Analysis of motor skill acquisition in novice jugglers by three-dimensional motion recording system

In the acquisition of skills requiring periodic body movements such as in cascade juggling, the establishment of stable body movements seems crucial. We investigated the processes of developing stable body movements in each of the three learning stages defined by the framework established by Beek and Van Santvoord (1992). We focused on two types of stability: stability of the body’s physical center, representing global structure of body movements, and that of arm swing, representing local structure. The experimental results revealed that the skills for establishing local and global structures were acquired sequentially; in this case, first local and then global. In addition, the analysis of verbal reports suggested that stable body movements and conscious attention are mutually related.