Technique
Technique is the way you perform a certain task. It is how a person executes a skill using his own abilities, for example kicking a conversion in rugby; people have different ways of doing it, different techniques. Jonny Wilkinson has a very unique kicking technique to others in rugby. The way he sets the ball up. The amount of steps he takes (3 backwards, 2 to the side), the way he bends his knees and leans back but also keeps his head over the ball, the way he holds his hands together with his arms out fully stretched. The way he steps up to the ball and strikes it with his left foot and follows through after he has kicked it. This is his own personal technique that suits his abilities and works for him. Other kickers will have other techniques that will suit their own abilities.
How can ability be enhanced?
Ability cannot really be enhanced; as it is something natural that is inherited from your parents. However, research has revealed that some abilities can be enhanced to a certain extent, especially in early childhood. Coaches can set up a situation that will bring out the abilities of a person. By doing this they can tell what are an individual or teams strengths and weaknesses and try to improve these to a certain extent by doing training that will help them.
How can skill be enhanced?
Skill can be learned by a lot of practise. There are four ways in which you can practise.
- Whole practice- this is where you repeat the exercise over and over again without breaking the exercise down. For example dribbling a football. This way the skill will seem more fluent and the components interact with one another closely.
- Part practice- this is where you break down the skill into separate manageable parts and practise each individually. This is a common way of learning a skill. For example when serving in tennis you learn how to grip the racket, your stance, how to throw the ball up and the swing separately.
- Variable practice- this is when you practise the sport in various settings. For example a cricketer will play their shot according to the type of ball he will receive, fast/slow, spine/no spin etc.
- Fixed practice- this is when a skill is practised in the same environmental conditions all the time. For example a golfer will practise his long iron or driver shots repeatedly. The setting of the skill doesn’t change.
When learning a skill it is always good to have some guidance so you know more about what you are doing. Watching someone else perform the skill first can give you a good idea of what to do. This could be a one to one demonstration, by watching a video or looking at a series of pictures.
A skill can also be explain by a coach or teacher so that you have to use your imagination of what the end result maybe. You may also be physically taught. This is when someone guides or manhandles you through the motions of the new skill. This would be done so that you can have a good feel of the skill you are learning. An example of this could be playing a tennis serve, with a coach going over the techniques of the serve, this will be done by standing and holding you so that you go through the correct action with him.
How can technique be enhanced?
Trying out new techniques to see which one has the best results can enhance techniques. People can have different techniques for different sports. There are also different techniques in the same sport too. For example Jonny Wilkinson has a very unique kicking style to anyone else in rugby, but this is a proven technique for him. People have the own individual techniques that can work only for themselves, just like Jonny Wilkinson has.
In conclusion the difference between skill and technique is that skill is a task that
Is done well with minimum effort, where as technique is how you perform a
certain task. Ability is something that you are born with that may affect the way
you perform your skill. There can be very fine line between what is skill and what
is technique, a sportsperson maybe skilful at their techniques, this can bring some
good results in their sport. There is a strong relationship between all of these and
if a person has a good technique at something they can become skilful, if someone
also has good ability they could end up as a top sportsperson.
BOOK: Advanced physical education for a-level second edition.
AUTHORS: John Honeybourne, Michael Hill and Helen Moors
ISBN NUMBER: 0-7487-5304-4
PUBLISHERS: Stanley Thornes Ltd (published, second edition 2000)
BOOK: The world of sport examined second edition.
AUTHORS: Paul Beashel, Andy Sibson and John Taylor
ISBN NUMBER: 0-17-438752-0
PUBLISHERS: Nelson Thornes and Sons Ltd (published, second edition 2001)
BOOK: Sport and PE. A complete guide to GCSE
AUTHORS: Barry Hodgson
ISBN NUMBER: 0-340-70490-x
PUBLISHERS: Hodder and Stoughton (published 1998)
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INFORMATION SHEET: From Lonsdale school revision guide
TEACHER OF TOTTON COLLEGE: Kevin Cleary