Mechanisms of Motor Learning And Martial Arts Instruction

1. Abstract

This paper presents a study of mechanisms of motor learning in the context of martial arts. Motor learning is defined as the improvement in proficiency of a motor skill that is due to experiential or practice conditions and depends on 1. State of the Learner, 2. Nature of the Skill and 3. Methods of Instruction. While it is difficult to generalize a given study or set of theories to all martial arts and their students, a few underlying principles and guidelines are presented here to help instructors prepare their students to perform an activity consistently well, and under pressure.

2. Introduction

Human learning begins with motor learning and involves a sequence of developmental stages. Whether your goal is to teach or to train competitors, an understanding of the mechanisms that govern movement, learning, and control, will provide coaches and instructors with an effective means of teaching and transferring knowledge to their students. This understanding leads to efficient student learning, and helps students perform tasks consistently well. There is no one theory that claims to explain all the mechanisms of motor learning in different individuals. Researchers have used different sports to come up with theories and tried to generalize them as much as possible. Such theories cannot be applied to everyone or every situation or each movement or learning of a skill. Different skills are acquired differently by different people. Nevertheless, it is agreed that motor learning depends on three factors

1. State of the Learner
2. Nature of the Skill
3. Methods of Instruction

This list, while small, is very complex. It is up to the instructors and coaches to recognize, develop, and improve their methods of teaching with changing situations. This paper provides some basic guidelines to assist martial arts instructors in this effort. While one may find the information familiar, this paper deals specifically with motor learning as it applies to martial arts rather than sports in general. Many students learn by watching others. In teaching students, it is more effective to observe students performing a task and then to change the teaching style based upon these observations.

3. Definitions

Disciplines come with their own language, and nuances of terminology. The following terms will be used throughout the text, and will apply to the context of motor learning in martial arts. Most of these definitions are from Stallings 1983:

Let us start by defining Motor Learning in a little more in detail: an improvement in proficiency of a motor skill as a result of practice, experience, but not necessarily of maturation, temporary motivation and psychological fluctuations. Learning has to have some level of permanency at a cognitive level. The point here is to focus on what can cause a person to retain a certain level of proficiency and skill for long periods of time. The retention of this skill comes from an internalization of the skill through repetition. Once the skill has been generalized at a cognitive level, the learner has then achieved learning.

For example, how might an instructor teach a Hapkido student to perform an over the shoulder throw of any opponent in the quiet and comfort of her home dojang just as well as in a stadium full of rowdy spectators and an unyielding opponent. Once the student achieves learning the student is able to perform a skill in various environments.

Motor Skill denotes any muscular activity that is directed toward a specific objective. Motor skills fall into two categories, Gross motor skills, and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills deal with large motions, specifically the muscles of the neck, trunk, arms, and legs. In Taekwondo, kicking, would be a fine example of a gross motor skill. Fine motor skills involve small motions. Fine motor skills deal typically with the small muscles and includes dexterity of the hands and fingers. Furthermore motor skill does not have to require muscular movement. Meditation is a good example of such an activity. The crane stance in Taekwondo is another example.

Next, we distinguish between Skill and Ability. Skill is defined as proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training, or experience. Skill is directed toward a specific objective—running, jumping, sprinting, kicking, grappling, or throwing. Ability refers to attributes that can facilitate performance in a variety of skills, and is more general. For example, the ability to pick the knee up straight facilitates the extension of a the leg that leads to a kick. The ability to kick facilitates effective sparring. The ability to walk, facilitates ones ability to run and run quickly. Ability and skill are interchangeable depending on the learner, and their learning style. In order to develop a skill one must have the ability to perform the required tasks that integrate into a skill. A major assumption of the ability-skill concept is that ability development can contribute to motor skill learning with practice. For best results, abilities should be adapted to the specific skills. Therefore, skill and ability work hand in hand.

