Analysis of historical and technological aspects of sports anthropotechnics

ˑ: 

Dr.Hab., Professor  A.D. Skrypko1
PhD,  L. Lyamha2
Dr.Hab.,  Professor E. Smorawinski1
PhD, G. Matuschak1
1State Higher Professional School named after President S. Wojciechowski, Kalisz, Poland
2Academy of Physical Education named after E. Pyasetskiy in Poznan, Faculty of Physical Education in Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland

Keywords: sports history, sports technologies and methods, physical education and sports, training simulator, sports anthropotechnics, vibratory mechanical stimulation, sports training, biofeedback, motor skill, theoretical and practical training service

Background. Modern technical tools applied in physical education and sport service may be referred to as the anthropotechnics in the context of their individual physical progress goals. Anthropotechnics may be interpreted as referring to modern physical education and sports, recreation, rehabilitation, physical training and athletic training service domains. Modern physical education and sport service with its technical tools is generally designed to facilitate individual progress, socialization and self-assertion with a special attention to the cost- and time-efficiency aspects. Modern sports anthropotechnics may be interpreted as the technical toolkits and structures geared to mimic the sport-specific movements and traditional physical exercises in every aspect. Modern sports anthropotechnics may be viewed as the natural product of the scientific and technological progress and a new research subject of interest for the relevant sports research communities (I. Ratov, G. Popov, V. Bal’sevich, A. Skrypko, V. Nazarov, S. Ermakov, S. Dobrovolskiy, S. Evseev, Y. Verhalo,  P. G1esk, D. Schmidtbleicher et al.).

Physical-education-and-sport-related anthropotechnics may be defined as a humanistic research field and a natural integral human activity sector geared to facilitate progress in athletic skills and abilities. It shall not be viewed as an alternative to the traditional training tools as it rather complements them by a special emphasis on the new physical activity forms facilitating physical progress in sports, recreation and individual self-development; with motor activity ranked among the key priorities of the individual lifestyle and progress agenda for the whole life. Practical understanding of the service benefits and the relevant further applications are of special promise since they offer alternative solutions to support anti-doping policies in sports – since the new anthropotechnics applying technologies make it possible to effectively mobilize latent individual mental and physical resources with no need for special performance stimulating agents.

Objective of the study was to make a theoretical analysis of the modern sports anthropotechnics in the interdisciplinary knowledge context.

Methods and structure of the study. We made, for the purposes of the study, a systemic historical and technological progress analysis of the physical education and sport sector with summaries of the relevant theoretical, practical and technical research publications.

Results and discussion.

Technological aspects of anthropotechnics in physical education and sport sector

We have run multiannual studies to offer special technologies geared to improve the sport-specific special physical training and body conditioning methods in a few sport disciplines [5]. Thus our studies in track and field sports (decathlon, jumping and sprint) have shown that muscle vibratory stimulation facilitates progress in the shoulder and hip joint motility combined with efficient strength building effects; with the training benefits peaking on days 7 to 30 upon the vibratory stimulation course. The vibratory mechanical stimulation has proved beneficial for flexibility and strength trainings in many sports, and the technology has won a growing appreciation due to its applicability in the sport-specific competitive routines with special benefits for gymnastics, rowing and track and field sports. The vibratory mechanical stimulation benefits for team sports may also be high enough as apparently being proved by the research by F.K. Agashin, I.P. Ratov [4] and a few other scientists.

Modern science makes it possible to improve the training simulator systems by biofeedback applications – including, for example, muscle strength building technologies with the muscle electrical activity read by skin-fixed electrodes and controlled using visual/ auditory control modules [3].

New psychophysical and psycho-biomechanical technologies [4, 5] make it possible to control athletic performance keeping it within the required kinematic and power limits to master the perfect execution sequences. Of special interest in such technologies is the fact that they are compatible with an artificial control environment and sport-specific environment. These options help design and manage an individualized performance control system to help master some motor skills or achieve the expected fitness levels. The relevant technologies – for instance, the psychophysical ones – use visual/ auditory feedback systems to track the muscle electrical potentials. Psycho-biomechanical technologies are applied in sport-specific environment to set geometric and/ or physical limitations based on holonomic and nonholonomic links and using a variety of external loading drives to force the bodily limbs/ parts move as required by the mastered motor skills.

For the last three decades, the notion of educational technologies has made a transition from the technology in education to a broader notion of technology of education i.e. the learning process technology. This term implies new theoretical and practical approaches to analyze, design and manage the educational service. Therefore, modern physical education and sports technologies may be described as follows:

• Theoretically grounded and experimentally proven didactic innovations;

• Optimal and efficient technologies to attain the educational process goals of trainees and instructors/ coaches on a time-, cost- and resource-efficient basis;

• Technologies synergized with the related knowledge fields;

• Equally beneficial (reproductive) for every student group;

• Including programmed macro- and micro-cycles of the education service; and

• Technically versatile and computerized technologies.

Physical education and sports technologies may be defined as the harmonized systemic sets of optimal and effective methods, models and tools geared to attain specific competitive or physical progress/ fitness goals with timely and efficient medical examinations and physical/ performance progress tests.

