Yismel Rosario

Juggling Project

Due Date: 12/16/2011

Anatomy and Physiology














Juggling is defined as it follows: To keep, two or more objects, in the air at one time by
alternately tossing and catching them (The Free Dictionary). The juggling skill requires the body
to use several of its systems, like the skeletal system, muscular systems and nervous system.
Aside of the body systems, to learn how to juggle, there is another component needed to learn a
new skill, which is motor learning.
Motor learning focuses on the most effective ways to facilitate the acquisition of skills as
a result of practice. Motor learning involves a set of internal processes associated with practice or
experience leading to relatively permanent changes in motor skill (Answers.com). Motor
Learning emphasizes the acquisition of motor skills, the performance enhancement of learned or
highly experienced motor skills or the re-acquisition of skills that are difficult to perform or
cannot be performed because of injury or disease (Intro to Motor Development). Other
components that could be added to the acquisition of a new skill are: gross motor learning, fine
motor skills and muscle memory.
Motor skills are actions that involve the movement of muscles in the body. They are
divided into two groups: gross motor skills, which are the larger movements of arms, legs, feet,
or the entire body (crawling, running, and jumping); and fine motor skills, which are smaller
actions, such as grasping an object between the thumb and a finger or using the lips and tongue
to taste objects. Motor skills usually develop together since many activities depend on the
coordination of gross and fine motor skills. (Answers.com)
Gross motor skills involve the large muscles of the body that enable such functions as
walking, kicking, sitting upright, lifting, and throwing a ball. A person's gross motor skills
depend on both muscle tone and strength. Gross Motor skills are important for major body
movement such as walking, maintaining balance, coordination, jumping, and reaching. Gross
motor abilities share connections with other physical functions. A student's ability to maintain
upper body support, for example, will affect his ability to write (Learning disabilities). As said a
paragraph above gross motor skills works in partners with fine motor skills, which is another
important component to learn a new skill.
Fine motor skills involve the small muscles of the body that enable such functions as
writing, grasping small objects, and fastening clothing. They involve strength, fine motor
control, and dexterity. These skills are important in most school activities as well as in life in
general. Weaknesses in fine motor skills can affect a child's ability to eat, write legibly, use a
computer, turn pages in a book, and perform personal care tasks such as dressing and grooming.
For our body to perform any of the activities described above, and many others it needs to have
a pattern or a familiarity with the activity to perform it normally, this is called muscle memory.
Muscle memory can best be described as a type of movement with which the muscles
become familiar over time. The only way for the muscles to become accustomed to unknown
activities is for the person to learn how to do the activities and then practice them with a great
deal of trial and error. Although the precise mechanism of muscle memory is unknown, what is
theorized is that anyone learning a new activity, or practicing an old one has
significant brain activity during this time. A person learning a new skill is gradually building
neural pathways that will give the muscles a sense of muscle memory. (Learning Disabilities)
Every person has de ability to learn new skills; some may find it difficult some others
may find it easy. Whether a person finds it easy or hard to perform a new skill is going to depend
on various aspects of that persons body. The components involved in learning a new skill are
motor learning, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and muscle memory. Motor learning is the
acquisition of a new skill through practice. Gross motor skills are actions that involve the large
muscles of ones body to perform a skill, for example: walking. Fine motor skills are actions that
involve the small muscles of ones body to perform a skill, for example: writing. Muscle
memory is the pattern-like that ones body creates when learning a new skill, to later perform it
as if it was a normal activity. All this components are put on try when learning the new skill of
juggling.













Work Cited

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/motor+learning
http://www.answers.com/topic/motor-learning
http://www.d.umn.edu/~dmillsla/courses/motorlearning/documents/IntroductiontoMotor
Development.pdf
http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/gi/p/grossmotorskill.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/gross-motor-skills-1
http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/df/p/finemotorskills.htm