So MovNat…Methode Naturelle with just a different name?
Not at all!
It would be a very simplistic shortcut to imagine that the sole change is found in the name. Despite being inspired by Methode Naturelle, MovNat is both a philosophy and a method of its own, that remodels and renovates the former approach.
What happened?
In fact, Methode Naturelle itself was not something static…until it completely stopped evolving. If you had a chance to study the various re-editions of Georges Hebert’s books, you would not only be able to notice an evolution and refinement of his own work over 4 decades, but would also distinguish what was ahead of time, was missing, and what is now outdated.
Archive photos of early Methode Naturelle. Three of the shots clearly display elements of the Swedish gymnastics by Ling that Hebert will later on completely exclude.
Hebert himself underlined several times in his own books that since his method was based on observation and experiment it could be always perfected over time.
It just makes perfect sense to imagine that if he had been alive until now he would have made his system evolve, continuously improve and in half a century many positive changes would have undoubtedly taken place…while his followers oppositely made it a golden rule to always go by the book in an ultra-revering approach of the past, never daring to attempt any change in the coaching and seemingly absorbed in some sort of cult of personality of the founder. The perfect recipe for stagnation or regression.
Cult of the Past vs. Evolution
Amoros 1770-1848
Every method has its own design…but it is the very intelligence of such a design to be able to evolve, to always improve or adapt. If it doesn’t evolve…it is not alive anymore. Just like a dead language, it has a past but holds no future. This is exactly what happened to Amoros’ system, and then exactly what happened to Hebert’s system: by having totally ceased to evolve since the death of Georges Hebert in 1957, which is more than half a century ago, Methode Naturelle has become…a brain-dead concept.
Hebert 1875-1957
Unable to reform itself, to incorporate innovative ways or knowledge and adapt to new mindsets and expectations in order to propel itself in a modern era and to propagate within a contemporary culture and way of life, the old fashioned method has been stagnating for decades and seen its practice shrink to almost total extinction, despite the efforts of a handful of dedicated remaining practitioners.
The MovNat Natural Movement Coaching System®: ready for the future
The MovNat Natural Movement Coaching System® is a real modernization of the former Methode Naturelle coaching system. The extent of this retooling can be compared to the level of improvement of the original Amoros method observed after Hebert, with the contribution of Demeny (see “The Roots of Methode Naturelle“), remodeled the former concept he based his own system on.
Here is a list of the most significant innovations or improvements that MovNat brings/provides:
- Movement principles and movement principles perception drills: a good perception of movement principles significantly boosts progress and spares lots of trial and error. But there is more: when movement principles are well understood, applying them makes movements way more efficient and saves lots of energy. That is an innovation, as such movement principles and drills didn’t exist in Hebert’s approach.
- Levels of practice: they are defined by limits in difficulty at each level. They ensure full scalability, incremental progress and injury prevention. They also ensure reaching equalized abilities, an essential goal in MovNat, by providing a hierarchy of difficulty in term of technique, distance, height, weight, time etc. This is an improvement, as the differentiation of practice levels in Methode Naturelle was entirely subjective.
- Danger-risk ratio: it is an essential notion, from both an individual or supervised practice, that is crucial to assessing what is at stake concerning the preservation of physical integrity as objectively as possible and helps ensure prevention. The notion of danger-risk ratio alone legitimates the definition of levels of practice and limitations in difficulty or complexity. It is an innovation.
- A much greater emphasis on optimum technique before going for volume or intensity since efficient technique ensures efficient action, preserve energy and above all is key in injury prevention. Hebert expected a progressive improvement of movement directly through course training and technical instruction was consequently made secondary. Experience and observation, so dear to Hebert, showed us that the process of learning must be based on optimum technique right from the start, as the brain doesn’t automatically select the most efficient forms but prioritizes the ones the body performs most often. A lack of initial emphasis on proper techniques leads to problems, i.e. the assimilation of inefficient movement patterns, which leads to both inefficient action and injury. In MovNat, we focus on optimizing technique before adding volume or intensity in essential techniques. That different approach is a significant pedagogical improvement.
- Focusing on essential techniques first and on movement variations second. There are essential techniques in each natural movement capacity that are fundamental to the beginner and from which many movement variations derive. When these essential techniques are well assimilated, they constitute some sort of technical toolbox easily adaptable to any context. Essential techniques greatly increase movement adaptability by making any variation much easier. This is an improvement, as there was no hierarchy of techniques or movement variations in Methode Naturelle where they were all randomly taught.
- Perception drills: they are drills that break down movements slice by slice and boost the learning process or allow to spot and solve technical blocks. That is an innovation, as perception drills didn’t exist in Methode Naturelle.
