Hébert's méthode naturelle and natural movement (MovNat)

1. Introduction

Version followed: Georges Hébert's méthode naturelle as summarised by the methodenaturelle.de association pages and by two current French-language teaching documents (Association des camps certifiés du Québec, Guide de l'animateur: hébertisme, 2012; a Belgian nature-animator training project, 2023); and MovNat as published on movnat.com (twelve principles, certification overview, Level 1, 2 and 3 course pages, trainer-renewal pages). Hébert's own books are named, but their text is not used here [uncertain].

What it is. The méthode naturelle (also called hébertisme) is a system of physical education built by French naval officer Georges Hébert (1875–1957). He began testing it at the Lorient naval school in 1904, replacing drill-style gymnastics with running, climbing, carrying, rescue and swimming; the navy adopted it officially in 1909 [source: methodenaturelle.de history]. It trains ten groups of "natural" movements — walking (marcher), running (courir), jumping (sauter), quadrupedal movement (quadrupédie), climbing (grimper), balancing (s'équilibrer), lifting and carrying (lever/porter), throwing (lancer), self-defence (se défendre) and swimming (nager) — mostly outdoors, with the aim of practical usefulness rather than sport performance [source: Rapaille 2023; methodenaturelle.de books]. Its motto is "Être fort pour être utile" (translation: be strong in order to be useful); the association site links it to Hébert's part in rescuing about 700 people after the 1902 eruption at Saint-Pierre, Martinique [source: methodenaturelle.de history]. A Belgian teaching document frames the method as building three forces together: physical, mental (courage, facing fears, determination) and social (loyalty, solidarity, team spirit) [source: Rapaille 2023].

MovNat ("Natural Movement Fitness") is a modern natural-movement training and certification system founded by Erwan Le Corre, who still teaches some certifications himself [source: MovNat Level 1 Étréchy page]. It is organised around twelve published principles (practical, adaptable, efficient, mindful, vital, instinctual, cooperative, environmental, evolutionary, unspecialised, universal, progressive) [source: MovNat principles]. MovNat's 2009 essay on the méthode naturelle, signed by Le Corre, says the MovNat System "finds some of its most important roots" in Hébert's method, and that he built MovNat by studying such earlier systems and updating them [source: MovNat "The roots of Méthode Naturelle"].

Links to parcours and parkour. The association site credits Hébert with formalising the military obstacle course (parcours du combattant) in 1916, and dates the later "Vita Parcours" fitness trails to Zürich, 1968 [source: methodenaturelle.de history]. Parkour UK's history traces parkour to Raymond Belle, who met Hébert's methods in a French military orphanage and called his own training parcours, and to his son David Belle and the Lisses group of the late 1980s–1990s (later the Yamakasi and the Art du déplacement lineage) [source: Parkour UK history]. These are practitioner-organisation histories, not academic ones [uncertain].

How change is thought to happen. The developers' claims are that repeated practice of useful, whole-body movements in natural settings builds physical capacity together with courage, self-confidence and a disposition to help others [source: Rapaille 2023; Camps Québec 2012]. Psychological change in a therapy sense is not a stated aim of either system; any therapeutic use is an application [synthesis]. Neither system is a treatment for any physical or mental disorder.

Scope for the psychotherapist. This is a physical-education method and a training tradition, not a psychotherapy. MovNat Level 1 certification is open to adults of any background ("All abilities are welcome") [source: MovNat Level 1 Étréchy page], so a psychotherapist can train and certify as a MovNat trainer; the Québec guide places hébertisme leadership with trained animateurs under an employer's training and supervision [source: Camps Québec 2012]. This guide therefore gives the published session structure for a psychotherapist who holds the relevant movement credential, and the psychotherapist's role alongside a teacher for everyone else.

2. Framework

Not a phased therapy. Neither system has therapy phases. Both describe a repeated session and a long-term progression of skill. No source cited here gives session counts [uncertain].

