A Movement Manifesto
A major paradigm shift in a world of fitness and the philosophy behind it.
A shift from work to play, from sweat to skill development, from short-term goals to a lifelong journey of exploring our own bodies and what they can achieve.
We have seen it gaining momentum in various movement disciplines including calisthenics, parkour, gymnastics, tricking, acrobatics and yoga. All have one thing in common: working with your own bodyweight towards mastery and discovering what your body is truly capable of.
A new breed of athletes is coming
Athletes who connect the body and mind, who push the limits, who move to feel, to play, to practice. To build strength, mobility and agility, not only a six pack.
Athletes who are redefining what fitness means.
WE ARE MOVEMENT ATHLETES
We don’t exercise. We move
“Exercise is Optional, Movement is Essential”.
We refuse to think of movement as an obligation, a chore, a necessary evil called exercise. We refuse to be driven by pain, just for aesthetic results. We move because we enjoy it, because it makes us feel alive, because this is who we are.
Movement is freedom
We refuse to be confined by machines, places, and facilities. We will embrace our freedom whenever and wherever we are while using our body and our environment.
We move to play
Movement is about fun, it’s about play, expression and creativity—things we tend to suppress as we mature. Let’s play, explore, have fun. Moving means being in the present, enjoying the moment. We enjoy what we are doing. We are not exercising, we are moving. Movement for movement’s sake.
Our body is our gym
Movement athletes use their own bodies to progress, move, advance. We leave behind constraints. It’s us, our bodies and the world. We move a lot and are designed to do so—hence we are in this amazing body. We are movement opportunists—we incorporate movement into our life, wherever and whenever we can. We are free and maximise our body resistance to push through boundaries.
Our goal are process, progress and practice
We believe that chasing mainstream goals, such as aesthetics, losing weight or lifting more than anyone else, takes us away from what is really important: the here and now and the focus on getting better and stronger every single day. We want to learn new moves, new skills, get stronger. There is no end to this lifelong journey—we get better, every day, forever.
We cultivate the connection of mind and body through movement
We use movement to reconnect with our bodies. While all movement practices are a form of physical fitness, the goal, direction, passion and personalities are not one dimensional. It’s all about so much more than the aesthetic; the mental and emotional aspects play a much larger role than is easily observable from the outside looking in. Living in the calmness of movement creates vitality in your body, and being aware/observing the movements in the stillness of your mind will create peace of mind.
We feel our bodies and let them guide us
We cultivate body awareness and read body signals . There’s no single, magic formula for everyone. Training in never linear. We learn how to interpret our body’s signals and adjust the training as necessary.
We learn skills and movement patterns
Train, but train movement, not muscles. By focusing on movement patterns and learning how to call upon the body to work as a whole, most movers are able to transition amongst disciplines, and adapt new styles and systems much more readily.
We build all-round capabilities
Increasing capability may not improve actual ability. Strength, power, and endurance are great, but they don’t always translate to skillful movement.
Movement is a priority, passion and obsession
We believe you should find movement you love, turn it into your passion and your obsession.
We honour and celebrate our bodies, and each other
We understand that everyone has different bodies, shapes and abilities. We move to celebrate those differences and to express ourselves. The inspiration for our movement is as unique and original as we are. We understand that we are in it together. We might be at different levels, and do different things in life but at the very basic level we are all movers—we all have the same worth.
We embrace our imperfections
We understand we are just humans, and always start imperfectly. Moving imperfectly is better than not moving. We are always open to trying new things and being really bad at them. That’s how we get better and stronger.
We are grateful for progress and celebrate all successes
We lead with gratitude. Inner gratefulness for our bodies, our environment and each others. We focus on positive progress and always try to find the best in each situation. Our movement is a celebration of our bodies and what it is capable of. We celebrate even the smallest progress.
We feel and honour our environment
Where possible, we move in nature. We are designed to be exposed to and move in all sorts of natural environments. We touch the world with our senses—we go barefoot, even hug some trees if we want! Our environment is part of us and part of our movement practice. We become one with our environment, we respect it, we love it.
We have an open mind, always
The hallmark of a mover is an open minded approach to exploring various other disciplines. Many movement practitioners have their specialities but few, if any, true movers limit themselves to a single discipline. We honour and learn from other disciplines.
Movement is the way of being
LIFE WITHOUT MOVEMENT GOES NOWHERE
WHEN WE MOVE MORE, WE FEEL MORE, WE EXPERIENCE MORE
WHEN WE FEEL MORE, WE LIVE MORE
IT”S TIME TO FORGET ABOUT EXERCISE AS IT IS
COME AND PLAY WITH US
LEARN NEW SKILLS
MASTER MOVEMENTS
GET STRONGER
GET BETTER
HAVE FUN
LIVE MORE