- Emphasis on “combo” training: it is a MovNat training type that creates many more patterns, more and faster transitions and therefore greater and faster progress thanks to more specific physiological adaptations. It also ensures a better visibility of the students by the coach and then a more efficient supervision, an easier individualization of the training within a group resulting also in greater injury prevention. That is an innovation and improvement, as the core of the Methode Naturelle training was the course training or a “follow the leader” training type, which didn’t offer the same overall benefits.
- Specialization cycles: this occurs only at higher level of practice. Experimenting made me realize that if a broad combination of skills is the most efficient way to make fast general progress in beginners and intermediate practitioners, this strategy looses efficiency the higher the level of practice gets as it doesn’t allow to go beyond usual thresholds and break plateaus. Well-rounded natural athletes that have already reached an advanced level of skills and conditioning should, if not must, frequently manage relatively specialized training cycles in order to make even more progress, of course while maintaining fully combined training sessions regularly. Such a strategy, which is crucial to the advanced practitioner, does not exist in Methode Naturelle.
- General improvement of techniques: we know that thanks to studying technical indications, old graphic diagrams and photographic records in Hebert’s books.
- Punctual use of video analysis: it allows practitioners to visualize and develop a better perception of their own movements and for the coach to better analyze and pinpoint the particular details of movement that need improvement. That is an innovation made possible of course by the evolution of technologies.
MovNat: empowering the human of today!
Erwan surrounded by certified MovNat trainers at Wildfitness
When a successful company like Wildfitness, a world-leading fitness vacation company whose program has always been based on natural and evolutionary movement, recently decided to fully adopt the MovNat Natural Movement Coaching System®, you can be sure that what MovNat has to offer is more than regurgitating Hebert’s principles.
MovNat goes beyond the past by revolutionizing the preceeding method with significant innovations that make the natural movement coaching system tremendously more efficient and allowing practitioners to make broader, faster and safer progress.
Just like Hebert had understood the necessity of remodeling Amoros work and approach, I have, animated by a very similar spirit, retooled the whole Methode Naturelle concept in order to produce a modernized version that has the potential to reach a
The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress. Charles F. Kettering
great number of people and help them develop their full natural movement potential more efficiently. That, I believe, has the potential to empower many people’s lives. It is more than my belief and more than my dream: it is my vision.
Erwan Le Corre
PS: I am currently writing a book, “MovNat, the Philosophy and Practice of Natural Movement” that will encompass all aspects of my approach and provide a practical and comprehensive guide to MovNat training.
MovNat Fundamentals Clinics: 
Thailand Workshop-Retreats: 
Stages Thaïlande Koh-Lanta: 
Be sure to sign up for the MovNat® True Nature™ Newsletter: 
you are right about what movnat offers to the world. It is clear that people from this era are spoiled by the society they had created themselves. I am one of those zoo humas (as you call us) but i see some light in your vision and i want to encorage you to go throught this. I know is kind of what all the people think or maybe say but i would like to take some seminars with you so just let us know
another great article!:D
do you know when the book might be ready? will it be a months or years kind of thing?
many thanks,
Cloud
I am looking forward to reading your book hopefully soon you will complete it. This is a great article that you have written here too. I can’t wait to go to one of your seminars or even a retreat so like Jorge said, keep us updated.
Health and freedom
Erwan,
I remember you mentioning that you see some similarities between Sonnon’s work and your own, and after reading this I can confirm it. Back to basics movement, increasing sophistication, mastering technique before increasing intensity or duration, and combo training (CST calls them “kinetic chains”) are all essential aspects of CST.
I think my CST background will help my absorb your MovNat principles and techniques all the better!
Best regards,
John
P.S. Having a coaching system that has the very notion of evolution and adaptability built-in is very wise. Your system will be best received by forward-thinkers, not traditionalists, and the best thing you can be doing is to tell them that MovNat isn’t the end-all, be-all – it will keep growing as long as it’s practitioners are willing to grow themselves. Keep up the good work!
Bonjour encore Erwan,
As a Project Manager (PM), I know that it is key to review and revise your plan on a regular basis to ensure it is appropriate for the current reality. As we can plan for the future, but cannot accurately predict it, the plan and knowledge-base we start our project with today will most certainly need to be revised as the project environment evolves and unforeseen future events impact the project.
Certainly, our overall health (mind, body and soul) can, and I think should, be viewed as our most critical project…. The person we will be in 10 years will require a different plan and approach than the person we are today.
It is good to know that as the PM (if you will) for Movnat, you appreciate the criticality of thoughtfully evolving your methodology… Especially as many of us are now looking to integrate Movnat into our own, personal project plans.
