Recently, there have been a few main distractions in my life. Not really distractions, as these are hobbies. I have been thinking about how I can focus on these more.
I have been performing with the improv group ComedySportz Buffalo and this has been awesome! I get paid to make people laugh which is a great gig. Definitely part of my personal legend.
I have also embarked on a journey of blacksmithing. I have set up a forge in my backyard/shed and I have begun making small items. I feel like this is an avenue for a side gig.
With the good weather right around the corner, I am gearing up for camping, buahcraft and hiking. I would like to create some YouTube videos of this. This too could be a nice little side gig. I have a preview of one here: https://youtu.be/VfS0qBkZfgs
Therefore, I would like to announce that I am going to include Wandering Cat Forge and Long Dog Bushcraft to the Barefoot Buffalo world. These two activities are a large part of me and Barefoot Buffalo IS me.
I’m excited to have a place to share all of my new adventures. Stay tuned for more content!
… finally
Long days and pleasent nights,
ShoelessJoeK
PS I didn’t mention the Diligent Loiter world because that is separate from.the Barefoot Buffalo.
It was a Thursday. It’s always Thursday. Thursday is the day for finding Bigfoot. More Bigfoot sightings happen on Thursdays than any other day of the week. Here are some pictures I took while out Squatching. I was not successful this trip but I won’t let it deter me in future endeavors.
Wow, I’ve been so busy lately. With this crazy nice weather we’ve had I’ve been doing a lot more of my outdoor hobbies. Between reading, fishing, martial arts, barefooting, working out and just being outside, it’s hard for me to stay inside to write posts.
I had lost my iPod which I would use for posts on the go a while back so I haven’t been able to do it that way. But I found it! Expect to see more (shorter) posts about my adventures again. As long as I can find some wifi I’ll be good to post.
When did being barefoot become a taboo? When I go out barefoot I am constantly met with downcast eyes and comments about my lack of footwear. It’s as if I have a face tattoo and drinking from a water bottle full of urine.
Being barefoot in certain places is acceptable, such as: the beach, pool, your home, and…that’s pretty much it. Why do people feel so strongly about wearing shoes? Is it because of hygiene? Do they think that it is the law to have shoes on?
I can understand people feeling a little weirded out about someone not wearing shoes if they are a clean freak. Most people view feet as “dirty”, but as for the law…not so. You are allowed to be shoeless in any retail establishment, INCLUDING restuarants. Just check out http://barefooters.org/health-dept/ Here you can find a letter from your state’s health department stating that there are no current health codes that require a patron have footwear on.
I have been going barefoot so often now, that I forget to take my shoes with me places. If I think ahead and know I’m going to be somewhere that may confront me about my lack of footwear I will bring some flip flops along with me. I keep them either in a cargo pocket or in a small cooler I carry with me almost everywhere.
This last week I have had the more confrontations than I have in the the last 2 months of being barefoot. I went to the Mall with a couple of my friends. We went to Sears, Dave and Busters, and a couple other little stores. The entire time we were in Sears I was barefoot. Nobody asked me to put shoes on. I was not thrown out of the mall for lack of footwear. I like Sears. The other little stores we stopped at, including the food court, didn’t have a problem with my bare feet either. But when I was in D&B I was told that I had to have shoes on. The Manager told me this after I had already been without shoes on in his establishment for over an hour. I was in the middle of playing a boxing game that requires you to dodge and step side to side. If I had been wearing my flip flops it would have been likely that I would have ended up with a twisted ankle. I told the manager that I had taken off my flip flops to play the game. He says, “Yeah, sure. Just make sure you put them on when you’re done.” So, after I lost the game I put my flip flops on, made sure the manager was watching, and left. I saw that he was still looking when I instantly removed my sandles after I crossed the threshold of his store and the mall.
I could have challenged him about the whole “shoes are required” thing, but I wasn’t in the mood. Instead, I decided to cause a minor scene and show my distaste for shoes…and Dave and Busters.
When we left D&B we decided to go home. We were walking towards the exit, my friends with shoes on, me with my flip flops in my little cooler, when a security guard asked me put my shoes on. I did as I was told and left the mall.
I didn’t have an argument fot the security guard. He was right, I needed to have shoes on. You see, there are no violations for being barefoot in a retail establishment, but the hallways of a mall are private property. When you are in a store, you can be barefoot. As soon as you walk out, they can tell you to put shoes on and they are in the right.
