Dual Survival

kmm said:
Its been proven years ago that running barefoot strenghtens the bones, tendons and muscles in a whole different way. Studies have show that native/tribal barefoot runners run in a slightly different way than us, landing on the ball of their foot whereas runners with shoes land on their heels.

Wearing shoes in the civilized world for so many years have altered our way of running, so if we were to go barefoot now and run we'd end up with tons of injuries.

Nike sponsored a major bio-mechanical study and found out that training without shoes gave better results and less injuries. But since Nike makes shoes for a living, they couldnt recommend people to drop them so they marketed a line of running shoes and trainers called Nike Free. The footwear is designed to emulate the motion of running au naturel.

So going barefoot is not as moronic as some might think.
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I believe this is the study that we were discussing in our class. I don't think going barefooted for certain cultures is moronic at all (it would be for me to do that though). Environments have caused certain cultures to be the way they are as a survival mechanism. Skin color, for example, provided protection in harsh climates. Hell, just to put this on track with knives, the machete came about because of the environment. So I compare giving some folks shoes the same as giving them a 500 dollar Randall Knife. When you leave they're gonna go back to bare feet and cheap machetes because it works for them and the environment they live in. Move them to Atlanta Georgia and they would start wearing shoes and carrying a damn gun instead of a machete!
 
Cody wears no shoes because of his "New Age" philosophy of "touching the earth". You draw mother earth's energy into your body through your bare feet. Shoe's prevent you from doing this by blocking the energy. He has his own survival philosophy which I find interesting but he has limited himself to one area, the southwestern desert. Walking around with no shoes on in some of the environments they have been in is risky and just plain stupid!!!
 
I love the show, head and shoulders above Man vs. Wild as far as content is concerned.

As for the shoes thing. Modern life has made shoes a necessity. Hard metals, concrete, glass....

When I was younger I lived a hundred yards from the creek that my ancestors lived off of and I spent ALL of my time fishing it, canoeing it, walking it, swimming in it. I never wore shoes, ever. I had sandals that I wore to school and my mom would force me to wear sneakers in the winter and I would complain up a storm.

There was a little country store a mile or two from my house and the owner would yell at me all the time for coming in barefoot. I walked it, on asphalt all the time.

I was on the news once in north carolina because they had a freak snowstorm and I was at a rest stop in shorts and sandals. Litle did they know that I wore that all the time.

Once I got a real job I had to start wearing boots and it was really tough for me. I had NEVER worn socks until my late teens and once I started my feet had all kinds of moisture problems. I was aclimated to barefeet. My feet would swell, crack and shed a ton of dead skin.

I can understand Cody's theory and respect him for sticking to it, I wish I had never made the change.
 
R.A.T. said:
I believe this is the study that we were discussing in our class. I don't think going barefooted for certain cultures is moronic at all (it would be for me to do that though). Environments have caused certain cultures to be the way they are as a survival mechanism. Skin color, for example, provided protection in harsh climates. Hell, just to put this on track with knives, the machete came about because of the environment. So I compare giving some folks shoes the same as giving them a 500 dollar Randall Knife. When you leave they're gonna go back to bare feet and cheap machetes because it works for them and the environment they live in. Move them to Atlanta Georgia and they would start wearing shoes and carrying a damn gun instead of a machete!
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I am curious if you have had experience in barefoot cultures as far as tracking/stalking. I would imagine barefoot changes the way you walk and run, so does it change the way you leave tracks in a way that would help/hinder tracking? As far as the stalking, I think a direct contact would let you move more silently?

For the OP, I think Cody is far from moronic.
 
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shotgunner11 said:
I love the show, head and shoulders above Man vs. Wild as far as content is concerned.

As for the shoes thing. Modern life has made shoes a necessity. Hard metals, concrete, glass....

When I was younger I lived a hundred yards from the creek that my ancestors lived off of and I spent ALL of my time fishing it, canoeing it, walking it, swimming in it. I never wore shoes, ever. I had sandals that I wore to school and my mom would force me to wear sneakers in the winter and I would complain up a storm.

There was a little country store a mile or two from my house and the owner would yell at me all the time for coming in barefoot. I walked it, on asphalt all the time.

I was on the news once in north carolina because they had a freak snowstorm and I was at a rest stop in shorts and sandals. Litle did they know that I wore that all the time.

Once I got a real job I had to start wearing boots and it was really tough for me. I had NEVER worn socks until my late teens and once I started my feet had all kinds of moisture problems. I was aclimated to barefeet. My feet would swell, crack and shed a ton of dead skin.

I can understand Cody's theory and respect him for sticking to it, I wish I had never made the change.
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It must be a genetic thing. You and Cody Lundin look a lot alike. Hair and everything. :D
 
I was pissed off at Dave for bringing that alligator back, but the more I ate the less pissed off I was...

Hysterical.

Edit: There's a movement afoot (lol) in the running world advocating barefoot running - says it's good for your feet and the rest of your posture.
 
