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Purpose: Improvements in motor performance and coordination may be impacted by the interaction of practice and organismic constraints. It has been proposed that these aspects of motor learning are achieved at a different time rate: first, during placement of the events (performance), and second, segmental spatiotemporal relationships (coordination). We focused on the acquisition of the longswing in high bar as one basic skill in gymnastics. The aim of this study was to determine how longswing performance and coordination change to increase swing amplitude as age and expertise increase. Method: One hundred and thirteen male gymnasts were classified into 5 distinct age groups (G1, G2, G3, G4, and G5) on the basis of the national competition rules. Longswing performance (swing amplitude and event placements) and coordination (positive and negative areas in the continuous relative phase) were measured for each group. Results: Analyses of variance revealed that the adequate placement and coordination of the earlier events were achieved in younger groups (G1, G2), while later events and their coordination were accomplished by the older groups (G3 through G5). Conclusion: Our results suggested that the process of longswing acquisition, as age and expertise increase, follows a progression parallel to the temporal occurrence of the task events, instead of the proposed learning sequence of event placement first and then coordination.

An individual's a priori talent can affect movement performance during learning. Also, task requirements and motor-perceptual factors are critical to the learning process. This study describes changes in high bar swing performance after a 2-month practice period. Twenty-five novice participants were divided by a priori talent level (spontaneous-talented [ST] and nonspontaneous-talented [NST]) and compared to experienced gymnasts. Additionally, we assessed their perception of their performance level before and after practice. We defined three events independently for hip (H) and shoulder (S) angle joints and for the lag between consecutive events (phases [P]): the smallest angle during downswing (P1H, P1S), the largest angle after P1 (P2H, P2S), and the smaller angle during upswing (P3H, P3S). Movement performance variables were the maximum elevation on the downswing (Pi) and the upswing (Pf), and the total path between both (swing amplitude). Data were collected during pre- and postpractice sessions by two video cameras. At the end of both sessions, participants drew a sketch to represent their perception of their performance level relative to the Pi, Pf, and the hip events. Results showed a similar practice effect in the swing amplitude in both novice groups. However, the ST group's performance and perception variables on the downswing improved more than the NST group due to practice. This study suggests that (a) downswing improvements were easier than in the upswing, possibly due to familiarity of the visual reference in combination with proprioceptive feedback; and (b) being ST may involve a better or faster gain in perception of self-action compared to NST. (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.)