For the seminar dates, I saw your twitter entry on Friday about the details coming out this past weekend. I am on the newsletter list and have looked on the website, but do not see the details. Are they still being prepared or am I looking in the wrong places?
Merci in advance.
Chris
It’s interesting that Movnat is a progression and reversion at the same time. Looking forward to reading the book, sign me up!
Great information! In my own personal training I’ve always felt it was important to assess what I’m doing and evolve as necessary. When routines become routine you stop growing in your own capabilities, so it makes sense that systems would also need to be constantly under the same kind of growth. Can’t wait for the book, and keep innovating!
Luke
Erwan – what is the time frame on the book? Your work is very interesting and I am looking forward to reading it. Keep up the good and very interesting work.
Erwan,
Are you still planning on posting some beginner’s workouts this June?
Thanks,
John
Erwan, with all the positive energy you put in this project it is clearly determined to be a success. Go on like that, keep track of your vision, you´ve already touched people.
Thanks,
Mark
Jorge, we’re all born in that Zoo, including me, I would say that “Zoo humans” are especially people that fully undergo the Zoo human syndrome, but we’re all Zoo humans to some extent, and the goal here is to be as true to our nature as possible in order to become stronger, healthier, happier and freer individuals, or what I could call “true nature” humans as opposed to “Zoo humans”.
But again, let’s never radically or arrogantly categorize and label people, we all have our own journey and it’s too easy to give hard time to people for being what they are or not being what they could be, what counts here in fact is to inspire ourselves or mutually to find a positive escape and build a different experience of life than what the unhealthy mainstream lifestyle has to offer so far, that would be anchored in much healthier values and habits, and who knows one day trigger a cultural shift that I believe modern society really needs.
Let’s not forget that talking about “Zoo humans” is above all a metaphor, even though we must admit that it is a very realistic one summarizing a real predicament involving many real issues that cause true physical, mental and spiritual people in many people and that therefore deserve real solutions and alternatives.
John, from what I see Sonnon’s CST is an ingenious context-free joint mobility system with lots of ground movement, it actually resembles a lot the in-context movement on all fours variations found in MovNat, that can as well be performed in a context-free manner in MovNat too, especially in warm ups and cool-downs. So I think it’s a very valuable approach that I am sure reaches its goal which is restoring and maintaining joint flexibility, which in MovNat is not a finality but simply the outcome of practicing specific natural movement variations. That’s basically what both systems have in mostly in common, and I believe Movnat is undoubtedly much more comprehensive as its core goal is the development of natural movement skills (there are 12 of them) and sees the development of associated physical qualities (such as power, stamina, coordination etc.. or joint mobility) not a finality per se but as the natural outcome of training all natural movement capacities in a broad and varied manner.
And yes I believe that if you have already the CST as part of your training regimen then it is definitely an asset when you’re going to start training MovNat.
Chris, you’re not looking in the wrong place, it happens to be delayed and sometimes my work doesn’t go as fast as I wish it could.
.
Please give me another couples days to post all details, at least you know where it will take place
Thanks Matt.
Luke, is it fundamental indeed to never fall into routines, there is definitely the necessity of creating enough pattern in training, but there’s a huge difference between pattern and comfortable routines that loose the power to generate any true progress.
Allowing routine(s) looks like comfortably settling down and yield to the bliss of a quiet comfort zone rejecting change and adaptation and then causing stagnation.
Cloud and Rob, it is actually hard to say, ideally as soon as possible for sure, not years for sure either, but months yes that’s what I need. I do have written a lot of material but that still need now more structure. In any case writing is extremely time-consuming, and I tend to be a perfectionist…
John, absolutely, I said somewhere in June, it’s going to be by the end of the month and that’s going to be light excerpts of my book.
Mark, this type of comment always touches me and knowing that what I do or share makes a difference in some people’s lives boosts me at lot as it is one of my core drives, so thank you very much!
Erwan, do you think it would be a good idea for a Movnat forum board to be made?
there are many of these for Parkour and some of them are very good.
Alao i believe i know of a website that allows you to set up a forum free of charge and this i think i could do myself.
many thanks,
Cloud
Cloud, I used to be a moderator on an international forum myself, so I am quite aware of the benefits, but also the many potential drawbacks of opening such a forum.
There will be a forum on movnat.com in the future that is clear, but certainly not now, mainly for the following reasons:
_moderation is extremely time-consuming, I am already extremely busy, and there are very few people at this point that are enough MovNat literate to handle that job correctly.
_I would be overwhelmed by constant training tips requests while having to check out every tip provided by people that don’t know exactly what is the MovNat Natural Movement Training System or self-proclaiming being a MovNat expert, and also moderate people arguing about what MovNat is, is not or should be.
