[Ansteorra] from: the ministry of silly walks ... was: walking authentically

[Jay Yeates]

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From: ansteorra-admin at ansteorra.org
[mailto:ansteorra-admin at ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Charlene Charette

> Actually it is believed that the way one would walk within the SCA
> period to modern day has changed.  If one considers that there
> weren't many heels of any kind on shoes and the surfaces we walk on
> are different, you can begin to percieve the way the differences
> could occur.
...

from the perspective of a male who does a *lot* of year-round walking
(and has all his life) .. on a wide variety of surfaces (pavement,
packed stone, rock, dirt, etc ..) in footware that usually dosn't
have much, if any of a heel - barefoot (primary), flat sandals
(secondary), moccasins, the flatist combat boots i can find, etc)
.... on, it really dosn't make that much of a difference - the
callous patterns and sole wear (on shoes & boots) and stride is all
is pretty much the same as when i wear heeled boots .. primarily wear
is to back of heel, & ball of foot, particularly right (i balance
more foreward that most and right-centric).  about only thing that
really moderates it is when i carry a exceptionally heavy backpack
over long distances

only footwear i run that dosn't exhibit this same wear pattern are my
heeled engineer boots ... but those are used primarily for riding
(motorcycle foot & leg armour).

based on my experience to date, i doubt there are truely "period"
differences so much as habitual & local-cultural issues that are
essentially trans-temporal ... all my life i prefer bare feet or flat
shoes, have always loved walking distances, always "bearing" -
usually a sidebag, sometimes a day/patrol pack, sometimes a full
backpack rig, and have developed my feet & legs  accordingly .. add
to that periodic aikido training that stresses movement and footwork
... these are all lifestyle issues that affect type of stride - much
more than the age i live in.

for someone bound up in constrictive heeled shoes all their lives,
who are mostly sedentary, rarely walks long distances, takes their
car/truck everywhere, or  does not regularly carry baggage weight ...
there might be percieved differences, but again these are localized
lifestyle/culture choices (per most modern americans).

while my experience may not be the "norm" for this current
country/culture, it is quite common elsewhere in todays modern world
... ergo, not really a "period" issue

'wolf
... grows his own shoe leather (and yes, the feet are moderately
furry, but there are *NO* hobbits in my family line)

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