Modern sports education and didactic technologies contribute to the physical education and sports knowledgebase and intellectual progress vectors based on findings of fundamental sciences. In terms of the four-level physical education knowledge system developed by V. Bal’sevich, technologies are ranked with levels two and three, i.e. refer to the social and biological determinants of the physical education and sports values within specific scientific disciplines (their technological aspects) – to identify specific ways and solutions for implementation of the latest research accomplishments in the physical education and sports practices on an interests-sensitive basis [2].

The natural social demand for top-class athletes urges the sport communities look for the ways to mobilize latent resources of individual physical abilities, with a special priority to the motor skills different from the plain replications of natural movement structures formed by evolution – i.e. synthesized as required by the actual modern demands. Of special benefits for this purpose are the training simulator systems with their artificially controlled environments. The training machines assisted trainings may facilitate the efforts to mobilize the maximal and sub-maximal individual physical resources.

On the eve of the XXII Olympics in Moscow, Professor Vladimir Kuznetsov, world record holder in the javelin throw, came up with anthropomaximology as a new philosophical and practical scientific theory. Subject to this theory and scientific field is a healthy top-class athlete expected to demonstrate extraordinary results in sports and other extreme situations, with modern elite sports providing an ideal test ground for the theoretical and practical studies of the sub-maximal individual capabilities and resources [1].

Training and retraining (‘reversal learning’) in the modern physical education and sport sector is primarily designed to master sport-specific motor skills (key movement techniques). New didactic technologies will be designed to secure progress versus a stepped growth of theoretical and practical progress standards and requirements. The traditional demonstration and explanation methods in the training service may be effectively complemented by visualizing computerized technologies, controlled performance excellence systems and real-time training data flows.

The training-simulator-assisted programmed training systems are generally more accessible for the trainees and customizable to their individual progress needs to ensure the high quality training service. They effectively control physical execution of the sport-specific routines to facilitate the motor skills mastering process. Their modern computerized training tools largely free the instructors/ coaches of the common training workload accounting and analyses enabling them to focus on the creative aspects of the training service and its individualization/ customization priorities. It should be underlined in this context that a training service in the modern physical education and sport sector cannot be limited by only communication and execution domains, due to its multiple psychological and emotional aspects. Anthropotechnics applied in physical education and sport sector help expand the educational service, improve the training provisions and offer a wide range of services to meet the natural individual physical progress needs. To have the modern anthropotechnics effectively integrated into the theoretical and practical training service, the physical education and sport system shall facilitate every technical idea being freely developed to facilitate physical progress agenda of every trainee at no sacrifice for the traditional training toolkits.

Conclusion. Modern physical education and sports technologies with contributions from advanced anthropotechnical systems make it possible to develop customizable training programs to effectively train the required motor skills and qualities. They offer controlled progress facilitating environments for the key sport-specific motor skills being mastered in the most efficient formats, with the theoretical and practical training service put on a sound, systemic and controlled basis. Modern training simulators and other sports anthropotechnics tools are particularly beneficial for the sport-specific knowledgebase, skills and motor qualities building and perfection purposes attainable on a time-efficient basis. These methods and tools ensure high dependability and longevity of the motor skills and qualities and facilitate the theoretical and practical training service resource being managed on a prudent and effective basis; with due training progress tests; good versatility of the training service; and excellent trained motor skills standardization options to facilitate repetitions and analyses of the sport routines and performances.

References

  1. Antropomaximology at the "round table" of the magazine. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 1979. No. 10. pp. 41-47.
  2. Bal’sevich V.K. Human Ontokinesiology. Moscow: Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kulturyi i sporta publ., 2000. 275 p.
  3. Koleshko V.M. Psychophysics, human informatics - the basis of knowledge of our society in the XXI century. Minsk: BITA publ., 1996.
  4. Ratov I.P., Popov G.I., Loginov A.A., Shmonin B.V. Biomechanical technologies for training athletes. Moscow: Fizkultura i sport publ., 2007.
  5. Skripko A.D. Body conditioning and sports training technologies in academic physical education system. Doct. Diss. (Hab.). Russian University of Physical Education publ.. Moscow, 2004. 

Corresponding author: anskrypko@wp.pl

Abstract

Objective of the study was to make a theoretical analysis of the modern sports anthropotechnics in the interdisciplinary knowledge context.

Methods and structure of the study. We made, for the purposes of the study, a systemic historical and technological progress analysis of the physical education and sport sector with summaries of the relevant theoretical, practical and technical research publications.

Results of the study and conclusions. Modern physical education and sports technologies with contributions from advanced anthropotechnical systems make it possible to develop customizable training programs to effectively train the required motor skills and qualities. They offer controlled progress facilitating environments for the key sport-specific motor skills being mastered in the most efficient formats, with the theoretical and practical training service put on a sound, systemic and controlled basis. Modern training simulators and other sports anthropotechnics tools are particularly beneficial for the sport-specific knowledgebase, skills and motor qualities building and perfection purposes attainable on a time-efficient basis. These methods and tools ensure high dependability and longevity of the motor skills and qualities and facilitate the theoretical and practical training service resource being managed on a prudent and effective basis; with due training progress tests; good versatility of the training service; and excellent trained motor skills standardization options to facilitate repetitions and analyses of the sport routines and performances.