MovNat 5-day Workshop, July 13-17 at Summersville Lake, W. Virginia
And I’ll be there
What’s MovNat, you ask? Well if you don’t know about it and its founder, Erwan Le Corre, where have you been? This is where I fist introduced you to him, nearly a year and a half ago, now. You’ll want to read that post, but here’s a quote from Erwan highlighting what MovNat is all about.
The “zoo” is a modern, global and growing phenomenon generated by the powerful combination of social conventions, technological environment and commercial pressures. Increasingly disconnected from the natural world and their true nature, zoo humans are suffering physically, mentally and spiritually.
Are you experiencing chronic pains, are you overweight, do you often feel depressed or do you suffer from frequent illnesses and general lack of vitality? These symptoms indicate that you are experiencing the zoo human syndrome. Modern society conditions us to think that this is normal and unavoidable.
We don’t think so. Our true nature is to be strong, healthy, happy and free.
We have designed a complete education system that empowers zoo humans to experience their true nature.
And that’s what we’re going to do come July. I. Can’t. Wait. Do you want to come along? Then do so, and you can find out all the details and get yourself registered right here. Keep in mind that in addition to the 5-day course with natural workouts and instruction several times per day, you’ll be provided with a private tent, bedding, and three large paleo-friendly meals per day…on real plates, with real utensils and real glassware (Erwan is, after all, a Frenchman — and I don’t ever recall seeing paper plates or — Good God — plastic "sporks" in France). To top it off, there will be "classroom" instruction as well, each evening.
When you consider all that and more, as well as the social aspect I can’t believe I didn’t sign up for this a lot sooner.
Oh, and speaking of the social aspect I almost forgot: Erwan just informed me that Barefoot Ted will be in attendance as well. Since barefooting plays into Erwan’s style of training prominently, that sure sounds like a great fit to me.
Still not convinced? Then watch this and do watch it in HD!
I’m discussing with Erwan the possibility of doing a talk on paleo principles and, also doing some blogging from the field, perhaps even with a bit of video and photos. I’ll keep you posted as details develop. And I hope to see some of you there.
Update: A couple of additional things to note. First, here’s the testimonials from those who’ve attended multiple day seminars. Here’s an extensive writeup from an attendee on his own blog. Lots of pics and descriptions, so check it out.
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THAT IS SO COOL!! I want to be able to do this and will definitely check out his site.
Been to Summersville Lake, WV…not Summerville…same place? If so, it’s really beautiful up there. It’s an impoundment but very large with pretty good fishing and an abundance of wildlife. You should have a great time up there and I’m looking forward to seeing your blogs from there.
Summersville lake and the New River Gorge is an easrtern hub for rock climbing. It is such a beautiful place. The workshop sounds great.
(I hope this is allowed for commenters too:) Fuck! I’m jealous and I’m far away in Europe. I’m actually from Belgium, north of France, but no, Mr. Le Corre had to move to the US… 😉
Enjoy it! Love to see some pics/videos and blogging.
Well, I’m in no position to afford going to a MovNat clinic now (jealous!), but I would love Love LOVE if you posted a video interview with him.
Looks pretty cool! It’s interesting that they have raw vegan meal for lunch. Have a great time.
You’re in good shape, but good luck keeping up with Le Corre Richard! You could take him in a “cookoff” though.
I liked the clip Richard. Le Corre sure likes doing some dangerous stunts.
By the way, the grappling with the guy in his “guard”. That is not natural, that is BJJ! The most popular form in the US today became popular largely because of this man (and his family):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royce_Gracie
Hi Richard, thanks for spreading the word to those within the Paleo community that have no yet heard of MovNat.
V, your questions — “I wonder how he makes sure people don’t hurt themselves. i’m also wondering how much we really need to be taught how to do this stuff.” — are valid and could be summarized as follows:
How can we safely develop our natural movement aptitudes and to what extent?
Of course, the MovNat videos available so far do not explain anything about the MovNat coaching method.
The answers to the injury-prevention is learning the principles and techniques behind safe and efficient movement, by learning moderation and mindfulness in training, by progressing incrementally and by making the level of difficulty scalable.
The answer to “do I really need to learn something that is natural?” depends on each individual, their own issues or expectations in regard of movement skills and physical condition.
For instance, breathing is the most natural thing and yet, many individuals do not breath properly and are totally unaware of it, and this has negative consequences on the quality of their day to day life. Anyone can run, but it is clear that some people run with a very poor form that will cause not only a lowered performance, but an increased risk of injury. So, what is natural to us is not necessarily good, and can be actually “naturally wrong”.
It is definitely possible to improve one’s natural movement capacities by simply exploring on their own and it is something I strongly recommend when it is done cautiously and with moderation.
Now, proper coaching can help you skip lots of trial and error, spare you a lot of time as well as potential injuries, i.e enable you to make faster, broader and safer progress than self-experimentation.
That is what participants to my courses are looking for, and if you are interested in the feedback of some of them that have trained first hand with me, you can read testimonials on movnat.com.
Ned, fighting or defending oneself is a natural capacity in all human beings. Just like in other natural movement capacities, some moves come naturally, others can be learned. Fighting techniques have been used, refined and transmitted for a very long time and it did not start with BJJ, or with the Japanese, or with the ancient Greeks, just like the Thais did not invent elbow strikes or knee kicks. It would be very hard to trace the actual origin of most existing defense technique, and new variations are constantly created (or…rediscovered?).
If you learn a new way to climb from someone else, it will not make that particular move less “natural”. It will simply become part of the range of climbing options/techniques that are available to you when it comes to using your natural ability to climb ;-).
Julie, yes, I like the fact that one meal a day is 100% “plant-based”, of course it does not mean at all that veganism is encouraged, but it is though a reminder that we don’t necessarily need animal proteins at every meal to thrive. There is still tons of essentials nutrients in such meals, including proteins.
Thanks Erwan, this makes sense. I threw in the BJJ comment to add to the discussion. In fact, having some form of self-defense as part of the event makes it even more appealing than it already is.
Awesome! I’ll be there July 27th-31st.
Have fun! I was there last year and it really was an amazing experience!
@V: “i wonder how he makes sure people don’t hurt themselves. i’m also wondering how much we really need to be taught how to do this stuff”
Erwan is def. the authority, but from a participant’s perspective:
a lot of it is by coaching and form. You can jump off stuff carefully all you want, but if you can’t see what your body is doing (i.e. ankles wobbling on landing, knees turning inward, etc, etc), you may be forming habits that can lead to injury. It’s helpful, especially to people in the “reawakening sessions” to be coached on bad habits that they have. Additionally, there are a lot of “zoo humans” who don’t go outside, and never challenge their bodies. Most kids growing up these days don’t get booted outside to go climb trees. It’s sad, but that leads to a body state that needs at least initial coaching. just my two cents.
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