So, after all that, how does this Taboo make you feel? Do you find feet dirty? Do you find it freeing to be barefoot? How often do you go barefoot and where do you do it?
A question that I get asked a lot is, “What is MovNat?” The simple explanation is: MovNat is using your body as nature intended. Alright, that’s not really a simple answer. It actually creates more questions. To really understand what MovNat is you should check out the website www.movnat.com. MovNat is made up of what they call the 3 Pillars. These are: 1) Natural 2) Evolutionary 3) Situational.
Natural (Respecting Laws of Nature): “MovNat is an environmental-oriented concept that provides a simple and accessible alternative to anyone interested in a physical activity that has minimal impact on nature.”*
Being stagnant is not natural. The lives we currently live are extremely sedentary and unhealthy. To become healthy we as a species need to embrace our bodies for their potential and bring our talents out from hiding.
Evolutionary (Trusting Our Primal Heritage): “The evolutionary philosophy of MovNat makes us understand how important it is to trust this universal and primal heritage.”*
Humans were not created yesterday, we have a long heritage and have been on this earth for over 200,000 years. That being said, our bodies and minds were designed for a different era, an era where we needed to move to survive. We needed to be able to hunt for our lives, run for our lives, swim for our live, climb for our lives, lift heavy objects for our lives, jump for our lives, throw for our lives and simply MOVE for our lives. Our bodies still have this engrained in them and need to be utilized. These things haven’t changed.
Situational (Satisfying Real World Demands): “MovNat trains you to become a well-rounded natural athlete, ready for a wide range of practical actions in various kinds of situations.” *
Does it make sense to be able to lift double your bodyweight and not be able to run 3 miles? Does it make sense to be able to run a marathon but not be able to lift 25 lbs? Of course not, but it happens all the time. You need to be able to survive any situation life throws at us. You need to train your entire body and be ready to live life.
To summarize, MovNat is taking being from their unhealthy sedentary lifestyles and helping them become a true athlete, a true human, through education and practice. Please, go visit Erwan LeCorre at his website www. movnat.com and sign up for a 1-day seminar. This will be one of the best decisions you ever make.
I went to Chipotle today. (Nothing new there) There was a couple in front of me who looked like they have never been in one before. Normally I would get a little antsy about the line not moving…AT ALL. But instead of cutting in the sign lookers I waited patiently. They even offered me to go first, but I didn’t want to be a jerk so I waited. When they were trying to pay for their order the system went down and they got their food for free. FREE CHIPTOLE! I was thinking, ‘Hell Yeah! Free food!’ but when I got to the cash register I asked if they could try one more time. I didn’t want to feel like I stole from them. They tried again but it was still down. So I took my free Chipotle salad and sat down to eat. When I was done eating I walked up to the register and asked if they had it up and running again. They said it was so I offered to pay for my food. I could have gotten away with free food, but it’s not in my nature. If I go somewhere for food that I intend to purchase I can’t just take it. To me that feels like stealing.
So the lesson today: Be Trustworthy. You’ll feel better about it later.
Happy Thanksgiving! Rich went out this morning and ran Buffalo’s 115th Annual Turkey Trot. He ran the 8K barefoot on a rainy day in 30 degree weather (Farenheit). He went barefoot into Tim Hortons for some black coffee beforehand and went barefoot into Buffalo Convention Center for the after-party.
He said many runners commented on his lack of footwear, but one runner complained that he wasn’t supporting American footwear companies. Actually, Rich’s feet were made in America. I doubt that guy said anything to all the Nike and Adidas wearers out there.
On a lesser note, I ran I 5K around the neighborhood today with my dad (the race was completely sold out). My Fivefinger Flows held up well in the cold and rain. Sometimes I notice my Flows have too much material between the toes, but I had a great minimalist footwear experience for cold weather. I hope they work this well when the temperature plummets to single digits or below. I may have to add a pair of injini socks at that point.
Note: Attempt at your own risk. It may be illegal, and it is dangerous.
