Movement Intelligence A Vast Store of Motor Skills

Movement Intelligence: A Vast Store of Motor Skills Chapter 16 Sport Books Publisher 1

Outline n Movement Intelligence n Motor Skills n Characteristics of Skills Sport Books Publisher 2

Movement Intelligence Sport Books Publisher 3

An aggregate or vast repertoire of movement experiences developed since birth Allows us to produce endless variety of skills n Skills we posses are NOT static elements n The ability to learn allows us to continually improve skills n Sport Books Publisher 4

Movement Intelligence: Unlocking Your Potential n In order to gain benefits of any PA, some degree of MI (movement intelligence) is necessary to unlock your potential Movement Intelligence n Waking, running, and cycling may not be an attractive means of maintaining health and longevity. MI is necessary for the development of diverse skills. Movement Intelligence Sport Books Publisher 5

Movement Intelligence and Motor Programs Sport Books Publisher 6

Motor Programs (MPs) n Motor programs = movement plans – Developed when learning new skills – Stored in memory n Acquired as a result of learning and repetitive practice – Through a formation of specialized nerve circuits in the central nervous system that work together when developing a movement plan for a new skill n When developed and stored in memory, motor programs are a set of pre-structured muscle commands that allow the performer to carry out the skill automatically Sport Books Publisher 7

Hypothetical example of coded motor programs assembled in an individual's motor memory or MI. MP 001234 MP 009230 MP 017284 MP 000270 MP 101339 Sport Books Publisher 8

Generalized Motor Programs(GMPs) n Still consists of a stored pattern of movements n Parameters: specify such things as the order of events, the overall duration of the event, the overall force needed to accomplish the movement, and temporal patterning, a) stable: eg. relative time and relative force applied in each stroke during table tennis b) unstable: eg. speeding up the sequence of the movements and increasing overall force applied during forehand stroke n Well-established GMPs form autonomic and sports and require a little attention and mental effort the basis for spontaneous movements in or no Sport Books Publisher 9

Motor Programs and MI MI can be simply viewed as a vast store of motor programs n Motor programs cannot be observed directly BUT can be inferred by observing the skills and movement patterns n The larger the repertoire of motor programs the larger the MI store and the more proficient we are in playing sports, because of the larger selection n MI is an active process; through practice we develop new motor plans and skills n Sport Books Publisher 10

CD = movement intelligence Larger MI (~CD) store = larger selection of motor programs (~Tracks) = more skills (~songs) and greater sport proficiency Non-observable blueprint for skills Tracks = motor programs Observable side of the coin; the patterns we exhibit based on the motor programs present Songs = skills or movement patterns Sport Books Publisher 11

Movement Intelligence and Movement Abilities Sport Books Publisher 12

Factors Affecting Movement Intelligence Inherited Abilities Stimulation at early age Etc. MOVEMENT INTELLIGENCE Expert Instruction Practice Feedback Sport Books Publisher 13

Movement Intelligence and Movement Abilities Movement abilities: inherited, relatively enduring and stable traits which serve as the foundation stones for the development of motor programs n The quality and effectiveness of motor programs depends upon the presence of underlying motor abilities n Analogy: n Movement Ability Skill Sport Books Publisher 14

Hypothetical model of links indicating abilities underlying performance in two skills, rowing and hockey Movement Abilities Reaction Time Movement Rate Balance Sculler Motor Timing Multi-limb Coordination Explosive Strength Hockey Player Sport Books Publisher 15

Questions and Answers About Human Abilities Sport Books Publisher 16

How Many Abilities Are There? Movement Abilities Perceptual-motor Abilities • Controlled precision • Multi-limb coordination • Response orientation • Reaction time • Speed of arm movement • Rate control • Manual dexterity • Finger dexterity • Arm-hand steadiness • Wrist-finger speed • Aiming Physical Proficiency Abilities • Explosive strength • Static strength • Dynamic strength • Trunk strength • Extent flexibility • Dynamic flexibility • Gross body equilibrium • Balance with visual cues • Speed of limb movement • Gross body coordination • Stamina Sport Books Publisher 26 identified by laboratory research + those yet to be identified General Coordination Abilities • Movement rate • Motor timing • Perceptual timing • Force control 17

How Many Abilities Do You Have? n All individuals posses all of the abilities listed, albeit to varying degrees n For this reason, abilities (or lack of thereof) impose limits on individual skill performance n No two persons have the same pattern of abilities Sport Books Publisher 18

Why Do People Excel at Some Activities but Are Mediocre at Others? n It all depends on the pattern of strengths and weaknesses of one’s inherited motor abilities n Having a low skill level at one activity does not mean having a low skill level in another activity Sport Books Publisher 19

Who are the All-Around Athletes? n Many fundamental abilities are likely common across a variety of sports n All-around athletes posses strong abilities that underlie the many sports in which they excel n They have more high end abilities than normal individuals and therefore excel in more sports Sport Books Publisher 20

Can Practice Improve Motor Abilities? Human abilities are genetically determined n However, intensive ability-specific practice may potentially improve motor abilities n Example: research at the University of Toronto indicates that practice on Dynavision improves a variety of psychomotor abilities and performance n Sport Books Publisher 21

