Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
If we are to undertake further exploration of human movement to include the
analysis of locomotion and other actions and activities, it may prove useful to
start by taking a look at motor skills and identifying their various aspects.
Motor skills
may be described as those movements that support the primary
purpose of any given action. Without a rudimentary understanding of the
reason an action is being undertaken, it might be difficult to fully evaluate the
nature of the movement and the effectiveness of that movement. If we take,
for example, a human's use of a hammer, we may establish that the principle
reason
for this action is to knock nails into a piece of wood. The
purpose
is to
transmit sufficient power from the blow to the nail to drive it home. It may
follow that such an action calls for a degree of accuracy (to hit the nail) and to
hit the nail with sufficient power to send it deeper into the wood (force) while
avoiding splitting the wood (control). To drive a panel pin into a thin strip of
wood may require a similar action but a far more subtle blow.
The manner in which an action is undertaken and the various ways in which a
tool is manipulated are both determined by the reasons behind the action. We
can use a knife in different ways, depending on what is being cut. The action
of butchering an animal carcass is very different from slicing a steak, which
will probably be very different from making an incision during surgery.
It may also prove useful to break down the action of any given movement
into separate sequential parts or phases. This is often possible even when
these separate phases appear to flow seamlessly one into the other or if the
actions of the various constituent parts of a movement, such as the action
of different parts of a human body, occur simultaneously. Naturally, if the
individual movements overlap or are completely separated by time and occur
sequentially, the analysis of the overall action might be much easier. We can
conduct the analysis of a walk by looking at the different parts of the body
in turn and separately before considering how they work together to form a
coherent whole.
The phases of an action may vary somewhat within that action, depending on
the inherent nature of the movement or as a result of a particular approach to
the action. Some phases may be fast, others slow, some smooth and constant,
others more sporadic. These phases can also form part of repeated actions with
intermissions between them. They may also be completely cyclical, in which
case it could be difficult to ascertain a distinct starting or finishing point; or they
may be discrete, unrepeated phases with a very definite beginning and end.
The classification of motor skills as I set here, albeit in a rather incomplete
manner, should enable the reader to differentiate between the types of
movement of the human figure. In this way we may gain a deeper appreciation
of the complexities of the dynamics involved in human action.
There are two distinct areas in which we can begin to look at the way these
actions apply to the human figure: movements given to one's own body and
movements given to external objects.