Credential routes.

MovNat Level 1 (MovNat Certified Trainer). Format as published for a 2025 course: home-study materials, then a multi-day in-person course of lectures, beginner-level practice and competency tests. Completion requires passing three evaluations: a written exam, a physical competence test and a coaching (teaching) assessment. Minimum age 18 [source: MovNat Level 1 Étréchy page]. MovNat's overview describes Level 1 as the foundation, starting from ground movements (squatting, getting up, crawling) before lifting, carrying, throwing, jumping and climbing, and lists fitness professionals, physical therapists, coaches and everyday movers as its audience [source: MovNat Certification page]. Level 2 requires a current Level 1 certification and age 18 or over; it combines home study, a two-day in-person course of intermediate-level practice and the same three evaluations, and leads to Level 2 MovNat Certified Trainer [source: MovNat Level 2 San Diego page]. Level 3 requires a current Level 2 certification and passing physical competence tests submitted by video; it is a four-day, mostly outdoor course, and candidates are tested on efficiency in all Level 3 techniques, adaptability in unrehearsed combinations, conditioning to repeat techniques, and the ability to teach others safely [source: MovNat Level 3 page]. Since January 2023 a Level 1 or 2 certification keeps a trainer "active" for three years. Status can be renewed by reporting continuing-education credits, by an online video assessment with a MovNat Team Instructor, or by re-attending the course; only Level 2 trainers or higher may teach MovNat workshops [source: MovNat Active Trainer Membership page; MovNat Online Renewal page]. A fully private certification option is also listed [source: MovNat Certification page].
Hébertisme leadership. In Québec camps, the employer must provide training, module maintenance, posted rules, an age/difficulty classification of modules and staff ratios [source: Camps Québec 2012]. In Belgium, a federation founded in 1948 by Marcel Beugnier continues today as Sport'nat [source: methodenaturelle.de history]; its training route is not described here [uncertain].
Parkour coaching. Parkour UK describes itself as the national governing body of parkour and lists Level 1, Level 2 and Level 4 (Master Coach and Coach Educator) coaching routes plus coaching standards and a Safe Sport section [source: Parkour UK home and history pages]. The content of those routes is not summarised here [uncertain].

Session structure (hébertisme, Québec camp version). Five stages [source: Camps Québec 2012]:

Planification — choose an approach (traditional, modern/competitive, or cooperative); consider age and motor development; check health status; confirm staff training.
Préparation — check weather, clothing and the leader's kit; an active walk to the trail; a warm-up; seat the group away from distractions.
Présentation et explication — capture attention with a theme; explain goal and rules briefly; go over safety rules; teach spotting (la parade).
Exécution — supervise, count participants between modules, keep the activity lively.
Évaluation — cool-down; debrief with participants; staff meeting afterwards.

Session structure (MovNat). MovNat publishes no mandatory class template. A MovNat Level 3 trainer's article on the MovNat site describes a flexible four-part session, which he says draws on MovNat facility programming: a warm-up (for example a developmental-sequence, head-to-toe, skill-building or playful warm-up); an emphasis block on one or two skills; a "combo" block that links several skills in a repeated sequence; and a cool-down [source: MovNat blog, Brown 2018]. MovNat's own writing advises a gradual, safe sequence, for example building crawling competence before climbing drills [source: MovNat "Holistic" article], and its Level 1 course starts from ground movements before lifting, carrying, throwing, jumping and climbing [source: MovNat Certification page].

Moving on (criteria). Hébertisme: the leader moves the group to another module before interest drops (the guide's courbe de l'animation), and no participant is forced onto a module [source: Camps Québec 2012]. MovNat: challenge should be "neither too easy nor too hard" (progressive principle) [source: MovNat principles]. Therapy criteria such as readiness to discuss fear or body experience are [synthesis].