I will open a forum when:
_my book is published, becoming a solid reference to really learn both what is the MovNat philosophy and the MovNat Natural Movement Training System, therefore with many people posting on the board that will have read the book already and become truly literate about the concept. That will be many more people posting with real understanding and objectivity.
_there will be many more people having actually trained MovNat first-hand with me, i.e training seminars attendees, that will be even more MovNat experienced people.
_there will be many more MovNat practitioners training under the supervision of certified coaches so basing their comments on actual experience.
_there will be several MovNat certified coaches eager to give me a hand and to play an important role of moderation on the forums so that it can be a very objective, quality place with lots of valuable additional info, competent guidance and friendly community atmosphere.
Also, anonymity will not be allowed on MovNat forums. If you want to participate, you become part of the community, and others know who you are, know your name, your age, can see your face and other details.
If some are not comfortable with that, it means they don’t have a genuine intent to be part of the community.
Last, there will be a very strong emphasis on positiveness and constructiveness, and any annoying member will be red listed right away.
Not allowing anonymity might really help to prevent this kind of issue though.
So time is not ready yet. Rome wasn’t made in a day, and rushing things is not my strategy.
My name is Brandon, I have been watching this site for about 6 months now and trying to keep up with all the new posts Erwan publishes he has inspired me a lot to expand my training to more than just parkour and general fitness. But I have a question for Erwan, i have some woods by my house that I do a lot of nature training in, it is a park and I would like to set up some type of training course that i could do daily and incorporate a lot of the stuff I have seen you do instead of just doing random things when I get out there. Right now i have just been using the stuff that was already either cut down or fell down, such as carrying logs, dragging trees , throwing rocks, and crawling through the brush. Is there something that you have already written about that I can read where there are different training exercises that you can do in this type of environment so I get some good ideas for what to expect? Also I saw that you have a Self-assessment, but is there one that is more like a goal that people can strive for, instead of a qualification for the seminar? Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.
~Brandon
Indyshadow
I have mentioned already…;-) that I will provide basic training tips to help you get started by the end of the month normally, but to not expect an extensive introduction of the MovNat Natural Movement Training System, that in any case cannot be self-taught.
The best way to learn at the moment is to attend one of my seminars and come train first-hand with me.
I am also writing a book that will encompass my whole philosophy of natural movement and will be a comprehensive, practical guide for MovNat training, but the book won’t be available before up to a year I guess.
Regarding the self-assessment, it is not at all a list of objectives, but a simple way for potential attendees to the “Expansion” program to assess if they are fit enough to attend that specific course. There is obviously many more goals to achieve when you train MovNat.
Mr. Le Corre,
When I read the article about MovNat in Men’s Health, I immediately became extremely fascinated and excited about your philosophy concerning training and life in general. After researching, I am hooked. I am a 20-year-old triathlete/adventure racer, but have no martial arts experience. I am very interested in attending a winter seminar, as my schedule will not fit with the summer dates. What sort of martial arts training is neccessary for the winter seminar, and are there any specific dates set for December?
Geoff
Some martial art experience is required only for people that want to attend an Expansion program, can be striking style of ground fighting.
Winter seminars: it is something I am starting to seriously consider also since I have noticed several people asking how to train MovNat in cold weather. That would be a good opportunity for people that cannot make it in the summer to train with me, but also to show that the practice of MovNat in the winter is not a problem and that it can be serious training and sometime serious fun too!
No specific dates, it still has to be confirmed.
Seminarpower
Mr. Le Corre:
I am 69 years old, in moderately decent condition, and an avid fitness advocate. Would someone my age be a candidate for one of your training programs? I was facinated by the article in Men’s Health and your short video. I’m looking forward to your book.
Hi Bob you are a very inspiring person!
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To answer your question, YES, he full scalability of the MovNat Natural Movement Coaching System would enable you to train in a safe and incremental manner that would all simply adapt to your current possibilities and would challenge you incrementally as well as you make progress
Thanks for being here with us
Mr. McMillan i just want to write this in order to let you know what i think. I firmily believe (and now more than before) the the will and the capacity of the human been is tremendous and the you are an example of that. There is not a clock that says when you can or cant do something just the will of a person can do that. I am just 21 years old, unfortanelly i cant attend right now to one of Mr. Le Corre seminars but i want to encorageous you to attend and enjoy every second of it. Suerte
Mr.Le Corre
I am extremely interested in the article about MovNat and would love to attend a seminar of yours someday. The only problem is that im 18 year old. The only seminar that i would be able to do is in the summer. I was wondering where these seminars where held and how to get into one. Also what is the name of your book?
thanks alot