What is Biomechanics?  The study of human movement and the forces acting upon it both internal and external, during motion and when stationary.  It is important to study because it helps to identify the best techniques to perform an action

 It allows a skill to be broken down into its sub skills.

Force & Torque  FORCE  A force is a push or pull acting upon an object as a result of its interaction with another object  All sporting activities have forces acting upon the athlete  The main force acting upon your body is Gravity  TORQUE  Torque is the tendency of a force to cause or change rotational motion of a body.  Since force is a push or pull, Torque would be a twist

Velocity & Acceleration  Velocity is the rate that an object moves from one place to another. Ex. A person running a race  Acceleration is the rate at which an object changes its velocity Ex. Some one who is running a long race pacing them selves and then sprints at the end.

Stability  Stability is vital to all movements.  It is the ‘ability of an object to remain balanced’  This is extremely important in sport and physical activity, as the more stable you are the easier it is to perform skills to a high level.  Stability is improved through  Widening the base of support  Lowering the centre of gravity  Keeping the line of gravity within the base of support.

Types of Motion ► It is important to distinguish between two types of motion:  ► Linear (or Translational) Motion  Movement in particular direction (and would include the resultant of more than one linear force acting on an object). Example: a sprinter accelerating down the track.  ► Rotational Motion  Movement about an axis. The force does not act through the centre of mass, but rather is “off off-centre,” and this results in rotation. Example: ice ice-skater’s spin.

Seven Principles of Biomechanical Analysis  ► STABILITY  Principle 1: The lower the center of mass, the larger the base of support, the closer the center of mass to the base of support, and the greater the mass, the more stability increases. Four subcomponents Example: Sumo wrestling

Seven Principles of Biomechanical Analysis MAXIMUM EFFORT  Principle 2: The production of maximum force requires the use of all possible joint movements that contribute to the task’s objective.  Examples: golf, bench press

Seven Principles of Biomechanical Analysis  MAXIMUM VELOCITY  Principle 3 : The production of maximum velocity requires the use of joints in order- from largest to smallest.  Examples: hockey slap shot, hitting a golf ball

Seven Principles of Biomechanical Analysis  LINEAR MOTION  Principle 4: The greater the applied impulse, the greater the increase in velocity.  Example: slam-dunking a basketball

Seven Principles of Biomechanical Analysis ► LINEAR MOTION  Principle 5 : Movement usually occurs in the direction opposite that of the applied force.  Examples: high jumper, cyclists, runners

Seven Principles of Biomechanical Analysis ANGULAR MOTION  Principle 6: Angular motion is produced by the application of a force acting at some distance from an axis, that is, by torque.  Example: baseball pitchers

Seven Principles of Biomechanical Analysis  ► ANGULAR MOMENTUM  Principle 7: Angular momentum is constant when an athlete or object is free in the air.  once an athlete is airborne, he or she will travel with constant angular momentum.  Example: Diver