Re: Perfect practice?

[Guest guest]

I am certainly not an expert on motor learning or motor control. I took two

seminars in motor learning at UC Berkeley in the 1970s with lin Henry

(father of specificity) and have wrestled with this problem as an athlete

(discus thrower, skier, weight lifter, tennis player) and coach since 1963. I

have some opinions, but don't know the answers. Here are some of my

observations:

1. Good technique involves a finely tuned motor program that executes the

movements in a precise sequence using good mechanics. A beginner cannot do this.

However, they must always work toward perfecting the correct technique. In the

squat, for example, rising on the toes during the lift usually means that the

athlete is not using the hips properly and hinging at the back. Practicing a

quad dominant squat technique grooves that motor pattern, making it very

difficult to correct. Teaching the proper movement from the beginning without

weights helps people develop acceptable technique relatively quickly.

2. As a long-time discus thrower, I have trained with some of the greatest

throwers of all-time. Some were extremely gifted physically and did well in

spite of relatively poor technique. The truly great throwers like and

Wilkins were precise technicians who also had impressive physical capacities.

Both perfected their techniques with hours of painstaking practice.

3. In the early 70s, I trained with Dave Weil, who had won the NCAA championship

and a bronze medal in the Olympics. He was working on a technique chan

ge and proudly proclaimed that he had changed his technique completely. We took

some 8mm movies (they didn't have video in those days) and compared his

technique with films taken at the Olympics. His technique was exactly the same.

4. I teach a course called Principles of Strength and Conditioning at Cal State

Chico. I believe that improving technique is the fastest way to increase power

on the playing field. I use video to help my students learn the Olympic lifts,

sprinting technique, and plyometrics. I film their technique, critique them,

have them practice more, and then film again. We also watch videos of people who

have good technique. I ask them to take notice of their errors and work to

change their motor patterns. This process is extremely difficult and

psychologically painful. 

5. Once grooved, motor patterns are extremely difficult to change. Changing them

usually results in short-term decreases in performance. I think that the best

course is to add something positive to the technique (rather than asking the

athlete not to do something). In the discus, for example, I might ask them to

land in a position that allows them to see a focal point directly behind them.

My real goal is to move the rear focal point to the far right. I systematically

move the focal point as their technique improves. For others, I will use a focal

point in front of the circle to improve leg drive. I am always working to create

a fluid technique that is mechanically sound. I ask athletes to=2

0watch videos of people with excellent technique for at least 15 minutes a day.

I also ask them to visualize themselves doing the movement properly.

6. Developing good technique is a process of self discovery. My college coach

Bob Lualhati told me to be a student of my sport. I have been throwing the

discus since 1962 and I am still learning about the event. Most coaches go crazy

when an athlete tells them that another coach or athlete told them something

that led to a breakthrough. Typically, the coach will say, " What do you think

I've been telling you for two years! " What happened was that the athlete had an

epiphany that internalized the concept.

Mel Siff used to say that there was no such thing as perfect practice. While

that is obviously true, you have to work toward perfect technique. Practicing

poor technique grooves poor body mechanics that leads to poor performance and

injury.

Tom Fahey

Dept Kinesiology

Cal State U, Chico

Chico, CA USA

Perfect practice?

Dear Supertrainers:

Wondered what coaches' thoughts on perfect practice are.

Last week at judo I was learning a movement but could not get the

fundamental pattern quite right. I could not keep my balance, and had

to put my foot down halfway for stability, instead of sweeping it

through all the way. My i

nstructor eventually gave up on having me

execute it fully, and said, " Oh well, do what you need to do for now.

We'll take that little step out later. "

This got me to thinking. Of course we do not want to overwhelm our

athletes with every technical detail at the outset of learning a new

movement. But if we're thinking about ingraining movement patterns,

how much of practice has to be perfect initially?

Is it better to stumble through a new movement, even with gross

errors, and fix things later as the athlete becomes more sensitive to

refinement? In this case an athlete might execute the full movement

even with significant errors. If we take the squat as an example, this

would mean an athlete would squat without worrying overly about heels

coming up, etc.

Or is it better to practice " perfect " movements immediately to avoid

ingraining problematic movement patterns? Here I define " perfect " as

having most of the basic movement down. In this case, perhaps, an

athlete might execute only as much of the movement as they could do

properly, or at a much slower speed, or with a lighter weight. In our

squat example we might use a bottom-up squat from a step to teach the

hip drive and body alignment, eventually removing the step.

Or is it not always straightforwardly one or the other: are there some

things that should be " perfect " immediately, while others can be

corrected later (depending on the movement)? Thus, at the outset of

our squat example, we might focus on ensuring that the athlete sits

back and down into the squat, and later fix the knees caving in.

Would people care to comment?

Krista

===============================

[Guest guest]

>

>

> This got me to thinking. Of course we do not want to overwhelm our

> athletes with every technical detail at the outset of learning a new

> movement. But if we're thinking about ingraining movement patterns,

> how much of practice has to be perfect initially?

>

> Is it better to stumble through a new movement, even with gross

> errors, and fix things later as the athlete becomes more sensitive to

> refinement? In this case an athlete might execute the full movement

> even with significant errors. If we take the squat as an example, this

> would mean an athlete would squat without worrying overly about heels

> coming up, etc.

***

The below statement from Supertraining may add to this discussion:

" " In conditioning the developing neuromuscular systems of the patient, the

novice or the child, there is always an emphasis on progression from primitive

to complex, gross to individuated, mobile to stabile, reflexive to deliberative,

proximal to distal, and incoordinate to coordinate. Contrary to common belief,

the novice must be taught from a base of mobility to progress to stability, just

as an infant learns to stand by first moving, staggering and exploring the

environment. " "

Some of the basic principles of PNF that may be relevant:

*Use of static and dynamic conditions

*Appropriate positioning of joints to optimize conditioning

*Repeated contractions to facilitate motor learning, conditioning and adaptation

*Selection of appropriate sensory cues (tactile, auditory, visual) to facilitate

action - ***note everyone learns differently e.g., visual, emotional,

metaphorical and imaginative methods or direct experience (doing things

physically, hands on)

*Emphasis on visuo-motor and audio-motor coordination

Use of distal to proximal sequences in neuromuscularly mature subjects

*Progression from primitive to complex actions

*Planning of each phase to lay foundations for the next phase

*All activities are integrated and goal directed

*Use of adjunct techniques (cold, electrostimulation, massage, vibration,

stroking).

========================

Carruthers

Wakefield, UK

>

> Or is it better to practice " perfect " movements immediately to avoid

> ingraining problematic movement patterns? Here I define " perfect " as

> having most of the basic movement down. In this case, perhaps, an

> athlete might execute only as much of the movement as they could do

> properly, or at a much slower speed, or with a lighter weight. In our

> squat example we might use a bottom-up squat from a step to teach the

> hip drive and body alignment, eventually removing the step.

>

> Or is it not always straightforwardly one or the other: are there some

> things that should be " perfect " immediately, while others can be

> corrected later (depending on the movement)? Thus, at the outset of

> our squat example, we might focus on ensuring that the athlete sits

> back and down into the squat, and later fix the knees caving in.

>

> Would people care to comment?

>

> Krista

>

> PS I was able to take the foot placement out.

[Guest guest]

The use of visual aids should be used first then during and during --

vicarious learning no matter what anyone says is a powerful learning

milleau -- especially with a knowledgeable coach. I went round and

round with Mel on this -- so it is not a universally accepted

approach. But it will be1

Jerry Telle

Lakewood CO USA