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As human beings we have an amazing physical shell in which we reside. It is resilient, flexible and strong, but at the same time ironically fragile. We need to do everything we can to keep it well, but exactly how we do that is complicated, and a good starting point is MBT footwear.

Masai barefoot technology as one might expect, references the Masai people of Eastern Africa. Observing these people and their smooth barefoot movements across the earth gave inception to a new technology in footwear. Shoes built under standard methods provide only one thing, protection for the soles of the feet.

We instinctively look to native people, their means and methods of survival for an insight into the true way we should be interacting with the rest of the occupants of this planet. Shoes, for the many things we use them; style, height adjustment or just for protection, provide an interesting comparison with aboriginal people. Yet our shoes do something unnatural for us, the provide the means to always be walking on essentially flat surfaces, the better to reduce stresses to our muscles and skeleton.

We press ahead with our innovation in MBT Sneakers, inventing new styles and supports that make life so much more convenient and pleasant, from our point of view. But this has created an unusual situation for our body. We know that if we want a muscle to develop, we use it. That is why doing push ups makes us good at doing push ups. Our body responds to training by preparing the muscles to handle the same stresses placed on it again and again.

These skilled athletes use the natural healing ability of their body to selectively magnify the individual muscle groups they choose. They do this by stressing the muscles to the pint of damage, creating fine tears in the fibers and connective tissues. In its ever observant nature, the body reacts by throwing muscle building instructions to the areas damaged through stress. The result is muscle growth that allows the body to respond to the stresses more effectively.

Taken to extreme, this essentially healing process yields the art of body building, with greatly exaggerated muscle groups, just as the practitioner intends. Yet for all the strength and work this effort requires, these highly muscular individuals are not well represented in the great athletic competitions. The reason is the muscle groups grow strong in doing what has been exercised, not in overall fitness.

This has led to a new cognition about footwear. If we get good at what we practice, then it makes sense that what we would ideally find in shoes is a replication of the natural barefoot method, with an added protection from injury. The MBT shoes example shows that walking is an unstable event that requires a great many muscles to maintain balance and move smoothly. MBT sneakers and the new boot styles seize on that philosophy and recreate the natural approach, toning muscle, protecting our feet and providing style all at the same time.