I run barefoot from time to time. It forces you to run on your mid foot which is where you are supposed to land when you run so that your arch absorbs the impact. Think about it when you sprint you land on your toes or on the balls of your feet. When you walk you land on your heals so when you jog you should be in the middle. Make sense?
 
Of all the episodes that I've seen so far, this one made me think that Cody going barefoot in the LA swampland would not work out for him this time. When it came to the snakes all I could see was a water moccasin sneaking up behind him in the water and zap, right in the leg.

I noticed Dave C. had on a pair of gators of snake boots for the trip.

When they got to the marsh crawl, Cody motored through it which really surprised me. I guess there is something to his way of life after all.
 
I like the show. They are good friends, unfortunately for us, the conflicting opinions is what most people watch the TV show for. Me may not like it, but a lot of people do. That will keep it in the show.
 
TheGame said:
I like the show. They are good friends, unfortunately for us, the conflicting opinions is what most people watch the TV show for. Me may not like it, but a lot of people do. That will keep it in the show.
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I know Dave personally and I really don't think anything is being played up for the camera. He's just a type A personality and he doesn't really hold back. He speaks his mind right or wrong.

I get the impression that Cody is the same way. It does add a dramatic element to the show that will draw viewers and that was part of the plan from the get go on the part of the Discovery channel. Dave went through alot of interviews and meetings before being offered the gig. The producers made sure that the stars were different enough to be at odds from time to time.
 
I love the show. I also have mad respect for both Cody and Dave. Another thing that people tend to forget is that in making ANY show like this, hours, and hours, and HOURS of footage is shot. The producers take the stuff they like, and edit it together for a 45 minute (hour with commercials) show. I don't think Dave and Cody are playing up to the camera for drama, but I do think the producers look for certain footage they can use to present the episode in a certain light.
 
shotgunner11 said:
I know Dave personally and I really don't think anything is being played up for the camera.
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I don't think I implied that anything was. I just said they had conflicting opinions from time to time, and because it sells, they will have it in the show. :thumbup:
 
the study your looking for is the harvard running study. just google it and it should pop right up, its become fairly popular in the last few years
 
zman308 said:
Cody wears no shoes because of his "New Age" philosophy of "touching the earth".

...

Walking around with no shoes on in some of the environments they have been in is risky and just plain stupid!!!
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:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Talk about a goofy ad hominem attack. I guess now we know who Discovery is marketing to by constantly playing clips of Dave calling Cody a "bush hippie" :thumbdn:


If I was stranded in ANY place in the world, I'd much rather be with "stupid" people like Cody and the indigenous people of those areas, many who don't wear shoes, than you or any other armchair quarterback sitting here criticizing someone for doing things the way they've been done for thousands of years.


Cody is a "primitive skills" expert - that doesn't mean "survive with a bunch of gear, as comfortably as you can." It means "put your nuts on the table and man up, surviving on as little as possible". If you don't have the guts to pull that off without shoes and gaiters and molle compatible packs to attach everything to, that's your problem - but Cody is no idiot, just a guy who knows how to get by on a lot less than you or I need, and has been doing it a lot longer than you've been posting on internet forums.
 
I enjoy the show and think both Dave and Cody's have pros and cons. I find myself calling them both on their shit each episode. Cody has chosen not to wear shoes. These are survival situations they get put in. It's not like Cody went into a snake infested swamp and took off his shoes, he is making due with what he has been delt.


Now lets talk about some choices Dave made:

Walking around is the dark to check his traps (a no no in a survival situation)

Drinking water from an unknown source without proper filtration.

Attacking an alligator in a swamp!

All three made me scream "MORON"

Dave and Cody are not only depending on their own skills but each others. When one does something dumb it can affect them both.
 
I tend to agree more with Cody's style of survival for "real life" situations. Dave's style is more camera friendly though. Take food gathering for example. Cody tries for calorie easy food: Plants, insects, etc. Dave goes for the gator/pig/etc. Cody's way is of course more practical for survival, but is boring as hell for TV.

I really wish Dave would stop harping on the bare feet thing. I mean you've been hanging with the guy for a few months now...it's time to move on and stop beating that dead horse :)
 
You know, I really don't see much drama between them. Maybe y'all are a bit. . .sensitive?

Heck, it sounds like the guys at work hashing out the best way to do something. Let's be honest, Cody goes for the hippy style, but he's just as Type-A as Dave is. They just go about things differently, and when you have two Alpha male types together that think differently, there's going to be some friction, no way around it.

Personally, I think it'd be a good thing in a survival situation to have someone along who thought differently than I do, because they'll notice things I wouldn't, and vice versa.

Although I'm more like Dave, personality-wise, I did like Cody's comment "Survival sucks, I want to live!"

And I think there is part of the difference between them. Dave does the "survive until you get out, it doesn't matter who or what you have to kill on the way" method, and Cody is more about wilderness living than survival and considers more about sustainability and long-term thought processes.
 
He's definitely no moron, there was an episode where he was in a desert with these giant sand spurs and cacti where he made a pair of sandals outta worn tire treads and cord he made.

So he will protect his feet.
 
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