Georges Hébert (1875-1957) developed the " Méthode Naturelle " as a physical education system in the early 1900’s and to create apparatus and exercises to teach his “Natural Method”, composed of exercises belonging to the 10 fundamental groups:

  1. walking
  2. running
  3. jumping
  4. quadrupedal movement
  5. climbing
  6. equilibrium (balancing)
  7. throwing
  8. lifting
  9. defending
  10. swimming

Raymond Belle (1939-1999) closely followed the teachings of Georges Hébert ’s “méthode naturelle”, learning how best to overcome obstacles fluidly in a natural environment, to become a renowned firefighter of extraordinary athleticism and ability, dedicating his life to physical well being:

… nothing less than a ‘force of nature’

David Belle (1973-…), son of Raymond Belle , is credited as the founder of Parkour , a method of training the human body to become stronger, more agile, and faster, while remaining efficient and able to move more freely.

Sébastien Foucan (1974-…), a childhood friend of David Belle , is the founder and creator of Freerunning , a relaxed version of Parkour more focused on self-expression and creativity, as opposed to the speed and efficiency stressed in Parkour.

Erwan Le Corre (1971-…), also a friend of David Belle , created MovNat in 2008 as an actual training and coaching system, inspired by the original " Méthode Naturelle " and the Paleo lifestyle . It’s a method of exercise where the practitioner performs a variety of complex “natural movements” that use the whole body rather than artificially constrained exercises that focus on specific muscle isolation (e.g. like in most gym equipments).

  • Locomotive Skills
  1. walking
  2. running
  3. jumping
  4. balancing (equilibrium)
  5. crawling (quadrupedal movement)
  6. climbing
  7. swimming
  • Manipulative Skills
  1. lifting
  2. carrying
  3. throwing
  4. catching
  • Combative Skills
  1. striking
  2. grappling

Update: Lot’s of historical background info in The Roots of “Methode Naturelle” « MovNat

Update 2: Interesting tale of Erwan Le Corre’s encounter with Carlos Zuqueto (Jiu Jitsu world champion) in the Brazilian rain forest… Fitness to Survive in the Wild | Men’s Health (by Christopher McDougall of Born To Run fame)

Update 3: Tradução em Português de uma experiência com MovNat… Libere seu lado Uga Uga , by Nick Heil