As of late there has been a lot of discussion and controversy surrounding the vibram
Five Finger shoes. Apparently, Vibram made some un-substantiated claims regarding the health benefits of their five-finger, minimalist style of shoe. They got sued and ended up with a settlement of something like 3.4 million dollars.
Personally, I don't know if the "science is settled" on the five finger shoe. Are they really better for your feet? Will they make you a better runner? Are there downstream effects (positive or negative) to the rest of the body from wearing these shoes? Unknown. The reality is, most of the "studies" we hear about in the fitness world are not really significant at all. They come from very small sample sizes, there is often no control group and the chosen populations for said studies can often be quite odd.
That said, I'm still a huge fan of the five finger shoe. I own two pairs and wear them almost every day. I'll probably be getting another pair soon.
As a martial artist, my choice of footwear is none. However, true barefoot training is not always a viable option. The vibram five finger shoe provides a very good, "minimalist" alternative. As you may know, most martial arts studios, like the Dragon Gym don't allow shoes in/on our training areas (camp/dojang). Part of this is tradition, part is hygiene.
It's a dirty world out there, but it's also a beautiful world out there, especially this time of year. However, isn't not wearing shoes outside, the same thing as wearing shoes on the mats inside? Vibram five fingers are good answer to that problem. Vibram five finger shoes are also a great option for kettlebell training. Do I wear vibrams to run? --> A little, but to be honest, sprints on the black top in five finger shoes are unforgiving. For heavy lifting? --> nope, I do that inside so it's barefoot.
Anyway, here's a cool tool to figure out the right size of vibram five finger shoe for you:
