Overview Motor Skills: Principles and Applications

The most difficult aspect of the study of kinesiology is the application of anatomical and biomechanical concepts and principles so that students are able to generalize their knowledge across movement patterns and to apply it to new and unique patterns they may encounter. For students of human motion to be effective in applying their enhanced knowledge of kinesiological principles to effect improved performance, they must establish a logical framework for their analysis and engage in a systematic approach to critical observation and evaluation.

At the conclusion of Part III, students should be able to complete basic qualitative kinesiological analyses for all categories of skill classification. This means that they will have learned to observe and describe movements accurately, evaluate performance according to anatomical and mechanical principles, and prescribe corrective actions when needed. It also means that they will have developed the ability to select and evaluate the appropriateness of motor skills and exercises and related equipment.

Part III draws on the anatomical and mechanical information presented in Parts I and II. Analyses and applications that provide the basis for the successful performance of motor skills are presented on the basis of the model for kinesiological analysis developed in Chapter 1.

The first eight chapters in Part III are organized according to the system for classification of motor skills (see System for Classification of Motor Skills) and are presented with the intent that the student progress from the study of relatively simple motions to more complex motions—that is, from the standing posture through exercise and locomotion, to the giving of motion to external objects and the reception of impact. Included in each chapter are a brief description of the types of motion involved; outlines of anatomical and mechanical principles for effective, efficient, and safe performance; and an in-depth qualitative analysis of at least one motor activity.

Chapter 23 concludes Part III with a description of the instrumentation and methodology currently being used for motion analysis. It is becoming more and more likely that students at all levels will have direct experience with sophisticated equipment and methodology as early as their first kinesiology course. It is, therefore, important that they understand the significance of the contributions to our growing knowledge of human motion that have occurred through the expanding use of increasingly sophisticated analysis techniques and tools.