Thinking of the action generates the action itself - Pannon Egyetemi ...

PANNON EGYETEM Interdiszciplináris bölcsészet- és társadalomtudományok Doktori Iskola Neveléstudományi doktori program Pedagógusképzés pedagógiája alprogram

EXAMINATION OF EFFICIENTY OF MENTAL TRAINING IN CASE OF GYMNASTS

PhD Thesis

Consultant: dr. habil. Vass Miklós egyetemi docens

Author : Honfi László

1. Introduction Thinking of the action generates the action itself. This mysterious phenomena had been the basis of many superstitions for a long time. For instance the ancient Romans told fortunes with a cup, on which different letters were written by them. There was a ring hung on a stick and hold above the cup by the fortune-teller. He concentrated strongly on the called letter and after a while the ring started to move slowly to the direction of the letter he was thinking of. Superstitious people thought that they got the answer rom their patron saints. Actually the movement of the ring could be explained by the ideometric impulses coming rom their mind, so they, themselves answered their question. Many times springs and prospects were found by people, having special sensitivity, with the help of a particular stick. The reason of the particular stick’s movement is the human will. It determined the direction of its movements. At the end of the 19th century a special ’psychical epidemic’ spread in America: the spiritualism. The members of the spiritual seance were sitting around a table, with their hands on it and were concentrating on ’getting news rom the other world’. Impulses, which were coming rom their mind and could not be seen by the eyes generated different kinds of movements and vibrancy. These were interpreted as the ’answers of the souls.’ The physiological backgrounds of the above mentioned phenomena and the mental training (practising mentally), are the same. If such ab action is being thought of, what we have kinestetic conception of, the action is carried out too, involuntarily. The kinestetic nerves of the celebral cortex, which were irritated rom the periphery by movements, can get into impulse centrally and send impulses through the appropriate nerves to the peripheryc organs. Impulses, generated at the kinestetic nerves, expand to the nerves of kinestetic, speaking and other analisators. The impulses are delivered rom here to the organs – muscles, insides – and generates the appropriate reactions. The basis of the ideomotoric reaction is the idea of the movement. The conscious reirritation of the particular kinstetic nerves – both at the real action and at the mental practise – strengthens the connection between the centers, which helps the faster development of the dynamic stereotype. If there is enough experience of the movement during the mental training, the action can be carried out mentally and its effects, some micromovements at the periphery and the changes in the bioelectric waves of the muscles, can also be measured. Mental practice means to carry out certain actions or series of actions regularly in mind, with strong concentration, in order to improve the coordination of the movement. It is a symbolic testing of certain motor skills without any bigger muscle movements. Mental training is a supplementary training method in the motor learning process. Its 1

importance is to visualize/imagine the movement according to its time, dynamic and field components very pecisely, with strong mental emphaty. The basis of the mental practise is the idea of the ideimotoric reactions, that thinking over the action generates impulses in the appropriate muscles, which can be measured by instruments. Its prerequisite is to have enough experience of the movement, especially kinestetic experience, so that the practiser is familiar with the dynamic component of the action. The expression ’imagery’ is often used instead of mental practise, but the two concepts do not exactly mean the same. Mental training is practising in mind on trainig sessions, during practise or during rehabilitation processes, in order to fasten and to make the motor learning process easier and more perfect. The movements are visualized (they can be seen) and imagined kinestetically (they are felt), and finally the two pictures are integrated. The imagery is thinking over the practising process, imagining an already known series of actions on a training or on a competition, right before the performance. The gymnast makes an imagery, when he thinks his routine over just before the presentation with what he prepares himself for it. During the change of the state of mind, mistakes can be very effectively corrected. After it a better performance can be achieved. Cognitive and mood elements are also present in imagery. Mental training can be used of several reasons. It can be an element of the psychologial and pedagogical preparation method for the contest.

