When original functional design of the human body was designed to absorb the shock of running. In addition, it was designed to be fully capable of doing this without shoes. When running, the shock/impact of the foot striking the ground is absorbed by the entire body. The force starts in the foot, goes up the legs, through the hips, up the trunk, etc... Basically, the force is dispersed up and evenly throughout the body.
When people begin to feel pains in certain parts of their body from the impact of running, it is because their bodies have deviated so far from its original design so that now a certain area is now absorbing much too force and it not being dispersed evenly throughout the entire body. So for example, when someone complains of pains from shin splints, it is due to the fact that their lower leg is absorbing too much of the force and it is not being evenly transferred up the leg.
So many people nowadays get pain from the impact of running -shin splits, knee pain, back pain, foot pain, tendonitis, etc.... People try to alleviate their problems with shoes with more cushion, arch supports, orthodics, treadmill, site specific stretching, ice, drugs, changing their running form, etc...... However, the reason for these problems is pretty simple and all the things mentioned that most people try doesn't resolve the underlying problem. The symptoms may be different and have various names but the cause is all the same. It may sound too simple, but it is and all these various conditions that people have problems with have nothing to do with "overtraining" or "getting old".
Where you did you get the idea that people should stop wearing shoes? Just because I said that the original design of the body is capable of running without shoes doesn't imply that people shouldn't wear shoes. I may not recommend that people wear shoes that have a big fat heel, but that doesn't mean people can't wear any shoes at all.
Just as you feel that people make BJJ more complex than it needs to be, I feel that many people perceive the problems with their bodies to be more complex than it needs to be. People, including doctors, often view the problems as completely different issues that require completely different solutions.
What I propose doesn't matter as much as first having people understand what is going on with their bodies. There are a lot of misconceptions out there and I want to try to clear up some of those misconceptions.
You're not the first to say that shoes negatively affect the human body. I think "some" people realize this. BUT what is the alternative?
And that is all my comment is really about. I mean you have identified the problem, so what is the logical solution? It would seem that in this case since "shoes" is the source of the problem the only logical solution would be to get rid of them. That seems to be the direction of your post.
I never said shoes were the problem. It may be a contributing factor, but it's never one thing. Someone could never wear shoes and still encounter these problems. The problem is the lifestyle that most people have has altered the alignment of their bodies. My wife had shin splints in the past and it was because of the hyperextension tendency in her knees. This "disconnection" at her knees caused her lower leg to absorb too much of the force, however, there is no way to say what exactly caused this specific postural dysfunction. By the way, I am not saying that everyone who has shin splints has hyperextension in their knees.
The reason I don't want anyone to get focus on one thing like shoes is also that the idea I mentioned above also applies to other conditions and situations. For example, when a person experiences "tennis elbow" or tendonitis in the elbow, it is because their shoulder joint is out of position. Therefore, when they exert or absorb force through their arm, the tendons of the elbow are absorbing too much of the force rather than having that force evenly distributed.
The solution is to get the body back closer its original design. In order to do that, corrective therapy may be necessary, in addition to some lifestyle changes may also be necessary.
By the way, there are shoes which do not negative effect a person's body. For example, I have the Vivo Barefoot and these shoes are great. My sons have the Converse All Star low top and they are great (the childrens version is designed differently than the adult version).
There's a guy doing commercials for his New Balance shoe store here
in Little Rock - they do all sorts of computer and treadmill analysis of
your walking/running motion and then fit you with a shoe. The guy
pushes a walking NB shoe that is built so that the majority of your
weight is supported by the arch of the foot (during walking motion) as
opposed to the heel and ball of the foot. He says this replicates
walking barefoot (which he says is the ideal) - and they have this shoe
that the sole almost looks like it's bulging out. Anyway, it seems to me
that when walking barefoot, you arch isn't holding the weight - it's the
heal, then side of the foot, then ball that seem to carry the weight. So
I'm thinking he's wrong on this barefoot=arch issue.
Here's the really funny thing. They make that fancy shoe to simulate walking barefoot, rather than taking the most obvious and logical route which would be to make a shoe that was as thin and pliable as possible so you can be as close to being barefoot as possible.
Instead of all that computer shit, here's the best way to see if the shoes really replicates walking barefoot- wear the shoe and walk around and then go barefoot and walk around. See if it feels the same.
As far as the motion of the foot when walking, it is a heel to toe strike.