Further, skills are of two kinds: Open skill, where conditions are always changing and Closed skill, where the environment stays unchanged. Sparring in any martial art is an example of open skill as the opponents are constantly regrouping and moving to gain the upper hand. Open skills encourage and require flexibility of movement and thought. Examples of closed skill are pooms`e or kata where the practitioner performs a series of sequential pre-defined techniques without any outside interference. Closed skills focus on increasing movement consistency. Such a comparison is relative however, and it is better to have a continuum approach, instead of an either-or approach.

Given these, Motor Skill Development is a change in proficiency of a motor skill that is the result of maturation and learning. Learning happens inside an individual and is never directly observed. What is seen is a change in behavior, which must be relatively stable.

Therefore, permanent changes as a result of experience and practice should be considered learning. Proficiency, on the other hand, is the level of performance at any given time. Increasing proficiency requires a diversification of movement patterns to meet demands of a particular situation.

4. Mechanisms of Motor Learning

The three factors that influence motor learning are: (1) State of the Learner, (2) Nature of the Skill, and (3) Methods of Instruction. A brief discussion on skill acquisition has been added between nature of the skill and methods of instruction. The State of the Learner refers to the physical and mental condition. Nature of the skill encompasses what is required from the learner, and lastly, methods of instruction refers to the transfer of knowledge from the teacher to the student.

4.1 State of the Learner
As previously mentioned the State of the Learner refers to the physical and mental condition. To a beginner, any skill is potentially highly organized and complex. The state of a beginning learner tends to be somewhat overwhelmed. The continuous state of the learner, whether they are a novice or experienced, will have an effect on how well they learn the skills being presented. Martial arts instructors have a good sense for how the physical state of a student or competitor will affect learning and performance. There are obvious physical differences between an 80 year old and a 20 year old starting martial arts. It is difficult for instructors to anticipate what the mental state of learner is, but by getting to know the student they can better determine the learners state of mind. Knowing this, and the requirements of the martial art being taught, instructors can help the student learn and perform better.

Stallings writes that motivation is crucial to performance and learning and it is all too common to see coaches and instructors psyching up their competitors and students before a big event. Researchers agree that this type of arousal, or psyching up, has a critical effect on performance and learning, but it is not easy to simplify a matter of such complexity.

Physiological Adaptation suggests that too much or too little psyching up before a tournament for example, may lower performance and learning. This amount of psyching up may be physiological and or psychological. Martial artists are all too familiar with the pressures of their discipline whether it is in the form of rank promotion exams, tournaments, or simply, warnings to try harder. The Arousal Continuum concept too underscores that an increase in arousal “does not necessarily...lead to improvement in performance [or learning]” (Stallings, 120). These two concepts have led to the inverted U hypothesis, which suggests that there is some optimum level of arousal that maximizes performance or learning, and it must be noted, that is not always that case (Stallings, 122). This hypothesis is not without limitations as it does not give an explicit relationship between performance and arousal. Nonetheless, it is possible to view this issue by examining the effects of arousal on the constitutive abilities of a skill—motor, perceptual, and cognitive.

Motor Abilities. Since increasing stress increases muscular tension, the effect of arousal may be seen to depend on the movement requirement of the skill. For example, Taekwondo which involves fast movements, may benefit from a higher amount of arousal than say Iaido. On the flip side, with higher arousal, motor skills involving tracking or aiming suffer. From experiments on high-arousal subjects, Weinberg, learned that high arousal subjects experience a cocontraction of opposing muscles resulting in ineffective motion while low-arousal subjects exhibit sequential action of these muscles required for freedom of movement (Stallings, 123).

Perceptual Abilities. Perception, whether it is vision, auditory or other sensory modalities, varies with levels of arousal, but how it varies with the nature of the skill is debated. Nideffer has suggested that narrow focus skills like archery would benefit from a high level of arousal, but does not account for the muscle tremors associated with high arousal levels, which as Weinberg noted would deter the finer motor skills (Stallings, 123).

Cognitive Abilities. A high level of arousal also affects one’s ability to deal with strategy problems. For example, a chess player will not benefit from a high level of arousal in much the same way a Kendo student benefits from low levels of arousal before a tournament. Lassen, Ingavar and Shinhoj have shown that a high level of arousal slows down neural activity in the cerebral cortex (Stallings, 123). If there is too much blood flowing to the neurons, then the learner will not be able to process information for problem solving, basically resulting in sensory overload. Given the varying levels of arousal and their effects on motor abilities, teachers and coaches need to determine when and to what extent learning or performing of a skill requires a high level of arousal. This means controlling arousal.

Stallings refers to Oxendine who suggests that skills that require strength and speed are performed or learned better under a higher level of arousal than skills that require steadiness and high concentration (Stallings, 124). The challenge this represents to martial arts coaches and teachers is knowing how much arousal works best in a competition or in class.

There is no doubt that sparring in fast moving arts like Taekwondo, Kendo, Karate would be best performed and learned with a high level of arousal. But such arts are also arts of strategy, and often times require aim and accuracy. High levels of arousal would inhibit strategic planning and thinking. It would be meaningless and unfortunate to have a martial arts student spar or workout mindlessly. While there is no right answer that works for all martial arts, it comes down to the coach or teacher to determine the levels of arousal that would benefit performance and learning. It is also worth noting that “high” and “low” levels of arousal are relative. What maybe considered a low level of arousal in, say Taekwondo, may be a high level of arousal in Taekwondo. It is all relative.

Not all students are alike. Klavora suggests that there are two basic kinds of athletes—calm, low strung, relaxed and composed, while others are nervous, excitable, anxious and high strung. (Stallings, 128) High strung athletes perform poorly under stress compared to their more relaxed counterparts. Also, what is stressful to one individual is not necessarily stressful to another.

Now we turn our attention to the Physical Abilities of the student. Most coaches and teachers are more familiar with the physical aspects of motor abilities required of their martial art. The four common basic physical abilities that have come from study of motor performance are muscular power, flexibility, balance, and coordination, with Stallings making a case for including Differential Relaxation as the fifth, and are mentioned here (Stallings, 150). Muscle Strength is the basis of all motor performance and hence learning. Muscle contractions are of two types—short term, high intensity, like that of a sprinter, and long term, low intensity, like that of a marathon runner. This helps classify skills based on their duration and intensity. Often times, any given skill can rely on a several different muscle groups to coordinate together. The important thing to note here is that muscles used in an activity have to be adapted to the specific activity. A Kendo student can use weight training to increase arm strength, but that does not imply an automatic improvement in striking strength when striking with a sword.

Flexibility, or range of motion, is specific to each joint. Some martial arts require more flexibility than others. It must be noted that muscle strength and flexibility can coexist in a person. Stallings argues that the main reason individuals with strong muscles lack flexibility is that they fail to train for it and vice versa.

Balance is of two types. Static balance is the ability to maintain the body in equilibrium in a relatively fixed position. Dynamic balance is the ability to balance while in motion. Rotational balance is the ability to regain balance after turning.

Coordination is the hardest to classify as a motor ability. Since each skill has its own specific coordination requirements. Learning skill specific coordination is a major step towards attaining proficiency in the skill. Fleishman9 argues that while proficiency in the early stages of learning a skill may depend mainly on the basic abilities required for that skill, higher skill may be attained as a result of the individual’s capacity to integrate or pattern these abilities (Stallings, 153).

Central to Differential Relaxation is a the ability to distinguish between muscles that are needed for an activity or not, and can go a long way in controlling arousal levels as discussed earlier. For example, when a person kicks, they are using the lower leg muscles, and therefore those muscles should be tensing up, and not the upper arm muscles. New techniques for controlling arousal have recently emerged. Among these are meditation, relaxation training, and hypnosis. Most of these techniques are already used in the fields of clinical psychology, and psychiatry.

Perceptual Abilities of a learner also determine their learning ability. Visual perception is by far the biggest component of any martial art. Dynamic Visual Acuity is the ability to see detail in moving objects or when the observer and or the object both are in motion. Peripheral vision contributes to anticipation, depth perception that gives a sense of distance, and figure-ground perception, which helps distinguish an object from its surroundings. All of which can be improved through training.