Just because you don’t have a cave doesn’t mean you can’t go caving. Let me explain…
A few weeks ago a couple friends and I decided to do some spelunking. We couldn’t find a cave but we did find some pretty sweet tunnels. Alright, it was pretty much just a drainage system, but it was still a lot of fun. We found a cool underground room that we call The Chamber of Secrets. Since it is a secret I cannot tell you exactly where it is. It is nice to go in there and just relax. You are completely secluded from the world but your phone still works! It’s odd, I know. Being underground and having cell phone reception, but we tried 3 major carriers and they all work. This adventure has sparked a new interest in me. I am looking for more places to explore with my friends. Don’t be afraid to take chances and find new (to you) things/places. Just remember that if you decide to do this you may get hurt so don’t go alone and if you are going somewhere that needs a flashlight definitely take extra batteries. One thing I like to do is take a zip-lock bag with me for my phone/wallet/etc. in case I’m going to get wet. You never know where a creek with be when exploring.
Note: It may be illegal, and it is dangerous. Attempt at your own risk.
Imagine this. It’s 10:30 at night. You are barefoot walking with a friend through a forest path. Then…you come across a group of people. What a perfect opportunity to do some MovNat stalking! It was so much fun creeping around on all fours trying to be as quiet as possible to get around people without being seen. Sadly…I need some more practice. Well, maybe I just need to do it again without a 25 pound backpack on. I love walking through the nature trail at Daemen College. It is a little sanctuary in a hectic city setting. If anyone would be interested in practicing MovNat with Nicky, Josh, Rich or I, leave a comment and we’ll get in touch. It is always nice to find more people to play with.
It was sunny and close to 70 degrees today, so Joe and I decided we couldn’t pass up a Movnat adventure in Glenn Park. You wouldn’t know you were in the middle of busy Williamsville, NY. Trees tower overhead with the orange and red leaves changing all around us. Water trickles down a stream. I feel peaceful and relaxed. This is where I am meant to be.
We spent the afternoon climbing trees, jumping, and balancing on logs. We even managed to get a bit of grappling in there.
I found an incredible video on tree climbing today (barefoot, of course!). Natural movement at it’s finest. Here’s the link:
A week has gone by and it is now time to get everyone together again. Tomorrow morning we will be meeting for another barefoot run around the Eggert/Lebrun area. Email me for more information if you are interested. L.Joseph.KenyonII@gmail.com
We did it! We had a successful first barefoot run. I want to thank Rich and Nicky Sciolino for attending. It was a nice little run. Due to time restrictions Nicky and I only ran about a mile and a half, while Rich ran for much more. I was having so much fun that I forgot to stop at the meeting point and ran another block.
Rich and I are planning on running an Ultra-Marathon in late spring/early summer next year. That’s 50 MILES!!! I hope we can figure out a place to run during the harsh winter of Buffalo.
I just got back from New York City. What a weekend I had. I wish I could tell you all the interesting things I learned and experienced this weekend, but this is just a blog. It would take an entire book to thoroughly describe what an amazing trip this was.
My trip began with a bus ride from Buffalo to NYC at midnight. It was very promising. It wasn’t very crowded and I thought I would get some quality sleep. This was true until Syracuse when the bus became overcrowded. I was up the rest of the trip. We were dropped off in the middle of China Town at 6:30 am and had no clue where we were going…
We ended up finding our hotel and had a great free breakfast. We then proceeded to make our way to Central Park. We walked around a little and then found a great place to take a nap.
That evening I had the privilege of attending a lecture by Dan Liberman at Terra Plana. The lecture was very informative. It was nice to see so much science and evidence supporting the barefoot movement.
The Run on Governor’s Island. 2.1 mile loops. As many loops as you wanted to complete. I had so much fun running at this. Being able to run, play and MovNat at a “race”. My favorite part was the scenery. Running while having the Statue of Liberty watching over you is such a rush!
I didn’t want to leave New York City after the race. It was nice sitting around talking with Barefoot Ted, Erwan LeCorre and many other awesome people. But that time did eventually came so it was time to go back to China Town and get back on the bus.
2 hours into the drive the bus pulls over and the driver didn’t tell us why. Another 2 hours later someone (not the driver) told us that our bus had broken down and another bus was on its way to pick us up in another hour. So after being delayed for 3 hours we are on our way again! HURRAY! Then, we needed to get some gas. They just had to pick the gas station that had a Subway attached. 25 people decided that they would like a $5 footlong and we had to wait more time for all of them to get their food. Getting home at 3:00 am instead of midnight was not that much fun.
The weekend was so much fun. I can’t wait until the race next year. Will you be going?
anything to all the Nike and Adidas wearers out there.
Barefoot Buffalo 