Simple is Best? Most of the Time it is True

There's a saying popular in Japan that 'simple is best'. The saying itself is pretty self-explanatory and can be extrapolated thus: if you over-complicate things, you may find yourself in trouble.

The thing that got me thinking about this was yesterday I went for my first-ever run barefoot. I don't mean wearing those gorilla-feet things, I mean with no shoes. It was only a short one and off-road, so as not to attract too many weird glances in the decidedly normal town I live in.

And guess what? I survived it. No busted knees or punctured feet – in fact afterwards I felt pretty good. I might even do it again. Maybe there is something in this whole barefoot running movement. 

Running for about 45 minutes on my barefeet got me thinking about other sports – and the fact that in themselves they aren't all that complicated. It is just people on the periphery that make them complex. Take football, or soccer, for instance.

I went to a press conference the other day featuring the recently reinstated England captain, John Terry. The reasons for his demotion and subsequent reinstatement have been well-documented, but if you are unfamiliar with the story, then this is a good link.

As captain of England and Chelsea, his club, Terry is in charge of 10 other players, who are paid vast sums of money to kick a ball past 11 more men who are paid just as much. Simple.

In fact the game is so simple that people are forced to look beyond the actual game to come up with something interesting about it. Such as the fact the England captain has done the nasty with a team mate's ex-girlfriend.

Or another player is so annoyed with his manager that he leaks to the press a (true) story of him working his way through the female portion of staff at the club.

Or the notion that a rival club "hates" another and therefore will provide a backdrop worthy of a soap opera or professional wrestling tournament when they meet.

As titillating as these stories may be, they can get a little tiresome. Especially when you realise that sport is supposed to be simple.

To go off on a tangent, simple worked for the Ramones, who made a 20-year career out of three chords played with as many instruments. It works for a meal, as any steak or sushi-lover will tell you. It also works for beer, as the best brews often have just three ingredients.

And, as I found as I ran down the trail holding my shoes in my hands, it can work for sport as well. Just as long as you don't overcomplicate things.