Similarly, Auditory Perception, whether it is to perceive directions of sound, to distinguish between rhythms, or to pick out the relevant sounds out of several sounds, has an impact on learning and performance. Auditory perception is important because that is how many take in information. In martial arts the student is not able to keep their eyes on the instructor at all times, and is constantly listening for feedback.

Kinesthetic Perception is about the feeling of the movement. Stallings questions how beneficial the feel of movement can be to learning (Stallings, 156). She states that it is important to know what feeling we are asking our students to experience. It is just as important to have students feel or experience the difference between properly and poorly executed techniques.

Sometimes, it is insufficient to tell or even show a student when he or she is executing poorly. When a student can feel a movement done correctly and incorrectly, he/she will immediately be able to discern a difference. Tactile perception is similar to kinesthetic perception, and comes in handy in getting a feel for weight shifts and balance. A healthy integration of all of the above mentioned senses facilitates learning and performing.

Response Time is a key figure of merit in motor skill learning research, and consists of two major parts: Reaction Time and Movement Time. There is little correlation between Reaction Time and Movement Time. For example, a fast reaction time does not imply a fast movement and vice versa. Reaction Time depends on one’s ability to perceive a stimulus (Perceptual Speed) and then to react to it willingly or reflexively. Coupling perceptual speed with other perceptual abilities such as vision, hearing, and touch can lower reaction time.

Movement time is the time from the start of the movement to its end. While little is known about means of increasing perceptual speed, movement speed can be increased with practice (Stallings, 164). The key to reducing movement time, is perceptual speed and also anticipatory timing. By predicting how an opponent is going to react to a certain type of attack, a student can be conditioned to respond to that attack a certain way and within certain time. Whether practicing movement timing by breaking down the task into smaller parts, or practicing the task as a whole suits response time better, is an issue for debate. Researchers have continued to encourage coaches and teachers to try different methods to see what works best for them.

Although training regimens are beyond the scope of this paper, it is useful to present a couple of major principles of training. In Overload Training, the intensity of the workouts are steadily increased until the desired level of training is reached. Practices then proceed at this level. For example, stretching incrementally beyond one’s normal physical limits increases flexibility. This can apply to all aspects of training. Further, training has to be Specific in terms of the muscle groups engaged. Training for Taekwondo sparring is therefore very different from training for Iaido. To see an increase in performance, and therefore learning, the intensity and duration of training must mimic the intensity and duration of the activity being trained for. Competitive Taekwondo sparring cannot improve by practicing one-step sparring exercises.

4.2 Nature of the Skill
Skills can be classified in many different ways. There is the distinction based on the size of muscles used in the skill which gives us gross and fine motor skills. Another distinction can be made based on the environment in which the skill is performed. This gives us open and closed skills. The nature of the skill determines how easily it is retained. and depends on three factors: the type of the task, the patterning of the task and the meaningfulness of the material (Kerr, 105).

Tasks can be continuous, serial, or discrete. Continuous tasks like swimming are easy to retain by virture of their repetitive nature. Serial task involve repeating several discrete movements in quick succession, and are second easiest to retain. Discrete tasks happen once over a period of time, and take longer to retain. To understand this distinction, let us disect a Taekwondo front kick. The up-chagi or front kick is a serial task consisting of several discrete tasks. It starts with a front stance, goes into a knee chamber, extension of the leg into the kick, recoil of the leg and return to the front stance. Very few, if any, tasks in martial arts are involve high levels of repetition. Most motor skills required for martial arts involve serial tasks.

The human mind has a propensity to recognize patterns and go back to what is comfortable. The situation is no different in martial arts learning. Kerr suggests that the “sequence of movements is retained better than the timing” (Kerr, 105). This is evident in the early stages of teaching a martial arts form. Instructors tend to emphasize learning and memorization of the pattern first. Once the student is familiar with the sequence of techniques, the objective should then focus on improving the execution and timing of the tasks.

