Biomechanics

Developing the ability to perform a task through a combination of physical and psychological factors

  • Seen in small children

  • OR the progression seen when learning a sport skill or a complex motor activity

  • Initially, movements seem jerky and uncoordinated

  • With practice, they gradually become smoother and more fluid

 

3 Stages of Motor Learning

  1. Cognitive Stage - gain basic understanding of how to complete the task

  2. Associative Stage - begin to refine skills, development awareness of mistakes, leading to fewer and smaller errors

  3. Autonomous Stage - skill becomes almost automatic. Can perform while focusing on other aspects of the sport

 

Fundamental Movement Skills

  • Lays the foundation for physical literacy - critical for participation in a wide variety of physical activities

3 Categories of Fundamental Movements Skills

  • Stability (or balance) - stork stand, stopping, bending, and twisting

  • Locomotion (or travelling) - running, jumping, leaping, and skipping

  • Manipulation (or object control) - throwing, catching, striking, and dribbling

 

Skill Transferability

  • Ability to apply or transfer skills learned in the context of improving performance in one activity to a different activity

  • Often, athletes trained in one sport (e.g tennis) are also reasonably competent in other sports (e.g golf), especially if sports involve similar movements

  • More likely to take place across activities of a similar nature, such as the net games of badminton and tennis

Breaking Down a Skill

Every moment skill can be broken down into three main components or phases of movement

  • Preparation - body positioning while getting ready

  • Execution - momentum, technique, and correct force with main movement

  • Follow-through - control of body after critical instant

    • Key to accuracy and force production

    • Start too soon and not enough power generation

    • Too late and body becomes unstable, so can't quickly move to other movements

 

 The Important of Feedback

  • Must evaluate the performance in terms of its three phase , detect errors and know how to modify to match the ability level of the learner

  • Feedback generally falls into two categories:

    • Knowledge of Performance (KP) Feedback - observe and comment on actual movement during task

    • Knowledge of Results (KR) Feedback - based on the outcome (after task is completed)

 

7 BIOMECHANICAL PRINCIPLES IN SPORT

Principle #1: Stability

  • Lower the centre of gravity = the larger the base of support

  • The closer the line of gravity to the centre of the bast of the supports, and the greater the mass = increase stability

  • Ex. Wrestling

 

Principle #2: Maximum Force Production

  • Requires the use of all joints that can be used

  • Ex. Jumping and weightlifting

 

Principle #3: Maximum Velocity Production

  • Requires the use of all joint sin order - from largest to smallest

  • Ex. Hitting a baseball (hips, knees, shoulder, elbow, wrists)

 

Principle #4: Impulse-Momentum

  • The greater the applied impulse, the greater the increase in velocity

  • Impulse = Force x time (I = Ft)

  • Ex. Sprint Starts

 

Principle #5: Direction of Force Application

  • Movement usually occurs in the direction opposite to that of the applied force

  • Ex. Football running back making a cut 

 

Principle #6: Production of Angular Motion (Torque)

  • Angular motion is produced by the application of force acting at some distance from an axis (by a torque)

  • Ex. Baseball pitcher and golf club length

Factors that affect torque

  1. The applied force

  2. The length of the lever arm (longer the lever, the larger the torque produced)

  3. The angle of application of the force

 

Principle #7: Angular Momentum

  • Angular momentum is constant when an athlete or object is free in the air

  • Ex. Flipping, spinning