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Vern Gambetta
Vern Gambetta

Skill acquisition: beyond motor learning

December 22, 2009/by Vern Gambetta

I must admit that for a long time I did not make the distinction between skill acquisition and motor learning. At first I thought is was just semantics, someone trying to create a new field. Over the past several years I have come to understand the distinction.

Skill acquisition recognizes the body as a complex system, not a computer to be programmed. The body is a self-organizing problem solving organism. Skill acquisition recognizes that there are multiple solutions to the same movement problem. One solution does not fit all. Essentially it is learning through exploration and discovery. Not about exploring limits, rather it is defining parameters. There are many learning options that allow for and encourage individual expression. Each person has distinct movement signatures; those help define us as individuals. I always felt that motor learning was trying to put us in a box, to limit us by limiting our ability to move and learn to certain strict rules.

https://www.hmmrmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/gambetta2.png 551 552 Vern Gambetta http://www.hmmrmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/HMMR-Full-Logo400.png Vern Gambetta2009-12-22 08:12:142020-02-17 08:14:39Skill acquisition: beyond motor learning

Vern Gambetta has worked as a coach of professional athletes and teams in more than a dozen sports. He is the founder of the Gambetta Athletic Improvement Network (GAIN) and host of the GAINcast.

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