An article of footwear having a water massage midsole and a shock absorption system characterized by assembling the midsole with a sock lining in the upper for directing a fluid in the midsole to flow forwardly and reversely in the footwear to massage the foot during walking. The footwear includes a shock absorbing plug in the heel area for absorbing the shock on the foot each time the heel strikes the walking surface. Further, the outsole for the footwear is formed on opposite sides of the outsole with major break indentations for rendering the forepart of the outsole and its associated portion of the upper torsionally flexible relative to the heel portion. Finally, the invention includes a method of capturing water in the water massage midsole for the article of footwear.