Human movement enables us to survive and thrive. Whether movement was developed due to our ability to think and reason or if our ability to think and reason created our movement is still up to debate

Human Movement            by Professor Phil Ross, M.S. CPT

Human movement enables us to survive and thrive. Whether movement

was developed due to our ability to think and reason or if our ability to think and

reason created our movement is still up to debate. It’s my personal feeling that

they were developed in tandem in accordance with the demands of how to best

enable ourselves to cope with the environment and the challenges that we faced

(and face) as we humans evolved. I must admit that the physiological

components are necessary as a starting point.

How do we measure this movement and why is it important? The

importance of human movement measurement can be found in teaching,

performing and learning tasks. There is an important cognitive learning curve to

skill based movements. The testing of the skills will yield information to the

researcher of how well a student/subject/athlete/employee is either a) suited for a

job or b) how much they have improved over time. Measurement of performance

is extremely important in terms of skill acquisition and potential of performance.

The data gathered from the measurements of the skill are only as useful as the

tests used to garner the information.

There are two aspects of measurement that bode consideration: Reliability

and Validity. The reliability of a test is based on several components. Is the test

repeatable? How do we create an environment that allows us to have a

repeatable test? We need to remove as many variables as possible to enable the

subject the best opportunity to repeat the performance in the same fashion. For

example, when I instruct a martial arts student on how to perform a particular

movement or form/kata (series of movements executed in a pattern to simulate

fighting), we seek repeatability of the how the movement is done. I advise of

them of the body placement and when they perform it properly, I have them

remember that “feeling” that they have and instruct them to seek to repeat that

feeling. The kata, movement or form is done in a repeatable fashion and is thus

recognizable by those familiar with the movement pattern. This enables the

martial artist to be judged and evaluated. The only issue that I foresee with a

method employing a sterile environment is the reduction/elimination of the heightened awareness and biological response that occur in humans under stress. 

Some people perform exceptionally well in practice but do not fair as well

in actual application of the techniques in a contest. Others compete much better

than they practice by channeling the biological functions such as adrenaline, and

increased focus to increase their level of performance.

The other aspect to contemplate is the validity of a test. Does the test

translate to measurement of ability to perform a task? If we were attempting to

determine the potential of an athlete competing in the long jump and we used the

standing jump as a barometer, which would make sense. However, if we were

trying to gauge how the athlete may perform in the long jump by testing their

ability on the ping pong table, that test would not make any sense. The test must

have some applicable performance aspect related to the task to be considered

valid. There needs to be correlation to the test and the actual task for the test to

have validity and for the researcher to collect meaningful data.

Article by: Professor Philip Ross, M.S.,  Master RKC, ACE CPT, 9th Degree Black Belt

Philrossmma1@gmail.com https://www.philross.com/

Reference:

Schmidt, Richard D. and Lee, Timothy D. (2011). Motor control and learning: A

behavioral emphasis. (5th Edition) Champaign. Il: Human Kinetics. Printer:

Sheridan books.