Format. Group, outdoors, in natural or built terrain (a wooded piste hébertiste with climbing, crossing and swinging modules; ropes, nets, beams) [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Children's versions use animal-themed games for each movement group (e.g. wolf for walking, badger for quadrupedal movement, squirrel for climbing) with a closing circle [source: Rapaille 2023]. MovNat states training is often outdoors and can be done alone or socially [source: MovNat principles].

3. Guiding principles

From MovNat's twelve principles [source: MovNat principles] — each paraphrased, with its practical meaning for a therapist-trainer [synthesis for the practical lines]:

Practical — movements should be useful in daily life and emergencies. Meaning: choose tasks with real-life sense (getting up from the floor, carrying, stepping over) over display.
Adaptable — movement depends on context. Meaning: change terrain, load and task to the person, not the person to a fixed drill.
Efficient — good technique for less effort and more safety. Meaning: coach quality before quantity; stop when form breaks down.
Mindful — movement comes from awareness of self and surroundings. Meaning: invite attention to sensation and environment; this is the natural bridge to therapy talk.
Vital — movement supports personal safety. Meaning: frame skills as self-reliance, without fear-based messaging.
Instinctual — technique turns instinct into skill. Meaning: start from what the person can already do.
Cooperative — training is social and supportive. Meaning: use pairs and group help; avoid ranking.
Environmental — regular outdoor practice. Meaning: plan for weather, terrain and access as part of the session.
Evolutionary — human movement patterns have not changed. Meaning: treat this as the developers' rationale, not as a claim to repeat to clients.
Unspecialised — a well-rounded skill set rather than specialisation. Meaning: rotate across movement groups; watch for one-sided fixation.
Universal — movement is for everyone. Meaning: adapt for age, disability and body size; never exclude.
Progressive — neither too easy nor too hard. Meaning: grade challenge so the person succeeds most of the time.

From hébertisme sources:

Usefulness and altruism ("Être fort pour être utile") [source: methodenaturelle.de history]. Meaning: strength is framed as serving others, which can soften performance or appearance goals [synthesis].
Competing only with oneself [source: Rapaille 2023]; "Le parcours n'est pas une piste de course" (translation: the course is not a race track) [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Meaning: no times or rankings.
Safety first — the guide calls safety the leader's "priorité numéro un" [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Meaning: daily equipment checks, clear rules, close the course when wet, icy or damaged.
Nobody is forced onto a module [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Meaning: choice is protected; this is also the trauma-informed default [synthesis].
Challenge builds pride and self-esteem; encourage, do not rank [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Meaning: reward helping, encouraging, listening and self-overcoming rather than a "best" participant.
More engagement, less correction ("Plus d'animation = moins d'intervention") [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Meaning: keep the group occupied to prevent disorder rather than reprimanding.
Whole person — Hébert's aim, as the association site summarises it, was physical, emotional and moral education together [source: methodenaturelle.de books].

For the psychotherapist [synthesis]: hold the clinical frame (assessment, consent, confidentiality limits in a group), keep the movement role and the therapy role explicit, and work within your profession's code — for example UKCP item 23, offer only forms of work you are adequately trained in [source: UKCP Code 2019].

4. Intervention inventory

No exercise doses, repetitions, intensities, heights, loads or durations are given here as instructions. Where a source gives a structure, it is reported as published. Interventions A–N are drawn from the published sources; O–S are the psychotherapist's own work and are marked [synthesis].