In sports, which require great

concenration, such as gymnastics, rhytmic gymnastics, spring-board diving or figure skating, it is applied on training sessions or right before the competition. In ball games or combat sports the day before the match, e.g. during the practise of a certain tactical figure on a tactical meeting. Mental practise and imagery is considered as individual methods among improvement techniques in sportpsychology. According to training theory it is a supplementary training method and applying it together with the conventional training process can be effective. Practising mentally after injures, during the recovery period, can shorten the rehabilitation time. It gives the athlete the opportunity to keep the level, what has already been reached or even to improve it. Regardless of its effect on the achievement, mental practise can also be very useful in mistake correction, enriches the knowledge of the given sport and intensifies the athlete’s motivation. Mental training can only be effective if the athlete has kinestetic experience of the given movement or series of movements, so the actual practise has to overtake the mental one. 2

2. Choice of the topic; the problem The topic refers to motor activity learning, or to the whole teaching-learning process of that activity. The process is influenced by many factors – both internal and external ones. The final purpose of human motor learning is to be able to carry the learned activity out safe and perfecty, to apply the learned skills even in different situations. The caracterictic features of motor activities have been examined by many fields of science. In our study the topic is examined primarily from a pedagogical point of view, in which closed skill movements that has relatively stable structure are being analyzed in order to learn more about the learning process both theoretically and practically. It proves the importance and significance of our study that complex methodological research on gymnastic elements, current studies about the teaching-learning process of gymnastic routines and empirical research on the effectiveness of mental training can hardly be found either in foreign scientific papers or in Hungarian ones. The problem has a great practical importance, too. A gymnast, during his carrier, has to learn many complicated movements or series of movements. This should be done fast, accurately, persistently, in one word effectively, in order to be successful. Both natural and artifical human motor learning process have a particular sequence. The attitudes towards its steps, experience and emotional effects during the process are very important factors in the trainer-gymnast relationship and will all influence the effectiveness of the process. That is why the attitudes and experience of the members taking part in the process have great importance and has to be examined, as well. 3. The purpose of the study On the basis of the above mentioned data our purpose is to reveal the caracteristics of motor learning process, especially in the case of closed skills, which are determind by time, dynamic and field components, and have relatively stable structure. There are three main approaches to the topic. We would like to reveal the literary background of the experience, attitude and opinions first, secondly the motor learning process, motor memory and last but not least mental training, imaginery and relaxing techniques. The main approaches can be subdivided into smaller goals. The purpose of the study is the following: A)

Our purpose is to reveal the caracteristics of the motor learning process in

closed skilled movements. We would like to get a thorough picture of gymnasts’ attitudes towards learning different series of movements and their opinions about the effectiveness of motor learning. The following questions are planned to be answered: 3

1. Do gymnasts in Hungary use the supplementary training methods in the motor learning process in order to be successful? If yes, to what extent? 2. What is the opinion of gymnasts about learning closed skill movements and what are their needs in connection with it? B)

The level of knowledge, gained through special motor teaching among

gymnasts will also be examined. How effective a supplementary training method can be in the motor learning process? The sob-purposes are the following: 1. How effective motor learning is, if mental training, as a supplementary method is also applied in the process? (Regarding time needed, accuracy, persistency.) 2. After learning a relaxation technique, how does mental training influence the effectiveness of motor learning? Our investigation was conducted on the one hand by examining the learning attempt of the flick-backward somersault. On the other hand a quetionnarie was filled in by gymnasts at different levels of knowledge, in which questions in connection with mental practise were asked. C)

Analyzing the literature about mental training, imaginery and relaxation

techniques can be worded as the third goal of the study. The subject of the research (the problem in a wider sense) is motor learning process and its effectiveness (quickness, accuracy and persistency). In the narrow sense the topic is the problem itself, the effectiveness of motor learning process in case of gymnasts and whether the effectiveness of the process can be increased by teaching the gymnasts a relaxation technique, the Lindermann Psychohigienic Training (LPT) in advance, or not. 4. Questions Questions in connection with the topic can be arranged around two ideas. A) Reveal the caracteristics of motor learning in case of closed skill movements; gymnasts’ attitude towards the learning process of sequence of elements; gymnasts’ opinion about supplementary training methods and mental training. B) The level of knowledge gained in the learning process in case of gymnasts and the effectiveness of applying a supplementary training method in the motor learning process. C) Analyzing the literature about mental training, imaginery and relaxation techniques can be worded as the third goal of the study. 4

Questions in more details: 1. Is mental training applied and to what extent by Hungarian gymnasts at different levels? (What?) 2. To what extent is mental training used on trainings, competitions, and in rest periods? (Where?) 3. Is mental training applied on trainig sessions more often before the routine is performed or when different sequenses of movements are learned or practised? (When?) 4. Are elite-level gymnasts able to imagine the movements internally during mental practise, until lower-level gymnasts see themselves more from outside? (How?) 5. Does the common application of traditional training method and mental training fasten the acquisition time? 6. Does the common application of traditional training method and mental training improve the accuracy of acquisition? 7. Does the common application of traditional training method and mental training improve the permanency of the acquisition? 8.

