. The same principle applies to protecting your toes in this situation. Without the shoe, you would be applying an enormous amount of force onto something that isn't designed to take it.
Ok, so guess what happens when the eventual blister develops on the toes and soles? Then there's blood everywhere with every step...
[MENTION=13151]VegiSmash[/MENTION] I guess I should provide a little more information for my stance http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2014/01/07/bjsports-2013-092947.full An excerpt from the introduction.... Prevention from getting the ankle sprain in the first place would be better given the consequences.
i been playing with Five fingers for about 5 years now. and from the orignal kso treksport to the Komodo Sport i'm wearing now, i find that i play much better in these and react faster then badminton shoes. touch wood haven't had any injuries with them. and the price for these arn't that bad. i paid $100 for the Komodos which is on par with any badminton shoes.