A. Health screening and medical clearance

Purpose / when: Before anyone joins, and again after any illness, injury or pregnancy. The Québec guide requires health status to be checked in advance under each organisation's procedure, and names injuries and conditions such as back problems or fragile bones as possible limits on participation [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Use your organisation's written health form or a standard pre-activity readiness questionnaire [synthesis]. (2) Ask about heart or lung disease, fainting, epilepsy, recent surgery or fracture, joint or spinal problems, osteoporosis, pregnancy, medication that affects balance or alertness, and swimming ability [synthesis]. (3) Where any answer is positive, ask for written clearance from the person's doctor or physiotherapist before physical participation, and record any limits [synthesis]. (4) Screen psychologically too: dissociation under arousal, panic, current self-harm, eating disorder or compulsive exercise, alcohol or substance use on session days [synthesis]. (5) Agree what the person will and will not do.
Example language (illustrative): "Before we move together, I need to know about anything in your body or health that could make some movements risky. If anything comes up, we'll ask your doctor before you do the physical parts."
Watch for: minimising ("it's only an old knee thing"); pressure to skip clearance; people who conceal an eating disorder because the group is attractive to them. Working: the person discloses freely and accepts limits.

B. Informed consent, including consent to touch

Purpose / when: At intake and at the start of each session. Spotting (la parade) and partner work involve touch [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Explain what the activity is, what it is not (not a treatment for any illness), the risks of falls and strains, and the right to stop or sit out at any time [synthesis]. (2) Explain that spotting can mean a hand near or on the body, holding a hand, or verbal supervision only [source: Camps Québec 2012], and ask which the person prefers. (3) Agree a stop word; the Belgian programme uses a "STOP" call that everyone must respect [source: Rapaille 2023]. (4) Re-check consent before any hands-on assist and during it; touch is never sexual; offer no-touch alternatives [synthesis]. Body-psychotherapy codes require consent before touch techniques and the right "to refuse or end any touch" at any time [source: USABP Code]. (5) Record consent.
Example language (illustrative): "On this beam I can spot you with my hands close to your back, holding your hand, or just talking you through. Which would you like? You can change your mind at any point."
Watch for: freezing or compliant "yes" without real choice; flinching at contact. Working: people state preferences and use the stop word without apology.

C. Planning the session approach

Purpose / when: Before each session. The Québec guide offers three approaches — traditional, modern/competitive, cooperative — chosen in light of age and motor development [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Pick the approach; for therapy groups, choose cooperative by default and avoid timed or ranked formats [synthesis, consistent with the guide's "not a race" rule]. (2) Pick which movement groups (H) the session will touch, rotating over weeks to stay unspecialised [source: MovNat principles]. (3) Plan a theme. (4) Plan staff positions and ratio as your organisation requires [source: Camps Québec 2012]. (5) Plan an alternative role for anyone who sits out (K).
Example language (illustrative, planning note): "Theme: crossing the river together. Cooperative. Groups: balance, quadrupedal movement, carrying."
Watch for: drift towards challenge levels that suit the leader rather than the group.

D. Preparation: site, weather, clothing, walk-in, warm-up

Purpose / when: Each session. The guide lists checking weather, clothing and the leader's kit, an active walk to the trail, a warm-up, and seating the group away from distractions [source: Camps Québec 2012]. The leader inspects modules daily and reports defects; the course closes when wet, icy or damaged; closed footwear is required [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Walk the site first: surfaces, edges, water, traffic (the Belgian programme warns staff about a nearby car park) [source: Rapaille 2023]. (2) Check weather and decide go / adapt / cancel [synthesis]. (3) Check footwear and clothing. (4) Walk to the site as a group. (5) Warm up gently, led at the pace of the least ready person [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "The rocks are slippery today, so we'll leave the high beam and work low."
Watch for: cold, heat and dehydration signs; people with no suitable clothing. Working: no equipment- or weather-related incidents.

E. Presentation and safety briefing

Purpose / when: Before activity. Capture attention, give a theme, explain goal and rules briefly, go over safety rules [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Gather the group in a circle or semicircle [source: Camps Québec 2012]. (2) State the theme and goal. (3) State core rules: one person per module, wait for the leader's signal, nobody forced, it is not a race [source: Camps Québec 2012]. (4) Remind the stop word and the right to sit out. (5) For therapy groups, add confidentiality and how feelings that arise will be handled [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "One person on each obstacle, and only when I give the signal. Nobody has to do anything they choose not to. We're not racing; the only person you're measuring yourself against is you."
Watch for: people who did not hear or understand; check understanding by asking one person to repeat the rules [synthesis].