Understanding the meaningfulness of task, gives students or the learner a better frame of reference for what is being taught. Retention increases with better planned and organized instruction, that pays close attention to the purpose of what is being taught. The student is also able to more readily recall any prior knowledge of the task. For instance, when students who are comfortable with forms or arranged sparring exercies, when made to free spar, will recall techniques from forms and sparring exercises they are comfortable with.

Different skills require different attention or focus. Executing the sequence of techniques in a form requires less attention than say competitive sparring. While it is a still a subject of research, Stallings proposes that attention should not be directed towards “decision making or motor control” (Stallings, 190). In other words, if a competitor attacks with a series of techniques, the counter-attacker or defender should focus on the techniques he/she is being attacked with. Of course, the attacker may complicate matters by faking his or her movements. This leads to decision-making complexity, where the defender processes this information, and based on past knowledge and experiences, makes one or several decisions.

The process of shaping a skill by successive approximations is at the heart of skill learning (Stallings, 190). When instructions stresses the particular ability requirements of a skill, learners show rapid progress (Stallings, 177-178). Also, instruction that focuses on specificity of a skill and gradually increases the complexity of the skill until it is performed with a high level of proficiency, facilitates retention and learning. If the student possesses the abilities required, he/she is more likely to make use of them knowing their context and contribution to proficiency. Coaches and Instructors must recognize that initial learning is cognitive and perceptual in nature and gear instruction towards these factors.

4.3 Skill Acquisition
The need to practice as a way of learning and increasing proficiency is common among the different learning theories (Kerr, 53). Fitts and Posner suggest that the longer a student is free to rehearse some information, he/she is more likely to retain it permanently (Kerr, 67). Any form of practice has some overall value, whether is it massed or distributed. It remains up to the teacher to organize practice in ways where learning and proficiency can be maximized. Researchers have argued which practice methods works best, but their results are contradictory. While we know that this depends on the state of the learner, and nature of the task, any practice has some overall purpose and value that facilitates learning.

Practice Organization. Practice sessions can be broken down based on the length of rest periods between successive practice sessions (Kerr, 55). In massed practice the resting intervals are shorter than the training intervals. Training on five consecutive days is an example of mass practice. On the other hand, in distributed practice, the resting intervals are the same or longer as the training intervals. Training sessions, say on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, are a form of distributed practice.

According to Kimble the reluctance to sustain work increases with the amount of practice (Kerr, 55). This reluctance is called Reactive Inhibition, and it decreases with rest. Whitley suggests repeating tasks for long periods of time with little rest, as in Massed practice, reduces performance due to a mental overload (Kerr, 58). Schmidth on the other hand suggests that the problem is more a question of physical fatigue (Kerr, 58). However, Whitley and Schmidt arrive at the same conclusion that while performance drops or does not improve, learning remains unaffected. Goodenough and Brian recommend that rest intervals be introduced when there is an apparent lack of progress (Kerr, 58). These rest intervals can range from a few seconds to a few days.

Martial arts like most physical activities begin with some form of a warm up, and typically, a period of rest follows. Increasing this period of rest, decreases the state of readiness. If this period of rest is too long, the initial state of readiness will have to be regained during the first few attempts at a motor skill. Kerr suggests that engaging in activities that engage the same faculties as the motor skills during this period of rest, can help maintain this state of readiness (Kerr, 56). For example, a Judoka who stays active during a break, as opposed to his fellow student, who chooses to lay down, will be more ready to learn and perform better when training resumes (Judo student).

It is common to see improvements in performance after an extended period of rest. This is called Reminiscence, and Kerr puts forth three explanations for this phenomenon. First, such an increase in performance maybe to due to recovery from fatigue. Also, this improvement is due to unconsious mental practice due to a forgetting of the incorrect habits (Kerr, 57). Lastly, it may be from the dissipation of Reactive Inhibition. Reminiscence is found in early and late stages of learning. In the early stages, this is attributed to mental practice, and in the advanced stages to the ability to reduce Reactive Inhibition and sustain a higher level of performance for longer periods of time.

