Thursday, February 3, 2011

Changing motor patterns

And we sometimes wonder why changing a fossilized speech pattern can take time: (From Mark Bull) "In my experience some small improvements can be almost immediate but it takes about 30,000 quality repetitions (shots and simulated swings) during practice and competitive golf to consolidate a motor-pattern change. Since this is a swing change, it needs to be monitored by your golf coach and physio [sic] during the evolution cycle. It also needs to be evaluated for every club and shot-making skill (preferably using 3D-biomechanical technology for accurate feedback)."
   Fortunately, gaining functional control of the HIPoeces "matrix" and the arm and hand movements that anchor it doesn't take quite that long, but it does take consistent practice. For example, to establish a good base for the intonation contours (strokes across the visual field) of English takes most students about two hours (30 minute introduction and 6, 15-minute daily practice sessions.) Once established, that skill set is then employed frequently in the classroom or in individualized work, whenever the intonation or emotional loading of an utterance needs to be attended to, focusing on the form and feeling of the structure in question. (For a few students, it is, indeed, a "one shot" deal, but for most it takes a while to get into the swing of it . . . )

No comments:

Post a Comment