F. Teaching spotting (la parade)

Purpose / when: Before any balance, climbing or swinging module. The guide's spotter stands close, arms bent with palms towards the participant, and follows the person to stop or soften a fall; spotting can also be a held hand or verbal supervision. It uses a four-step call-and-response between participant and spotters (ready? / ready / falling / caught), and practice games before real use [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Demonstrate the spotting stance. (2) Teach the call-and-response in your own words. (3) Practise on the ground first. (4) Pair spotters only with consent from both parties (B). (5) Spotting partners do not leave their post until the person is down; when lowering someone, feet go to the ground first [source: Rapaille 2023].
Example language (illustrative): "Before you step up, ask your spotters if they're ready, and wait until they say yes."
Watch for: spotters distracted or joking; anyone uncomfortable being close to others. Working: the call-and-response becomes automatic, and people ask for spotting when they need it.

G. Execution and supervision

Purpose / when: The active part. Supervise, count participants between modules, and keep it lively; the leader positions themselves at the front to model or in the middle to spot [source: Camps Québec 2012]. In the Belgian programme, a main leader and an assistant take set positions, for example one at the bottom of a slope and one at the top to catch climbers [source: Rapaille 2023].
Steps: (1) Head count at each transition. (2) Keep one person per module. (3) Move on before interest fades [source: Camps Québec 2012]. (4) Stop the activity if form or attention breaks down; the efficiency principle links good technique to safety [source: MovNat principles]. (5) Use waiting time for small cooperative challenges [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Example language (illustrative): "Let's pause here. Look at where your feet are before you shift your weight."
Watch for: fatigue, showing off, peer pressure, anyone going quiet or withdrawing. Working: steady engagement, few corrections needed ("Plus d'animation = moins d'intervention").

H. The ten movement groups (practice content, described qualitatively)

Purpose / when: The content of sessions. Hébert's later multi-volume work treats the families in turn: walking, running and jumping; quadrupedal movement, climbing and balancing; lifting/carrying, throwing and defence; swimming [source: methodenaturelle.de books; Rapaille 2023]. MovNat names a balanced, unspecialised skill set as its aim [source: MovNat principles].
Steps (qualitative):
- Walking and running — over varied ground, as useful travel rather than racing.
- Jumping — small, controlled jumps and landings; landings are the main injury mechanism in parkour data [source: Rossheim & Stephenson 2017], so keep heights low and progress slowly [synthesis].
- Quadrupedal movement — crawling and moving on hands and feet; MovNat advises crawling competence before climbing drills [source: MovNat "Holistic" article].
- Climbing — low obstacles and trees or modules with spotting.
- Balancing — low beams, logs, lines.
- Lifting and carrying — objects and, where agreed, a partner; MovNat's article notes injuries from lifting awkward objects among strength athletes [source: MovNat "Holistic" article].
- Throwing — only within marked boundaries, never pointed at anyone [source: Rapaille 2023].
- Defence — in the children's programme, framed as play; any contact work needs a qualified martial-arts or self-defence instructor and explicit consent [synthesis].
- Swimming — only with a qualified lifeguard or swimming instructor and the venue's water-safety rules; no breath-holding games [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Today is about getting down to the ground and back up in as many ways as feel comfortable."
Watch for: pain (stop, do not push through), dizziness, falls, one movement group dominating. Working: people move more freely and choose challenges they can manage.

