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At the conclusion of this chapter, the student should be able
to:
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- 1. Identify and classify motor skills belonging in the
categories that fall under the heading of moving one’s
body on the ground or on another resistant surface.
- 2. Describe the anatomical and mechanical nature of motor
skills representative of the major types of locomotor patterns.
- 3. Name and state anatomical and mechanical principles that
apply to the locomotor patterns of walking, running, and jumping.
- 4. Evaluate performance of motor skills representative of
the major locomotor patterns in terms of application of the related
kinesiological principles.
- 5. Analyze the performance of someone performing a locomotor
skill. Follow the kinesiological analysis outline presented in Chapter 1.
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Locomotion is the act of moving
from place to place by means of one’s own mechanisms or
power. Locomotion in human beings is the result of the action of
the body levers propelling the body. Ordinarily the propulsion is
provided by the lower extremities, but it is occasionally provided
by all four extremities, as in creeping, or by the upper extremities
alone, as in walking on the hands or in suspension. It may involve
the use of wheels, blades, skis, or other equipment attached to
the feet, or it may involve a vehicle such as a bicycle or wheelchair,
or a small craft such as a boat, canoe, or surfboard propelled by
means of the arms or legs, with or without the use of a propelling
implement such as oars, paddles, or poles. Locomotion may be on
the ground or in the water but, at the present writing, not in the
air without support. In all locomotion there must be a resistance
against which the body part can push to generate a reaction force
if motion is to occur.
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All forms of locomotion performed on the ground constitute the
category of motor skills of moving one’s body on the ground
or on other resistant surfaces.
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- Walking
- Running
- Racewalking
- Climbing (inclined plane, stairs, ladder)
- Descending (inclined plane, stairs, ladder)
- Jumping, leaping, hurdling
- Skipping, hopping, sliding, sidestepping
- Dance steps
- Snowshoeing
- Stilt walking
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On Wheels, Blades,
and Runners
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- Bicycling
- Skating and skateboarding
- Alpine and cross-country skiing and snowboarding
- Ice skating
- Wheelchair propulsion
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On Hands and/or
Knees or Hands and Feet
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- Walking on hands
- Creeping and crawling
- Crutch walking
- Stunts
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- Cartwheels
- Handsprings
- Rolls
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To the casual observer, the movements involved in walking appear
to be relatively simple, yet kinesiological analysis shows them
to be exceedingly complex. The dovetailing of muscular action and
the synchronization of joint movements beautifully illustrate the
teamwork present in all bodily movements. Not even the most complex
piece of machinery designed by the most skillful engineers exceeds
the movements of the human machine in perfection ...