Praxiology and Motor Actions in Sports
Key Concepts
Drive Communication
A set of relationships between participants in a praxiosocial situation (e.g., hitting an opponent in boxing, intercepting a ball, exchanging equipment in rhythmic gymnastics).
Motor Task
An organized set of motor objectives, engines, and environmental conditions. This constitutes the situation prior to praxiomotor action. Norms and conditions shape and define a game, sport, or physical act. Examples include the rules of a sport or game engine. A motor task distinguishes between internal conditions and internal motor objectives. Tasks can be predefined or improvised.
Driving Situation
A data structure following the completion of a motor task. This is the information players use to decide how to achieve motor objectives using environmental conditions (e.g., a football game, dancing the tango).
Sports
A regulated and institutionalized motor racing situation, often governed by a federation (e.g., football, athletics, swimming). Some activities, like chess (lack of motor situation) or informal games (lack of association), don’t meet all criteria but are still considered sports.
Objective Motor
A person’s intentions to affect their motor skills. A search engine is essential for motor operation (not always movement). Motor objectives include:
- Moving or moving an object in space-time and/or avoiding it.
- Placing an object in a goal and/or avoiding it.
- Facing melee and/or avoiding it.
- Playing models and/or avoiding them.
- Acting interoceptive.
Motor Action
The act a person performs meaningfully in a context defined by gestural, spatial, temporal, communication, and strategic conditions that define motor objectives.
Game Engine
An uncertain driving situation with playful agreements and norms (e.g., jump rope, hide-and-seek).
Motor Introjection
A self-perceptive or bodily miomotor driving situation occurring with postures, movements, or conscious breathing practices (e.g., yoga, relaxation).
Motor Environmental Adaptation
A driving situation in a non-standardized and uncertain environment, involving object manipulation (e.g., juggling, hiking).
Motor Expression/Body
A driving situation expressing the body and/or communicating motive (e.g., dance).
Motor Behavior
Externally observable motor manifestations (e.g., a person in motion; not synonymous with movement).
Motor Behavior (Significant)
The organization of significant motor behavior. Observable indirectly through observed motor behavior data, imbued with conscious or unconscious meaning by the actor, capturing the meaning of the experience (intention, perception, etc.). Examples: a feint, an uncheck, a “play”.
Internal Logic
Pertinent features of a driving situation and their consequences for developing appropriate motor praxis. If removing something changes gameplay, it belongs to internal logic (e.g., passing in football, the basket in basketball, hitting and stopping in boxing, slipping in skating).
External Logic
Contextual features of a praxiomotor situation and their implications for motor praxis. Removing these aspects doesn’t change gameplay (e.g., referees, rankings, rewards, punishments).
Subroles
Possible motor behaviors a participant can adopt in a driving situation. It is the action itself (e.g., pass, throw). Examples: clearing in football, hitting an opponent in boxing.
Subroles/Role
Subroles are the actions (pass, shoot), while the role is the individual performing them.
Driving Strategy
Implementing an individual or collective action plan to solve a task in a driving situation (e.g., using a system of play in football, playing up to the net in tennis).
Motor Strategy
Similar to driving strategy, it’s the implementation of a plan to solve a motor task.
Praxiology Motive
The science of motor action, its conditions, operating modes, and results, especially in driving practice and game implementation.
Competition
A regulatory system comparing participants’ achievements (motor behaviors) under equal opportunities to establish results and rankings. Examples: points scored, winning a fight, losing sets in volleyball.