I. Animal-themed movement games (children's version)

Purpose / when: Groups of children. The Belgian nature-animation programme for 9–12-year-olds (up to 24 children) links each movement group to an animal — wolf (walking), hare (running), badger (quadrupedal movement), squirrel (climbing and balancing), roe deer (jumping), ant (lifting/carrying), praying mantis (throwing), wild boar (defence) — alternating active phases with calm moments for animal stories, and ending in a closing circle [source: Rapaille 2023].
Steps: (1) Introduce the animal and what it does. (2) Play the movement game. (3) Calm phase with an animal story. (4) Closing circle. Children's safeguarding, parental consent and the child's own assent apply throughout [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Badgers move low to the ground. Can you find a way to cross the clearing like a badger?"
Watch for: exhaustion (the programme shrinks the game area if players tire) [source: Rapaille 2023]; a child left out. Working: every child joins at their own level.

J. Buddy system (copain-copain)

Purpose / when: Throughout group sessions, for safety and group management [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Pair participants. (2) Each looks out for the other and reports if their partner is missing or hurt. (3) In therapy groups, pair thoughtfully (not two people in conflict; not an anxious person with someone who pushes) [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Your buddy is your first check: if they stop, you stop and call me."
Watch for: pairs becoming exclusive or coercive. Working: participants spontaneously help each other.

K. Alternative roles for those who sit out

Purpose / when: When someone cannot or chooses not to do a module. The guide gives such children other roles or alternative activities and asks for personalised challenges for children with disabilities [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Offer a role: spotter (if able), timekeeper of turns, safety observer, encourager. (2) Offer a lower-level version of the movement. (3) Never single out or comment on the reason [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Would you like to be our safety watcher on this one, or try the low version?"
Watch for: shame or withdrawal. Working: the person stays in the group.

L. Support matched to participant profile

Purpose / when: As the group unfolds. The guide describes three common profiles: restless participants need clear rules and responsibilities; fearful participants need reassurance and realistic goals; high performers need challenges and a leadership role [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Notice the profile. (2) Give the restless person a job. (3) Give the fearful person a smaller step, spotting of their choice and permission to stop. (4) Give the high performer a teaching or spotting role rather than a harder solo stunt [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative, to a fearful participant): "What would be a step you could manage today? Even standing on the first log and stepping off counts."
Watch for: the leader's own wish for a breakthrough pushing a fearful person too far [synthesis]. Working: fearful participants choose a next step themselves.

M. Cooperative recognition

Purpose / when: When a group uses incentives. Reward helping, encouraging, listening and self-overcoming rather than naming one "best" participant [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Name behaviours you value at the start. (2) Notice them aloud during the session. (3) Invite peers to name them in the debrief.
Example language (illustrative): "I noticed Sam waited and spotted every person on the beam. That's exactly what 'strong in order to be useful' means."
Watch for: comparisons creeping back in. Working: participants praise each other's help, not each other's performance.

N. Evaluation: cool-down and debrief

Purpose / when: End of each session: cool-down, debrief with participants, staff meeting afterwards [source: Camps Québec 2012]; the Belgian programme ends with a closing circle [source: Rapaille 2023]. After any incident, follow your organisation's emergency sequence and complete a written report, as the guide requires [source: Camps Québec 2012].
Steps: (1) Slow the pace and gather in a circle. (2) Ask what each person did, noticed, and felt. (3) Ask who helped them. (4) Note any pain, injury or distress and follow up. (5) Staff debrief.
Example language (illustrative): "What did your body tell you today? Was there a moment you wanted to stop, and what did you do with that?"
Watch for: injuries reported late; strong emotions that need a separate conversation. Working: people link body experience to words.

O. Mindful attention during movement [synthesis, from the Mindful principle]

Purpose / when: In any movement, especially balance and quadrupedal work, where MovNat says good movement starts with awareness of self and surroundings [source: MovNat principles].
Steps: (1) Before a movement, invite the person to notice the ground, breath (without changing it) and where they feel steady. (2) During it, one cue at most. (3) After, ask what they noticed.
Example language (illustrative): "Before you step on, just notice your feet on the ground. No need to change anything."
Watch for: heightened anxiety from internal focus in people with panic or health anxiety — shift attention outward to the environment. Working: people describe sensations calmly.