Research suggests that in the long run, there is little difference in the performance of students whether they were in mass practice or distributed practices, as long as the total practice time is held constant. Further, Young concludes from a study of Archery and Badminton, that distributed practice works best for motors skills that involve gross motor skills (badminton, taekwondo), and massed practices benefit fine motor skills (Archery, Iaido) (Kerr, 59).

When it comes to the content of the practices, or practicing specific motor skills, Kerr states four learning methods. Whole learning involves practicing the entire task; part practice involves practicing the components of a task and then stringing the components together at the end. Progressive-part practice involves stringing components of a task in sequence, and then practicing the whole task; Whole-part practice alternates between whole and part practice. There is a conflict in literature as to which technique of practice suits learning and performance the most. Naylor and Briggs suggest the nature of the task is a key variable in resolving this conflict, and it has two components (Kerr, 60). Task Complexity refers to the “demands the task places on memory and information processing.” Task Organization refers to the “number of separate components and the inter-relationships of these components within the task, their timing and sequence.” Their research suggests that where a lot of information has to be processed or retained, but has few separate components, a part method should be used. Martial arts forms fall in this category. For tasks that involve several interacting parts, like a front or round house kick, the whole method is appropriate. It is important to note that to a beginner, almost any skill is highly organized and complex, and the ability to learn a skill ultimately depends on the nature of the skill.

Transfer. Transfer is the “effect that previous practice has on subsequent learning or performance” (Stallings, 203). Such transfers can be positive, negative or non-existant and occur from practices to performances, abilities to skills, limb to limb, and from one developmental stage to the next. The fact that transfer will occur between these different situations, assumes some level of similarity between these situations. A more effective way of viewing this transfer is to examine the effects of stimulus and response on learning and retention. For example, Osgood, proposed that there is more likely to be a negative transfer when the stimulus elements to two tasks remain the same, but the responses are different (Stallings, 204). The likelihood of negative transfer decreases when the responses to different stimuli remain the same. If the stimuli and response are dissimilar, there is no transfer. When stimuli and responses are similar, positive transfer can be safely assumed. Researchers have questioned the validity of the such transfer predictions, and Stallings recommends that we view transfer in terms of specific situations rather than in terms of transfer models suggested above.

Stallings notes that most skill-to-skill transfer research has failed to indicate a positive transfer between similar skills (Stallings, 204-6). For practice to performance transfers, positive transfers are more likely if the practice sessions simulate the performance environment both physically and psychologically, with a variety of practice drills (think Open Skill). Abilities to skill transfer is dependent on the specificity of the abilities and how they pertain to the skill in question. Abilities common to a set of skills increase the likelihood of a positive transfer. Limb to limb transfer is of particular interest to martial arts, as martial artists are required to be fairly ambidexterous. While little is known about how limb-to-limb transfer occur, the consensus is that effective use of limb-to-limb transfer can reduce practice time. Stallings suggests four ways in which, a positive transfer may occur from principles to skills (Stallings, 213):

1. Presenting material in terms familiar to the learner
2. Providing several examples
3. Understanding the limitations of begin a beginner. A beginner may be more focused on motor control issues than performance.
4. Considering the sequence of a principle, where the learner can generalize and apply the skill to several situations.

Feedback. Feedback is the information that performer receives while performing a task or as a result of performing a task (Kerr, 77). Two simple divisions of feedback are Intrinsic and Extrinsic. Intrinsic feedback occurs as a direct consequence of performing a movement. Extrinsic feedback is is artificially added and not due to a result of performing a movement. Intrinsic feedback can be readily observed during kicking practice. This is particularly handy for beginners who can correct their techniques without the assistance of a teacher. With the goal of such practice being accuracy, one is immediately made aware when one misses or strikes the target. On the other hand, when instructors work with their students, the feedback they provide after the student has excuted certain tasks, is an example of extrinsic feedback.

4.4 Methods of Instruction
Once the instructor has determined the state of the learner and is comfortable with the nature of the skill and what challenges it poses for the learner, the instructor is ready to design his/her material. Stallings presents six steps for designing effective instruction material.

