We human beings are remarkable in so many ways: we can walk, run, jump, swim, do backflips, throw, catch and hit various balls, and so on.

We can also ride horseback, shoot arrows, punch, grapple, kick, spin and climb.

And we can do our best imitations of animals and incorporate these movements into our health and fitness regimens.

There isn’t a single animal on the planet who can duplicate ALL of the skills listed above.

Animals have limits based upon whether they are crawlers, climbers or walk on all four limbs.

Dolphins and whales can swim, as can humans, and boy can they jump from out of nowhere – but they cannot put on a pair of skis and glissade down a mountain – or don a pair of rollerblades and stroll down the street.

But when we compare the human being – skill for skill against what the animal CAN do – we see a HUGE difference.

No matter how great the toughest fighter, would you bet on him versus a tiger, bear, wolverine or primate?

Would you bet on five or more of the world’s strongest people against one gorilla?

Would you bet on the two fastest  people alive in a race against a cheetah?

By using our brains we human beings can figure out ways to overcome and outduel the animal via the use of weapons and technology.

But we cannot match the animal without our tools. We cannot match the animal’s strength, speed or agility when matched skill for skill.

Wisely, in days gone by, the ancients observed the animals and learned from them. They didn’t scoff and think they were superior because they had weapons.

They learned to model the animal’s movements, and in so doing, tap into a level of strength, speed, flexibility and health they wouldn’t normally have.

The human no longer sought after human strength. Instead he worked to acquire animal strength, the type of strength that
humans stand no chance against.

Bodyweight exercises as taught in my int’l best-seller, Combat Conditioning, are a good start in learning to move your body naturally, the way an animal does, but I have some new thoughts to address.

Over the years, I’ve often wished I emphasized some of the exercises in the book MORE than I did.

For example, jumping rope, bear crawls, crab walks and so on.

I wish I had included mace swinging, club swinging and relaxation skills for enhanced recovery.

I wish I had included more animal movements – especially all the exercises I teach that imitate the Way of the Tiger.

Well, I can definitely redo the book, or do a sequel, but for now it’s actually a blessing, because month after month, you can read, watch and observe all the updates I make in my thinking and my training.

You can tap and tune into these updates as a member of the FureyFaithful.com site.

A couple days ago we added videos on bear and tiger walking – and prior to that, videos on jumping rope, mace swinging, and so on.

Seriously, take a gander at the webpage and consider being part of the ride – it’s a wild and crazy one – and you’ll be thrilled.

Matt Furey

P.S. Follow me on Instagram – @fureycatmatt as well as on Facebook – @mativationaltips