P. Grading challenge (progression) [synthesis, from the Progressive principle]

Purpose / when: Choosing each next step so it is "neither too easy nor too hard" [source: MovNat principles], building basic skills before harder ones [source: MovNat "Holistic" article].
Steps: (1) Ask the person to rate their confidence before a step. (2) Offer the next easier or harder version accordingly. (3) Lower height, load or speed before raising anything else. (4) The person chooses.
Example language (illustrative): "How sure do you feel about this one? If it's shaky, let's try it lower first."
Watch for: pain, dizziness, or a person pushing through fear to please the group. Working: steady success with occasional manageable difficulty.

Q. Bringing movement experiences into psychotherapy [synthesis]

Purpose / when: In individual or group therapy sessions, for clients who also practise natural movement. Themes that sources link to hébertisme — overcoming fears, confidence, pride, helping others [source: Camps Québec 2012; Rapaille 2023] — can become therapy material.
Steps: (1) Ask what happened in practice and what the person felt before, during and after. (2) Explore fear, avoidance and approach on the obstacle as a mirror of life situations, if the client finds that useful. (3) Explore helping and being helped. (4) Keep the link to the client's own goals.
Example language (illustrative): "You said you stood on the beam for a long time before stepping off. What was that like? Is it familiar from anywhere else?"
Watch for: turning practice into a performance test or into self-criticism; body-image distress. Working: the client uses movement experiences to understand themselves.

R. Referral and collaboration with a movement teacher [synthesis]

Purpose / when: When you do not hold a movement credential, or the client needs more than you can offer. Codes require referral when appropriate and practice within competence [source: UKCP Code 2019; HCPC SOPs 2023].
Steps: (1) Check the teacher's credential: current ("active") MovNat Certified Trainer status, which lasts three years from certification or renewal, and Level 2 or higher for anyone running MovNat workshops; a parkour coaching qualification from a national governing body such as Parkour UK; or a recognised hébertisme organisation [source: MovNat Active Trainer Membership page; Parkour UK home]. (2) With the client's consent, share relevant safety information, not clinical detail. (3) Agree how adverse effects will be passed on. (4) Help the client prepare for the first class (what to expect, how to say no).
Example language (illustrative): "I'd like you to go to a class with a qualified trainer. Shall we think together about what to tell them about your knee and about needing space?"
Watch for: unqualified teachers; group cultures that glorify risk. Working: the client attends safely and reports back.

S. Recognising and passing on adverse effects [synthesis]

Purpose / when: Throughout. Parkour emergency-department data show mostly limb injuries — fractures, sprains and strains, abrasions, lacerations — mainly from landing or striking objects, with patients as young as 8 [source: Rossheim & Stephenson 2017].
Steps: (1) Ask after each session about pain, falls and distress. (2) Advise medical assessment for injury; head injury, chest pain, fainting or breathlessness need urgent care. (3) Record and tell the teacher, with consent. (4) Review screening and limits.
Example language (illustrative): "You mentioned your wrist still hurts from Saturday. I'd like you to get that checked before the next class."
Watch for: clients hiding injury to keep training; compulsive exercise. Working: clients report problems early.

5. Handling problems

The published sources cover safety rules, fearful and restless participants and keeping a group engaged. Everything else below is [synthesis].

Fear and freezing on an obstacle. Sources: reassure, set realistic goals, never force onto a module [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Response: lower the step, offer spotting of the person's choice, normalise stepping off as a valid choice, and praise the attempt. If fear escalates into panic or dissociation (glazed look, no response to name, shaking out of proportion), stop, bring the person to the ground, orient them to the surroundings and continue individually or in therapy later [synthesis].

Restless or disruptive participants. Sources: clear rules, a responsibility, and keeping the group busy rather than reprimanding ("Plus d'animation = moins d'intervention") [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Response: give a spotting or safety role; shorten waits.