1. Structure the Environment. Lessons should be preplanned to ensure the essentials for learning and retaining a particular skill are present. The instructors should create the practice sessions that readily provide relevant stimuli for effective performance. Controlling distractions or noise, which may be visual, auditory or tactile, and making them part of the practice, can help the learner adapt to their presence or to filter them out. Lastly, making feedback immediately available to student helps the learn faster, and often requires some creative preplanning. Working out infront of mirrors in the gym can help the learner see what he/she is an example where instructors can arrange for immediate feedback for their students.

2. A Concept of Purpose. Concept of purpose should be established by clarifying the objectives of the skill, and demonstrating the skill. Students will learn faster if they have an idea of what they are supposed to accomplish. Some students will be able to digest the material better than others. By determining their level, these student can then be moved into more advanced settings, saving time.

3. Emphasize Essentials of the Skill. Once the learner has acquired basic working knowledge of the skill, he/she is likely to want to improve this skill. At this stage, Stallings recommends “conveying information that is necessary to approximate the skill” with less time devoted to details (Stalling, 235). The instruction, taking into account the learner’s level and nature of skill, should include an analysis of the skill before performing it, focusing more on the objective of the skill instead of the precise form except in skills where precise form is necessary, and identifying what part of performing the skill, the learner should focus on.

4. Enhance Retention of Instruction. There are three things an instructor can do to enhance retention. First of these is using proper sensory modalities to teach, be it verbal, visual or tactile to engage students. Visual demonstration work better during the early stages of learning. Verbal feedback is more useful when the learner has become familiar with the skill. Tactile or manual guidance, which involves moving a learner’s body or limbs, is beneficial in giving the learner a spatial idea of the skill. Breaking down complex tasks for skills that involve several steps, and using terms familiar to the learner, can help the learner memorize the content faster. This “chunking” of the content is especially useful in learning forms. Since students are prone to forgetting recently learned skills, instructors must provide an opportunity for physical or mental practice shortly after delivering the lesson content or the students risk losing the recently acquired information.

5. Provide Practice Opportunities. Improvement in practice depends on the conditions of practice and not on repitition. Stallings suggests that the idea “practice makes perfect” be avoided in favor of practice conditions that yield the greatest returns in the shortest amount of time. To achieve this, Stallings suggests providing realistic practice conditions, which emulate the actual conditions in which the skill will be performed. Next, Stallings stresses providing whole practice as it allows the student to practice the entire skill. This approach consumes less time, than practicing skills by breaking them down into parts. Lastly, since no one individual learns and acts the same way, individualizing practice can help learners focus on aspects of skill they personally need the most help with.

6. Improve Performance. Performance can be improved by information feedback, and Stallins provides three ways of achieving this. Comparing outcomes over the course of practice sessions with proficiency goals gives the learner a sense of his/her proficiency level.

Such feedback can also give the student an idea of what needs to change or improve before his/her next performance of the skill. Lastly, goals with low or high expectations can frustrate or discourage the student. When performance strays from, or does not meet expectations, the student and teacher should review them, and adjust according to the individual needs of the learner.

5. Conclusion

The three factors that influence motor learning, namely, state of the learner, nature of the skill and methods of instruction, cannot remain fixed. Instructors should use these guidelines in preparing their instruction, but be ready to make modifications if something does not work. At the heart of teaching is learning, therefore, instructors are encouarged to learn and try new, different, or better means of instruction, even though this may prove to be frustrating in the early stages. Since the goal of instruction is to help students learn more efficiently, instructors should be prepared to evaluate themselves and alter their instruction if it does not accomplish what was expected. The goals instructors set for their students are their goals as well. As martial artists know, there is no replacement for practice, and this holds true for those teaching as well.

References

[1] Kerr, Robert, Psychomotor Learning, (Philadelphia, PA, USA: CBS College Publishing, 1982).

[2] Stallings, Loretta M., Motor Learning: From Theory to Practice, (St. Louis, MO, USA: C.V. Mosby Company, 1982).