Primal Movement and Animal Flow

There is a new trend in physical workouts which promises to help open the doors to fitness, flexibility, and automatic fighting awareness for large numbers of people. Called by names like “primal movement” and “animal flow,” these styles of movement aim to make normal healthy physical movements more efficient and natural.

Primal Movement:

Primal Movement is a unique exercise routine that revolves around using the exercises and movements that our bodies are naturally designed to perform.

It centres around 7 core movements that are said to be at the centre of all of the actions we perform in daily life.

These actions are believed to be the basis of human movement and have been the areas we have needed to survive and thrive throughout history, which is where the “Primal” name comes from.

They are also believed to be the areas we need to keep our strength up, in to avoid becoming sedentary and all of the detrimental health effects that come with it.

There are a number of core values that are fundamentally connected to the style and intent of the Primal Movement Workout.

Perhaps the most important is that the functional style of training used in the workouts allows you to directly transfer the improvements you make in your sessions to your day to day life and vice versa. This ensures that both workouts and daily tasks help you to progress as a person.

Source

Animal Flow:

Animal Flow is a ground-based movement program.  It combines elements from different bodyweight disciplines such as breakdancing, parkour, gymnastics, and hand balancing with animal locomotion pattern.  The movements can be performed alone, or combined into “flows” where you are linking together different elements into a continuous chain of energy and movement. It can be practiced by individuals of all skill levels,  with movements ranging from entry level all the way to very advanced. 

Animal Flow FAQs

Animal Flow Beginner Video

These approaches to basic movement can be adapted for children. If a child develops the automatic instincts for natural movements that flow together without thought, he will easily adapt this flowing style to other kinds of movement such as dance and martial arts.

The best time to begin training in natural movement is while the child is still in the womb. After birth, creative use of baby swaddles and wraps allows the careful early introduction of newborns and young infants to natural movements.

These movement styles can be adapted to the child as he grows and develops. Such early training is likely to boost and accelerate coordination and reflexes for more formal styles of movement as well as more active and aggressive forms of reacting to the wider world.

The Open Door of Violence

To be human is to be offered the open door of violence. It is one of many legitimate paths for a human being to walk, if they choose. But if they choose that path, they must also learn the ethical way to walk it.

“The Gift of Violence” is a book by legendary martial arts teacher Matt Thornton. The world is dangerous. So should you be.

“For many years, Matt Thornton has been one of the most passionate ambassadors of the martial art of Jiu-Jitsu. His new book, The Gift of Violence, examines violence in the twenty-first century. Matt encourages his readers to apply the lessons he has learned in Jiu-Jitsu to every aspect of their lives. Above all, The Gift of Violence makes it clear that Jiu-Jitsu is not just a sport; it is also a philosophy that makes one strong enough to forgive
And, when necessary, confident enough to fight.”
—Rickson Gracie, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts legend

Matt Thornton.org

When Matt Thornton emerged into the world arena of martial arts training, he made a riveting video about his art that he called “Aliveness.” The video below is a clip from that documentary.

Aliveness Matt Thornton

Matt Thornton was one of the early group of American’s to become involved in the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having been introduced to it in 1991. He was also the first person from the State of Oregon to receive a black belt in the Art.

As a teacher he produced a video set in 1999 titled simply, ‘Aliveness’ which became one of the top sellers of all time within the industry. It set off a firestorm of controversy, and remained a central catalyst in a Martial Arts training revolution that is still taking place all over the world. They were voted as one of the top five self-defense videos of all time by Black Belt magazine.

Martial Arts video reviews said:

“If you buy only one set of videos this year, let these be the ones. If you believe that there has been an evolutionary development in the martial arts over the last few decades, from Bruce Lee to the Gracies to the all-round fighters of then you will want to see these tapes. If you have to sell your body to medical science or your sister to an Arab oil sheik, buy these tapes!”

Matt Thornton.org About

Thornton brings martial arts instruction alive, and makes it practical for everyday life. Each person has specific aptitudes and needs for which fight training can be helpful. One can never knows which approach suits him best unless he looks, and tries.

Philosopher Peter Boghossian interviews Matt Thornton about his approach to the fighting arts in the video below:

Fighting is one choice out of many in repeated moments of a person’s life. For most people, other choices may be more viable for most situations. 

Learning to fight well is a choice every person must decide whether or not to make. There are some situations where knowing how to fight well gives one the only chance he may have to go home to his loved ones that night.

Just as mastering one’s emotions provides a greater fullness and comfort of living within oneself, so does mastering the different aspects of one’s physical movements and reactions give one a sense of greater comfort and relaxation.

Dangerous Children know how to fight. But they aren’t born knowing how to fight. And unless they learn the ways of fighting well that suit them best, they may suffer unnecessarily along the way.