Risk-taking, showing off, competition. The course "n'est pas une piste de course" [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Response: restate the rule; remove timing; give high performers teaching roles; stop anyone attempting unagreed heights or stunts. In parkour cultures that prize daring, discuss risk openly and refer only to coached settings [synthesis].

Stuck clients / loss of interest. Rotate movement groups (unspecialised principle) [source: MovNat principles]; move on before interest fades [source: Camps Québec 2012]; change environment or theme [synthesis].

Overwhelm (physical or emotional). Stop the activity, check for injury first, then emotion. Offer a seated, grounding pause outdoors. Do not push "through" for therapeutic effect [synthesis].

Non-adherence between sessions. Do not set home training targets. Explore what gets in the way (weather, cost, shame, injury, low mood) and look for small, safe, self-chosen practice or a community class [synthesis].

Pain or injury. Stop that movement. Arrange medical review for any injury; seek urgent help for head injury, chest pain, fainting or breathlessness. Record and report following the organisation's emergency sequence [source: Camps Québec 2012] and do not resume until cleared [synthesis]. Landings and impacts are the main parkour injury mechanism [source: Rossheim & Stephenson 2017].

Water, weather and terrain. Close or adapt when wet, icy or damaged [source: Camps Québec 2012]. Swimming and play near water only with qualified water-safety cover; no breath-holding games; cold-water and heat exposure need medical caution for people with heart disease, pregnancy or alcohol use [synthesis]. No temperatures, durations or exposure targets are given here.

Body image, eating disorders and compulsive exercise. The usefulness motto can redirect attention from appearance [synthesis], but natural-movement and "evolutionary" fitness messaging can feed rigid or compulsive exercise. Screen (A); with an active eating disorder, coordinate with the treating team before any physical programme; watch for training through injury, distress on missed sessions and weight talk; avoid weight or physique goals [synthesis].

Touch and partner work going wrong. Stop immediately if anyone is uncomfortable; offer no-touch alternatives. Never sexual touch; codes prohibit sexual contact with clients [source: UKCP Code 2019; USABP Code; APA Ethics Code]. A psychotherapist does not add hands-on bodywork to psychotherapy unless their own code allows it and they hold the training [synthesis].

Ruptures. A client may feel pushed, shamed or exposed in a group. Name it, take responsibility for your part, renegotiate consent and challenge levels, and repair in an individual conversation [synthesis].

Dual roles. If you are both trainer and therapist, be explicit about which role you are in, what is confidential, and how physical safety decisions override therapy goals. Consider separating the roles by referring movement work to another teacher (R) [synthesis].

Children. Use safeguarding procedures, parental consent and the child's assent; never force; match modules to the child's size (the Québec guide checks reach and stance for children under about six) [source: Camps Québec 2012] and coordinate with the child's health team where there are medical needs [synthesis].

Health claims. Neither system is a treatment for physical or mental disease. Present developers' claims (strength, confidence, courage) as their claims [synthesis]. MovNat's own evidence page lists general research on motor learning, rehabilitation and outdoor exercise but no study of MovNat itself [source: MovNat Evidence page]. No outcome studies of hébertisme in clinical groups were found [uncertain].

Sources

Web sources

Books (listed by methodenaturelle.de; cited by title only)

Hébert, G. (1910). Guide pratique d'éducation physique.
Hébert, G. (1912). L'éducation physique ou l'entraînement complet par la méthode naturelle.
Hébert, G. (1918). Guide abrégé du moniteur et de la monitrice.
Hébert, G. (1925). Le Sport contre l'Éducation physique.
Hébert, G. (1936–1957). L'éducation physique virile et morale par la méthode naturelle, Tomes I–V (Vuibert).
Le Corre, E. The Practice of Natural Movement: Reclaim Power, Health, and Freedom. Victory Belt Publishing, 2019.

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