Hello everyone welcome to another blog! This time I will be covering a course that has been considered “bluff” in the football development community. This is going to be my honest and transparent opinion about the course. In this review, we will be taking an in-depth look at the Way of the Natural (WOTN) course , exploring its features, benefits, and limitations. Whether you’re looking for a course to enhance your athleticism, prevent injuries or achieve a specific goal, this review will provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision. In the end I will provide a verdict if this something that you should invest your money in. So, let’s dive in and see what this course has to offer!
The concept
To begin with, I will talk about the concept of this course. Like the label says it, the Way of the Natural course is focusing on using nature to maximise performance which has been underestimated by mainstream approach with the rapid development of artificial remedies and sports scientists. Initially, the course was in a form of PowerPoint presentation. However, Taylor (the owner) is smart enough to move it into a exclusive platform where only paying members are able to access the course and to him directly as a mentor.
The course emphasizes the importance of nature which is the key factor in developing world class footballing talent. There are three main pillars in the course which are inner furnace, internal foundation and the game. These three are interconnected with nature . They are the main ingredients to maximising football potential.
Inner furnace
There are three main aspects in inner furnace which are light, water and magnetism. They are hidden in plain sight and are easy to be forgotten that they exist since majority of the time people are so fixated with technologies and their advancement. These three parts would significantly influence the health of your mitochondria aka the power house of the cell. Being outdoor and getting the natural light is one of the many ways to have a healthy mitochondria.
The second way is to have a healthy diet. In this course, a healthy diet means eating real food or naturally sourced food. So if you are thinking to have a protein bar or granola etc, those are not included since they are highly processed and man made. Third way is to maximising your sleep. This is important to align your circadian rhythm (your body clock) to help your body produce the appropriate hormone. All of these inherently will affect how your body moves and in the football context, how it would perform on games.
This genuinely opened my eyes. I thought I have been having a healthy lifestyle by tracking my calories, using protein powder, eating protein bars and granola, vegetables and pasta. I found out these are not how human supposed to eat. Overtime I changed my diet and it has helped me a lot until this day.
Internal foundation
Now we move to the physical aspect. The course explained that the body is one whole unit. It is not segmented body parts. Most trainer or sport scientists think that they need to isolate certain body part to make it better. The root of the body is the feet. The place where all movements begin. Inside the feet there is a part called plantar fascia which is the soft tissue that connects your whole body. Most people might not have this upstream tissue connection due to it being dormant. This can be caused by relying too much on the front chain of the body i.e. quads, knees etc.
Instead, the exercises on this course would focus on awakening that “dormant” back chain system in the body such as glutes, hamstring, etc. Therefore, all the exercises in the course will mostly involve the feet and from the outside it might not look “heavy”. But trust me, from my experience, it has been a good wake up call for me.
I stopped going to the gym like what most players would do. Ever since, I felt lighter on my movement. I can shift my body fluidly without any pain or aches. I become more like an athlete instead of a body builder. My performance on the pitch became so much better both technically and physically. All just because I was focusing on the root cause which was my foot. I am being honest and I had never expected this result. I gave this a try only because the theory made sense to me. Plus the stuff that I did in the gym i.e. football specific & plyometrics have not helped me much to perform.
The Game
This is the obvious one. No matter what, a footballer has to play a game of football. It sounds simple and silly but there are players out there that would rather train individually even though there was a chance to play a 5v5 or 6v6 game. This should be the best way to improve. Playing games as much as possible. Testing yourself against better players. That is how you improve and go to the next level. That is how you get your competitive edge.
Of course there is no harm in doing individual training. But the purpose of it is to make you better in a game, not to REPLACE the game. The course will also shows how should someone train individually i.e. not using cones or pre-plan pattern. The game of football is dynamic and the situation constantly changing so the individual training should replicate that too.
If you look at most of the elite players in the top leagues, their answer about how they got brought up to the game is kind of similar. It is either they were built in a street playing street football or just purely playing football in a local pitch/cage. This scenario would happened a lot especially back in the old days compared to the present time where the development is predominantly through 1on1 coaching, cone drills and mannequins.
Along with these three principles that I have mentioned, the course also covers recovery methods, breathing, postural correction, movement pattern and mind development. This is basically a course that provide holistic ways to improve in all areas as a football player. There is a lot more to see inside the course. There at least 8 modules that can help you increase your potential as a player.
What else is inside?
The recovery section is full of methods that allows you to be fully fresh and full of energy during trainings and games. It also teaches breathing practice and how it can help to minimise fatigue during game day. It goes deep to even fixing your tongue posture will increase your performance on the pitch.
Transforming your movement pattern by applying GOATA principle is also in the course. It works by doing exercises that rewire your nervous system, not just merely muscle. The human body is more than just muscles which is why this breakthrough concept is not like your mainstream workout programs.
For those of you who are wondering if this course would help you to get big, then I got you covered. It shows you the way how someone can get their natural athletic size without ruining your athleticism by going to the gym. Unlike muscles that are built in the gym that falling off during rest weeks, naturally grown muscle does not go through that phase.
The mind module will help you minimise performance limitations related to mental aspect such as nervousness, anxiety, lack of motivation and even addiction to certain behaviours. I found this one is such a game changer especially when preparing for a game or even a trial with a better team. It flipped my mindset and it helped my action towards it. I get into the zone much quicker and felt calm whenever I am on the pitch.
Not to mention you will be a part of community with other players, walking in the same path to greatness. I should say this one is crucial. Having other players that I can connect with has helped my progression even more. Like iron sharpens another iron, it makes me accountable with my actions.
Verdict
In my most honest opinion and based on what I have seen inside, the Way of the Natural course is a very good investment. Because it touches upon every aspects of human body which basically will translate how it performs in sport context or even day to day life. I felt this is the undisputed secret to achieve maximal performance and result. Plus there are hundreds of footballer and select few elite players that have experienced a positive change in their performance on and off the pitch.
I firmly believe this course should cost a lot more. The fact that they are trying to wake up us and make us realise what it takes to become an elite level player in a holistic manner. The amount of knowledge inside the Way of the Natural course is just on another level. Obviously, the improvement will not happen overnight or by just reading it. Someone needs to take action and make the exercises and routines as a lifestyle.
Chronic pain, non-contact injuries, dysfunction, bad genes, anxiety, laziness, low confidence and self-doubt should be things of the past. This course provides the right tools to overcome those issues not by fixing the symptoms, but treating straight into the root cause.
Final Note
So what are you waiting for? The time is ticking and you should act quick. Get ready or get left behind. Don’t regret what you could have achieved by having full access to WOTN. If you are on a budget, I would recommend a beginner level course called The Modern Footballer (TMF). I have a separate blog covering this course if you want to check it out. It can be a good start before investing in a more advanced program like The Way of the Natural.
That is all from me! I hope it has allowed you to get an insight what is it look like from the inside. The longer you wait, the more players will surpass your progression. Especially to those who want to go to the next level, you should have a sense of urgency and do whatever possible to get that extra edge. Alright, I will leave you to make the decision and let me know in the comment when you join the Way of the Natural course.
