Might it be an idea to sort out the myths and urban legends about walking on glass? After all, those unused to barefooting put "you might cut yourself on some glass" pretty high on their list of objections. In all my barefooting, I have never once had a serious cut from glass, and only one little one that drew blood (unfortunately, this was when I was with a girlfriend who was dubious about barefooting). About two or three times a year, I get crumbs of glass in my soles that I winkle out with a pin and a bright light (spot the glitter). I seem to pick these up mostly when it's raining. Once, I had a suspicion that I had picked up a piece for about a fortnight, until I trod on a coconut fibre mat and a bristle went up the puncture track -"ow"! Bits of glass in one's soles DO NOT TRAVEL. There are different kinds of glass. About 90% on the streets seems to be from bottles, and the glass is a different kind from the window glass which forms razor-sharp shards and splinters. Bottles are less likely to do this (except thin-walled wine bottles). My town has bluffs on either side, with paths below that I regularly walk barefoot. Folks on beer busts on the bluffs launch bottles sometimes, and I just walk over the smashed evidence without worrying much (only consciously avoiding the larger bits). It was an old carney trick, along with sword swallowing, to walk on broken glass like this as if it were some kind of magic trick. IT ISN'T! Similarly, the stupid S&M pix online of girls walking on broken glass are no big deal. If you don't believe me, smash a beer bottle on a hard surface and have a look at what results. Apart from the neck and bottom, I guess that you could walk on most bits if you're a regular barefooter and not notice anything more than what you would get from sharp gravel. (OK, I know, sweep the bits up afterwards!) Anybody out there who got a serious cut from broken glass, who would like to describe the circumstances?
it's not such a problem for "regular barefooters", but if you're just starting out, trust me, a little fragment from a broken bottle in your sole hurts like hell. It's usually not too big of a deal unless you misstep and drive a piece into your heel. Then it can be tough to get at because of the angle and painful.
I went out running today and did some sprinting on a local 5-a-side court that has that rubbery stuff down which is cool to run on barefoot - esp like now in spring when my soles are still toughening up. However it obviously attracts the local underage drinkers since there were bits of green glass all over the place, whilst walking on glass doesnt trouble me even when my feet are only half-tough at the moment, I am not sure about sprinting over bits of it ? I ended up walking around 1st and doing a bit of tidying, picking up bit of glass with my toes and chucking them to the sides (I guess my toes are less likely to cut than my fingers ;-) )
once i ran (literally, i was running) into the unlucky occurrence of a fat glass splinter getting stuck in the middle of my second toe, but i managed to remove it with the tweezers of my swiss knife. I carry around the little knife every day, with the adition of a needle that i store under the most useless tool, the hook. boy, that hurt. the worst possible accident with glass is violently stepping on the bottom of a broken bottle lying points up in some hidden place. a friend of mine told me of some relative who (in times when people was commonly around barefoot doing farm work) cut her foot so badly in that way, with a broken bottle in the bottom of a water flooded pit. she didnt notice it because of water. this resulted into permanent injury :sad:, possibly also due to very poor if not lacking medication, thus emphasizing the first commandment of barefooting: "Thou Shalt Watch Your Step".
I have been cut by glass on occasion. But besides the slightly sore feeling that gets to be a bit of a nuisance I wouldn't really call it a serious drawback. If it does penetrate the skin far enough to draw blood, a quick wash with soap and water should seal it quickly enough. You can always use a plaster if necessary. Ironically, if you're walking around barefoot with plasters on your feet people might think that you were forced to take off your shoes because they were making you uncomfortable. The only times I've been cut though where when I was dancing on floors in nightclubs and bars covered in broken class. There is glass all over the pavement on the streets as well, but it usually will bounce off your feet anyway, and of course you can usually see it and avoid it. But I have deliberately walked through glass to prove to myself that should I ever get careless and not see it in time it won't be a massive problem. I remember a few years ago walking along a residential street and going through some shattered glass that looked as though it had come from a car window. I hadn't realised anyone was watching but I heard some voices coming from the upstairs window in the house I'd walked pass saying "Oooh! Did you see that man walk right through that broken glass?". Suddenly I felt like such a showoff. Never mind, eh. So yes, there's lots of glass. Yes, it can be a nuisance. But it's not THAT much of a nuisance, and paying attention to the ground makes it even less of a nuisance. You'd have to go out of your way to seriously cut yourself on it, and even then you only have to wash your feet once you've done so, and then again when you get home. And if you're just starting out on barefooting and are worried because you don't think your feet are tough enough to risk on glass, then just find some other spots to warm up on before you test yourself out on the glass-littered pavements. Your feet will toughen up pretty quickly. Millions of years of evolution (or for the deluded among you, God), have seen to that.
glass is a fairly rare occurrence in the country but i had to face (or to 'sole'? heh im such an idiot) it a few times in the big city , sometimes i was forced to walk down a carpet of smashed beer bottles and to be honest it was no challenge if you dont thread on them glass shards too hard. sometimes loooking at people gawking at the occasional 'fakir' who walks on glass for the benefit of the crowds i was tempted to spoil his show by cruising through his street stage with a shallow expression on my face just to walk away in a show of total contempt for his let's call it so, "exhibition".
The best for small bits of glass getting in the soles, I've found, is a safety pin. It's easy to carry around, and a needle's point is a bit too fine to provide the leverage to get them out. I did step on the remains of a smashed wineglass once, 12 miles from home on a barefoot hike. I got a crumb right in the center of the ball of my left foot, so that was a problem since I had forgotten about the safety pin and I had no footwear with me! I used a shard from the same wineglass to dig it out. Surreally, the worst cut I had last year was from a sharp shell on a beach! Half an inch deep, and I was off barefooting for a fortnight.
I hear ya - I got a piece of shell embedded in my sole a few years ago in the Maldives and it took about 6 months to fully work its way out. It was monstrously painful for about 3 weeks. Wasn't enough to put shoes on me though, especially as the Maldives is a barefoot paradise
Yeah, so many people think glass is such a big deal but it's not. I once deliberately stepped on a little piece of glass to show one of my friends that. Ben, that's great that you inadvertently amazed those people by walking through that glass Jagerhans - you should totally spoil one of those showoffs and walk through glass barefoot like it's nothing. That would probably be more amazing that a seemingly ordinary individual off the street could walk barefoot through glass than someone spiritual like a fakir who's just trying to show off.
Most of the time I seem to be OK with glass - a summer or 2 ago I went out running (I'm not a great runner so it was not too long before I wore out and headed back to the car) - on the way back to the car I cut through the skate park - as I walked out a couple of lads walked in, looked at my feet, looked at the glass strewn around the tarmac and of course asked if it hurt. I ended up walking around the park to show them that a) it doesnt hurt, b) glass actually crunches and comes off worse, c) that I didnt end up losing tons of blood ! They looked at the soles of my feet and couldnt believe that there wasnt a load of embedded glass - One of them paid me a cool compliment when he felt my foot and reckoned that it was tougher than his skate shoe I am not sure that was strictly true but it would be useful !
i used to walk barefoot everywhere 24/7 for a while and only once cut my foot on glass...ironically it was while hiking thru the forest (broken beer bottle) but never in the city. i started wearing shoes again when i started hoppin trains (it's imperative to wear good footwear when riding freight) and traveling more
Just watch out for the "Cinder Dicks", the railroad police that is. If you get caught riding freight trains, plan on spending at least a night in jail.
yes running and jumping On and Off moving trains. you have to wear good shoes/boots or you'll brake yer ankle
