MOVEMENT MOTOR SKILLS

MOVEMENT MOTOR SKILLS

1. OPEN

2. CLOSED

3. FINE

   • Fine motor skills involve the cooperative use of small muscle groups and the senses of sight and touch (visual motor tracking). The performer must also balance the use of force and fine touch control.
     • Examples include writing by hand and typing on a keyboard (predominantly fine touch control), or shooting in archery (predominantly force).
   • Many sporting activities combine fine and gross motor skills, so fine motor skills may indirectly improve. Spin bowling, for example, requires both gross movements and the precise manipulation of the ball by the spinning fingers.

4. GROSS

   • Gross motor skills involve a combination of large muscle actions that result in a coordinated movement.
     • Examples include skipping, break dancing, throwing, hitting, kicking, catching and tumbling in gymnastics.

5. FINE

   • Fine motor skills involve the cooperative use of small muscle groups and the senses of sight and touch (visual motor tracking). The performer must also balance the use of force and fi ne touch control.
     • Examples include writing by hand and typing on a keyboard (predominantly fi ne touch control), or shooting in archery (predominantly force).

6. GROSS

   • Gross motor skills involve a combination of large muscle actions that result in a coordinated movement.
     • Examples include skipping, break dancing, throwing, hitting, kicking, catching and tumbling in gymnastics.

7. Many sporting activities combine fine and gross motor skills, so fine motor skills may indirectly improve. Spin bowling, for example, requires both gross movements and the precise manipulation of the ball by the spinning fingers.

8. DISCRETE MOTOR SKILL

   • Discrete motor skills involve movements of brief duration, and they are easily defined by a distinct beginning and end.
     • For example, a throw, kick or catch.

9. SERIAL MOTOR SKILL

   • Serial motor skills are a series or group of discrete skills strung together to create a more complicated, skilled action. The duration of the activities is prolonged but each individual movement in the series has a definite beginning and end.
     • Examples include performing a gymnastics routine or dodging your opponent, leading to the ball, jumping to catch the ball and throwing the ball to a team mate in netball.

10. CONTINUOUS MOTOR SKILL

    • Continuous motor skills have no distinct beginning or end. These movements may continue for several minutes, often involving tracking movements.
      • Examples include swimming, running, pedalling a bicycle.

11. CLOSED

    • Closed motor skills are performed in a predictable, self-paced environment where there are no interruptions or changes in the surroundings; for example, in indoor archery. The skill being performed is often a static one where there is little movement observed, such as a stationary softball on a T-stand in T-ball, and is internally paced. The athlete often tries to replicate the exact movement each time in a closed skill; for example, a gymnast tries to perform the exact same vault with perfect form, or a golfer tries to replicate their best swing when teeing off

12. OPEN

    • Open motor skills are performed in a constantly changing and externally paced environment; for example, the changing proximity of an opponent, the changing speed and height of a wave in surfi ng or the varying speed of a ball in hockey. These changes force the performer to adapt his or her basic motor skills