For the past recent years, the football community has been challenged with the idea of fascia delivered by Football Entangled. Some people found it very strange since the guy was telling us that going to the gym will not improve your overall athleticism. This idea is contrary to popular belief where doing gym work is necessary to increase performance on the pitch. As a result, this guy would get a lot of hate and disagreement in his platform to disapprove the messages he is trying to spread.
So me being curious and sceptical decided to try it out myself. I had started to stop going to the gym which I have been doing for the last 3 years. Honestly, I do see improvements when I go to the gym but I felt like my performance on the pitch is stagnant.
Based on that, I decided to give his approach a try. Starting off with reading his free resources of articles and listening to his referred podcasts. At the beginning, I genuinely feel like football entangled is talking nonsense since I have never heard the concept of fascia before. Later on, I came across to his former mentor, Chong Xie, speaking about fascia as well which made me dive even deeper to this idea.
At this point, I had even contacted Chong Xie himself to schedule a video call where he provides a 30-minute consultation call to answer questions and uncertainties about fascia. Little that I know that he has been working with a UFC athlete, Zhang Weili, to improve her performance in the ring.
My Personal Experience
Bear in mind, I simultaneously already started practicing these exercises. But I was not sure if I have been doing them the right way. From towel curls to the hops exercises, I have done them all by watching Chong Xie’s videos on YouTube.
One week in and I did not feel anything in my posterior chain (hamstring or glutes area). However, I felt my feet and calves burning every time I did the exercises. Based on the study, it said that this is part of the transformation where you are moulded into a fascia driven athlete.
Two weeks in and I could felt the change in the sensation. I had started feeling a tingling sensation in my hamstring and glutes area. Fast forward one month, I felt much lighter on my feet due to changing my contact point with the ground. This would help me during matches as I become more agile and quicker both on and off the ball.
A thing to consider is, in order to improve your football ability, you need to spend time with the ball as well. The fascia exercises will indirectly help you with it, but it won’t be a magic pill than turns you into Messi or Ronaldo in one night. You would still need to practice to master the skill, however, you will have a different approach to it.
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Rumour has it that football entangled used to be Chong Xie’s client and been copying and reselling what Chong has taught him. Another down side is unfortunately lies in the price tag he puts to access the full course (The Way of the Natural). Not gonna lie, the content football entangled put about fascia is completely different than most health & human performance ideas. He emphasises the importance of immersing your body with nature rather than working against nature. In fact, he released a free guide titled “Working with Nature” in his website. The guide shows what actionable steps needed to be done to achieve elite athleticism.
The Modern Footballer
Recently, he also has created an entry level course about fascia and athleticism to increase your performance on the pitch by working with nature. He called it “The Modern Footballer” which I have also personally been using to improve. This is the cheaper version of the full course and suitable for the beginner level who are trying to get to know the concept of his method.
If you are intrigued to become more like a natural player and learning the fascia and athleticism fundamentals, I would genuinely recommend trying out this program. The price itself equals to the cup of coffee or even drinks you would have on the weekends. So when you are ready to invest for yourself, be a better footballer and importantly better person, go click this link. I will say this, spending less than $5 for this course could go a long way. A change of lifestyle will inherently make you a better human being and eventually better athlete.
Is he actually a professional footballer?
Now this is the big question. He claimed himself as a professional player. But he seems to be reluctant to tell which team does he play for. I get the point where he said that he is trying to protect his team’s privacy. However, I do not believe this is the case. Rumour has it that he was part of the LA Force team that plays in NISA (3rd tier of USA soccer) as a trial player.
Well my personal take would be to be open minded. Like any other training approach, his method surely has some positive things. Regardless of what his status and statements are, he is trying to provide value for the football development industry based on negative experience he has been through when doing mainstream training method.
My advice to you guys would be, experiment it yourself. Cross-train with the training methods that you have already been doing. If it improves any part of your game, continue with it. Otherwise, you can always disregard it when it does not help you in anyway. I have seen improvement in my movements and my touch. Therefore I decided to stick with it whilst incorporating my personal upper body workout.
Conclusion
So, what are the takeaways? I believe he is trying to spread a good message however the way he is doing it, does not come across quite well. The way he bashes people that are going to the gym to improve in football is awful. Nevertheless, it is good to see the football community being critical towards this approach. As that is how someone can achieve clarity and personal conclusion.
He may not be a professional footballer but if the training methods he gave works and bring you value, then there is no harm in doing it. Especially, the stuff where he says players need to use their time in playing more than just going to the gym as technique and tactical understanding will always wins a game. I also would recommend getting the Way of the Natural (WOTN) course if you have the money to invest in. If you want to learn more about the course, I have written a review about it here.
That’s my take on him. What do you guys think? Does the training method has ever helped you? Do you completely despise what he says? Does it make your feet hurts? Either way, let me know in the comment section.
