Well I’ve never written a blog post before but I guess
there’s a first time for everything.
Before I start I should probably introduce myself. My name
is Joe Rinaldi and I’ve recently become part of the Flo Fitness staff. I am
currently a senior at Rutgers University studying exercise science and applied
kinesiology. My aspirations are to become a physical therapist and I am
currently in the process of applying to graduate schools. Now that you know a
little bit about me lets start.
This post will be a first of its kind here on the Flo Blog…
Over the course of the next few months (and who knows, maybe even longer) I
will be posting about a topic that I am currently learning about in school. Today’s
blog will focus on motor skills and motor abilities.
A motor skill is
defined as: a skill that requires voluntary body and/or limb movement to
achieve its goal. An example of a motor skill would be running, jumping,
climbing, etc.
Using a one-dimension classification system, motor skills can be defined
according to three categories:
1.
The size of the muscle group involved
-
Gross
motor skills: involve large muscles in the body and require little
precision
o An
example would be walking
-
Fine
motor skills: involve small muscles and require a high degree of precision
o An
example would be writing your name
2.
Where the movement begins and ends
-
Discrete
motor skills: have a definitive beginning and end
o An
example would be flipping on a light switch
-
Sequential/Serial
motor skills: are a series of discrete motor skills strung together
o An
example would be the track and field event, the triple jump
-
Continuous
motor skills: have no definitive beginning or end
o An
example would be swimming
3.
The environmental context
-
Open
motor skills: occur in an environment that is variable and unpredictable.
Because the environment is changing, skills need to be continuously adapted and
therefore these skills are said to be “externally paced.”
o An
example would be running the ball in a football game
-
Closed
motor skills: occur in an environment that is stable and predictable.
Because the environment is not changing and skills do not need to be adapted,
these skills are said to be “internally paced.”
o An
example would be taking a free throw in a completely empty gym by yourself
A motor ability
is defined as: a general trait or capacity of an individual that is determinant
of a person’s achievement potential for the performance of a specific motor
skill.
There are two different schools of thought as to how
different motor abilities related to one another within an individual.
The first
theory is called the General Motor
Ability Hypothesis, which states that the many different motor abilities
that exist in an individual are highly related. This theory, while it may sound
appealing, is supported by very little evidence and is generally disregarded
today.
The second
theory is called the Specific Motor
Ability Hypothesis, which states that an individual’s many different motor
abilities are relatively independent of each other. This theory is supported by
a good amount of research and is generally accepted in the motor learning
community.
This means that just because
someone has great balance, does NOT necessarily mean that they have great
coordination. This means that just because someone has a lot of speed, does NOT
automatically mean that they have impressive strength. This means… well you get
the point.
BUT WAIT! Joe, I don’t think you’re right… I have a friend who is great
at everything, he/she can play basketball like Michael Jordan and hit a
baseball like Barry Bonds and catch a football like O’dell Beckham Jr and hit a
tennis ball like Serena Williams and swim like…
Let me stop you there. I don’t
doubt that your friend is a great athlete, we all know that kid who seems to be
good at everything, but his/her existence doesn’t disprove the Specific Motor
Ability Hypothesis. There are a few possible explanations as to why your friend
is “good at everything”:
1.
Maybe your friend has put in a ridiculous amount
of time, energy, and practice into developing the specific motor abilities
involved in those sports.
2.
Maybe your friend is good at all of those sports
because the motor skills involved in those sports all required the same set of
motor abilities (e.g. speed, coordination, balance, etc.).
3.
Least likely (but possible) maybe your friend
really is a freak athlete and is very gifted in most, if not all, of his/her
motor abilities…. It happens, but the Specific Motor Ability Hypothesis is just
a theory and it applies to the large majority (99.999%) of people… there are
exceptions to every rule.
I hope that this blog helped you gain a better understanding
of how motor skills can be
classified and how motor abilities
are thought to exist within an individual.
If you made it this far, thanks for bearing with me. I hope
you learned something and maybe you had a laugh or two along the way.
Until next time,
- Joe Rinaldi
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