[The Gaijin]

There is a movement away from squishy shoes for running/working out - and back to what the Good Lord gave us. That being two feet. For a long, long time people have been running, thick running shoes are a fairly new invention.

I think the whole idea is to give you a natural posture - while protecting your feet from modern hazards like glass. While running, you have less of a heal strike + pull motion, and more of a lean forward, push off the front of your feet action.. They teach classes in this stuff - I am serious!

They are very popular at my gym. Also, better for weightlifting than thick sneakers (although dedicated shoes are best) and very light for box jumps, pull ups and stuff like that. People swear by them.