Lead-up Activities and Drills 1. Transfer to another target sporting activity – 2. e. g. , passing, shooting, dribbling, and faking drills for soccer Improvement of basic abilities – – Quickening, balancing, perceptual exercises, etc. e. g. , perceptual motor training Sport Books Publisher 22

Motor Skills Sport Books Publisher 23

n What are skills? n How are skills characterized? n What types of classifications of skills are there? Sport Books Publisher 24

Skill as a Task Skill: “an action or task that requires voluntary body and/or limb movement to achieve a goal” In this context, a skill must be learned, have a purpose, and be performed voluntarily n Example: catching a baseball n Sport Books Publisher 25

Skill as Quality of Performance Skill: “the ability to bring about some end result with maximum certainty and minimum outlay of energy, or of time and energy” Sport Books Publisher 26

Maximum Certainty n Being skilled involves attaining the performance with maximum certainty n Obtaining performance outcome on some occasions and not on others is not a skilled action, because the element of luck may have been involved n Generating the skill reliably over time Sport Books Publisher 27

Minimization of Energy n Being able to minimize energy used to carry out an action constitutes a skilled performance n Energy conserved: – Can be used at times most needed – Can be directed towards other aspects of activity (e. g. , strategy, creativity) – Allows pacing oneself for longer periods of time Sport Books Publisher 28

Minimum Time n Being able to perform a skill in minimum time – e. g. , 100 -metre race, slap shot n However, minimizing time is not a strict goal of all movements – e. g. , speed of action accuracy – e. g. , speed of action affects energy costs by using muscles differently Sport Books Publisher 29

Characteristics of Skills Sport Books Publisher 30

Hierarchical Organization Sport Books Publisher 31

A skilled act may be thought of as following a hierarchical organization pattern, whereas an unskilled act lacks such organization Sport Books Publisher 32

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A theoretical skill hierarchy Executive Program Subroutine II Sub-subroutine I Sub-subsubroutine I Subroutine III Sub-subroutine II Sub-subsubroutine II Sport Books Publisher Sub-subsubroutine III 34

Rowing stroke skill hierarchy. Rowing Stroke Catch Sub-subroutine Arm Actions I Drive Hand Finger Actions Finish Body Movements Sport Books Publisher Recovery Leg Actions 35

Executive Program n The overall purpose of the act 1) acts as a goal 2) gives direction to skilled acts 3) orders the execution of certain subroutines 4) makes flexible decisions and adaptations n Dependent upon the sequential execution of subroutines Sport Books Publisher 36

Subroutines Isolated units of the total executive program n Fixed and will run off automatically once the sequence is established n Capable of being repeated over and over again unless changed by the executive program n Must follow particular sequence for the executive program to be effectively carried out n Sport Books Publisher 37

Temporal Patterning Sport Books Publisher 38

Temporal patterning: the ability of the performer to integrate the sequential organization of a movement pattern n Includes the ability to smoothly connect successive subroutines so that the skill may be executed in a flowing, coordinated fashion – Inexperienced performer: jerky movement pattern because the timing between subroutines not established – Experienced performer: transition between each subroutine is shorter and smoother Sport Books Publisher 39

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Classification of Skills Sport Books Publisher 41

Possible classification systems: team vs. dual vs. individual; summer vs. winter n A more comprehensive classification of motor skills: n – According to the effects of environment on learning and executing skills Sport Books Publisher 42

Closed Skills n performed under constant, relatively unchanging conditions n the movement form itself is often the goal of the skill n e. g. , gymnastics routines Sport Books Publisher 43

Teaching Strategies for Closed Skills Goal: stereotyped movements that consistently produce the desired response n Strategy: learning environment structured so that the desired response will occur n Repeating the selected movement pattern consistently without allowing external influences to affect the performance n – e. g. , noise n Use of kinesthetic and proprioceptive feedback especially effective Sport Books Publisher 44

Open Skills n Environments are continually changing and require performers to adjust and respond to the environment around them n Responses cannot be made effectively far in advance n Demand the capacity to adapt, anticipate, and be flexible in responses Sport Books Publisher 45

Teaching Strategies for Open Skills n The learning environment should closely approximate the environment in which the skill will take place n Learners should exercise variability and adaptability and different scenarios that approximate real environment n Learners may be wise to identify patterns in the environment that provide information about the movement of objects and players Sport Books Publisher 46

Open-Closed Continuum Open skills Closed skills Sport Books Publisher 47

Learning Progression For Open Skills Along the Open-Closed Continuum n Start learning with making the skill more closed (e. g. , one pitch speed) n Once a certain level of proficiency has been achieved, make the skill more open (e. g. , live pitch) n i. e. , remove a component of uncertainty of the skill in order to simplify its overall execution Sport Books Publisher 48

Enhancing Your Learning Potential n Clear understanding of: – Anatomical structures in limiting human movements – How the body moves most efficiently – How the body develops over time – Where our energy comes from – How to maintain healthy, injury-free body – Etc. Sport Books Publisher 49