Coaching Clinic with Human Naturally

Last weekend I attended a running coaching clinic with Human Naturally. Even though running is supposed to be a natural movement unlike say, tennis or football, we do need some coaching as years of neglect, injuries and age can change our form for the worse.

Some feedback on technique can be really valuable during your solo runs as can "feel out" the changes on your own and, by watching your watch, see the improvements. Also, it is a fun day with like minded people!

Just a quick explanation on Human Naturally. They are a Singapore based company applying the principals of MovNat. You can read up more on the links provided, but in a nutshell, they believe in natural movement through our environment.

The various movements emphasized are:-

• Locomotive: walking, running, jumping, balancing, crawling, climbing, aquatics (swimming, etc)
• Manipulative: lifting, carrying, throwing, catching
• Combatives: striking, grappling

And this is all done in as natural environment as possible. So think moving like a monkey in a forest or a tribesman in the savanna. And it is not easy! Crawling always takes me by surprise. Try to crawl on your hands and feet, no knees, around your house for a minute or two. Not so easy!

This YouTube video gives a good overview on what it is.
 
It is generally non-competitive and more about grace and ease of movement. And your body develops into a leaner, more elegant form.

The clinic was held at Singapore Botanical Gardens- always a great venue with plenty of surfaces to practice on. There were three students lead by Thomas Lim, who is a great ambassador for natural strength.

Some warm ups, including the dreaded crawl, were followed by various running drills and discussions of everyone's style and experiences as a barefoot runner. The most fun part was lying on the ground and then, on command, sprint in a given direction. Getting up and moving fast can be tricky without slipping and falling. Now imagine if there was a snake or lion there!

And some videos of us all running provided some helpful self analysis. What you think you are doing is not always what is really happening.

I was impressed how much more natural I is was moving from a previous session some months ago.

If you want to do something different on the weekend, please look up Human Naturally. They hold regular sessions across all the movements. I can't speak highly enough of what they have done for my swimming and running.

Here are some links:

Human Naturally
Human Naturally- Facebook
MovNat