Natural Movement: Hebertism vs. MovNat, Functional Training and the Ido Portal Method - What are the fundamental differences?

In this excerpt from my conversation with Alexandre Borne, teacher of Natural Movement according to the Natural Method of Georges Hébert ,

We will return in detail to this notion of “Natural”, sometimes overused and wrongly used in the Fitness and Health industries and even in the Movement sphere.

What exactly do we call “natural movements” ? What is a Natural Movement practice? What are the differences with MovNat, Ido Portal, or even with CrossFit or Dance?

Alexandre shares the technical aspects with us and helps us understand how we can in turn integrate natural movement into our lives .

Very good reading my move.

What is Natural Movement in the sense of Hébertism?

SLIM: Today, many people want to ride this wave of movement training by wrongly using the idea of ​​“Natural”.

Could you tell us what you mean by “Natural Movement” and what is your interpretation of this idea of ​​“Natural Movement”?

ALEXANDER: Indeed, the expression “Natural Movement” is becoming overused, like the term “Functional” which meant something at one time and now no longer means much...

In fact, nowadays, we call “Functional Movements” to specify “Polyarticular Movements”!

Coming back to “Natural Movement”, this can be of several categories.

The “Natural Movement” that we use in Hébertism corresponds to “Useful Functional Movement” , that is to say to a movement which has a function, which leads you to carry out a concrete task.

In short, it is a movement that serves a purpose , such as:

• Lift an object
• Carry an object
• Climb somewhere
• Jump over an obstacle
• Fight
• Hit with fist
• Etc.

This non-exhaustive list corresponds to “Natural Movement” because these actions are representative of common life situations!

The point is to preferably look at people who live closest to nature because they are beings who are not disturbed by concepts and who therefore act instinctively.

There are other types of “Natural Movements”, which have fewer useful or practical functions, but which do have a social function .

Dance is a perfect illustration of this because it has a function of bodily expression and well-being!

This is why, in this perspective, we can describe “Movement” as “Natural” because it brings something!

What are the prerequisites for qualifying a movement as natural?

There are three concepts that are important to keep in mind when talking about “Natural”.

1. The notion of Utility/Need.

There must be a goal attached to the movement , that this particular action serves concretely, in terms of well-being or practicality.

In nature, we are constantly trying to conserve energy. If, for example, it is difficult to find food, we will not make unnecessary movements!

If there is movement in this situation, it will only be to meet strict needs , such as:

• Have fun, to feel good
• Dancing to reconnect socially
• Go and feed
• Fight
• Build a house
• Etc

Movements which will therefore have a concrete goal, linked to one or more needs.

2. The notion of Instinct.

The movement must be instinctive, in the sense that it must not be codified , it must therefore come spontaneously, depending on the situation.

It is a movement that is therefore reactive: “ I have a need, I create a movement that responds to this need!”

Whether it is an internal or external need , the movement must be able to meet it.

3. The notion of Freedom of Form.

In fact, each individual will perform movements in a very different way, depending on their anatomy and current conditions .

Hébertism therefore considers “Movement” to be “Natural” when it responds to a need, when it occurs instinctively, with a free form!

What are the differences between Georges Hébert's Natural Movement and other training methods?

This is why, in my opinion, Ido Portal is a little on the border of this definition , in the sense that he practices instinctive movement, which provides well-being because there is a part of bodily expression,

The “Movement” is therefore “Natural” in this sense, but at the same time, it will also seek to develop strength, to be on technique as with the Handstand for example and there,

We are entering training which is already more “Codified” , so we are moving away from the “Natural”.

Be careful, however, I'm not saying that it's not interesting to try to improve yourself, in order to then achieve more concrete things, but the training must ultimately have a concrete objective !

If it is only a question of “ movement, for movement's sake… ”, in other words, of being able to perform the movement and nothing else, as in Calisthenics for example,

We are then in training, in a sport but no longer really in “Natural Movement” because there is no objective anchored at the end, apart from the pride of having executed the movement!

SLIM: I'm glad you brought this up, having been a student of several methodologies myself, including Ido Portal !

I understood with years of experience and thanks to having had access to a great diversity of physical practices , very codified practices like weightlifting or even bodybuilding,

And much freer practices like improvisation and dance, even if the latter can be extremely codified, to distinguish what is natural from what is not...

To return to Ido Portal, when you receive information from a high-level source of this methodology, you are taught from the start that there are movements that will be of the order of personal expression, play, creativity, exploration...

And that other movements are not going to be in this energy at all, that they are going to be in codification, that is to say with numerical metrics .

We will then talk to you about rest times, frequencies and other numerical data, with a view to developing athletic qualities.

Only then does the information spread from the main source to many sources, then to practitioners, then to people who interpret what they see online , etc.

Hence the fact that “Natural Movement” is often used incorrectly.

A Crossfitter, for example, will most likely describe the way I train as “Natural Movement”!

Whereas clearly, to perform a “clean” Kettlebell Swing, I can spend three weeks teaching it to you, that is, for five hours a day,

I'm going to explain the Kettlebell Swing movement to you mechanically , due to its great complexity and technicality!

A person who is starting out in their physical practice, who picks up a Kettlebell to immediately perform a Swing, having contracted everything correctly...

That doesn't seem very realistic to me!

This distinction between what is natural and what is not is very important and you express it perfectly, Alexandre!

ALEXANDRE: I didn't study Movement Culture at all, I didn't do an internship with Ido Portal or his French-speaking students , I only watched videos,

On the other hand, having practiced Capoeira alongside, I understand better where Ido Portal comes from and what he wanted to extract from this discipline, such as, for example, Floreio .

In this regard, I find the practice of Capoeira very natural because there is no obligatory form, we play, we are in relation with the other, we are given indications like: “You are going to place your hands, turn around, lift your foot…”,

But we don't give you a precise angle, we're not at all in this Strong First idea where you almost have to measure the millimeters between each finger to make the perfect Swing!

In the same vein as Capoeira, Hip-Hop is also a very natural practice , there are also many modern practices which are of the order of “Natural Movement”!

From Natural Movement to Greater Physical Autonomy

This concludes this excerpt on Natural Movement defined by Georges Hébert and what differences it has with movement training methods like Ido Portal and practices like CrossFit or Capoeira.

The idea is not to appropriate a definition and never move away from it.

The very concept of Movement invites us to explore the extent of the technical and expressive possibilities permitted by the human body.

So if you feel like adjusting or refining this definition as you see fit , feel free to do so.

The important thing is to understand that what you do to your body is never trivial and that you always have to exchange one thing to obtain another.

Want to build hypertrophy by lifting heavy? You'll potentially reduce your range of motion.
Want to work on your handstands and handstands? You might create asymmetry with your lower body.
Want to become more flexible for yoga? You'll potentially create muscle weakness and weaken your joints.

In short, when we talk about human movement, natural or specific, it is essential not to forget that the body is an indivisible unit.

If we always practice fragmentation, isolating one part or another, we will weaken the whole.

For me, moving naturally means staying at a neutral point from which we have access to all physical qualities: flexibility, strength, coordination, agility, etc.

This is what we teach in our TRAINING COURSES and in our virtual training room: THE DOJO.

Moving 360°, in all directions, without any restrictions. That, for me, is the definition of Physical Autonomy.

If you are moving towards this idea of ​​a body capable of doing everything through Natural Movement, the MovNat Method , the teachers of Ido Portal, or other methodologies...

Welcome to this site!

Feel free to browse the BLOG to learn even more about the movement of the body, heart and mind.

Thank you for your attention, my friend.

Nomad Slim
Founder of MOUVERS