Does a relaxation technique, having taught the gymnasts in advance, improves the effectiveness of the motor learning process?

9. In our opinion the literary and terminological backgrounds of the mental training, imagery and relaxation techniques are not known and revealed thoroughly enough. 5. Hypothesis The hypothesis are alternaive, because the direction of the supposed connection between the independent variables (quickness of motor learning, its accuracy and persistency) is also suggested. 1. It is supposed that Hungarian gymnasts do not apply enough mental practise. 2. Gymnasts apply mental training more on competitions as imagery than on training sessions in the learning process. In resting periods or during the rehabilitation it is used only by the more qualified gymnasts. 3. In our opinion this supplementary learning method is used in the motor learning process only by well-qualified gymnasts. Gymnasts with lower qualification apply it mostly on competitions, as imagery. 4. The more qualified gymnasts are able to imagine the movements internally, recall feelings. Less qualified gymnasts see themselves fromoutside during thinking over the action. 5

5. Gymnasts learn the elements faster if the traditional training method and mental training is applied together than if just the traditional method is applied. 6. Gymnasts learn the elements more accurately if the traditional training method and mental training is applied together than if just the traditional method is applied. 7. Gymnasts learn the elements more permanently, developing a better motor memory if the traditional training method and mental training is applied together than if just the traditional method is applied. 8. In case of closed skill movement teaching, having taught of a relaxation technique in advance to the gymnasts make the motor teaching process more effective, regarding the time needed, accuracy and permanency. 9. In our opinion the literary and terminological backgrounds of the mental training, imagery and relaxation techniques are not known and revealed thoroughly enough. 6. Methods The population, involved in the topic, is no too big, because the number of qualified gymnasts by the Hungarian Gymnastic Federation is 528 people, 251 women and 277 men. Compared to this our sample can be regarded representative, from the aspect of its number (200 and 131 people), sex and qualification. It has to be admitted that the two investigations were not conducted in the same year. The investigation consisted of three parts: on one hand a learning attempt was analyzed and on the other hand gymnasts were asked by a questionnaire. Functionally the questionnaire consisted of main questions, regarding the answerer’s latitude there were closed questions. 200 gymnasts were asked (adult I-II. class, juvenile I-II. class and adolescent I.-II. class) and the answers were to be given in writing. The questions intended to reveal if Hungarian gymnasts apply mental training, if they did, how, where and to what extent. The questionnaires were filled in, in 2005-2006. The sample was chosen with random sampling, from a Hungarian Gymnastic Federation’s list of Hungarian gymnasts of all age and qualification. The sample is devided into five categories in case of men and women, which means 10 categories (groups) together, consisting of 20 people each. The categories are: adult I. class, adult II. class, juvenile I. class, juvenile II. class and adolescent I.-II. class.

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The learning attempt was structurally more-groupped, at natural stage/scene, regarding its type it was partially applied, partially action research. 131 gymnasts (adult II. class, juvenile II. class and adolescent II. class) took part in the learning process, in which the flickbackward somersault had to be acquired. The gymnasts were divided into three groups: 1. group: The traditional training method was applied in the motor learning process. S=43 people, 20 men, 23 women. (T) 2. group: The traditional training method and mental training were together applied in the process. S=46 people, 19 men, 27 women (MT) 3. group: The traditional training method and mental training were applied after having the gymnasts get familier with Lindermann Psychohigienic Training. (LMT) We had to find such gymnasts for the attempt, who had not learned the flick-backward somersault before, but had good base qualification, so who were prepared to do so. The adolescent II class, juvenile II class and adult II. class gymnasts were found to the meet these requirements. The accuracy and permanency of the acqusition were valued/scored as usual in gymnastics, from 1-10. The acqusition time was measured in training days. The attempt consisted of 12 training days. There were 45 minutes training sessions every day, where the following variables were measured: a.) Acqusition time – the day (from 1-12), when the gymnast was able to perform the flick-somersault alone was noted. b) Accuracy of the acquisition – the quality (technique) of the performance was scored from 1-10 on the last training day (day 12) c) Permanency of the acquisition - After a month break in training the quality of the performance of the flick-somersault was also scored from 1-10. We can conclude from the motor memory, from the extent of oblivion to the stability and persistance of the acquisition. The three independent variables were the time, accuracy and permanency of the acqusition. The attempt took place at five different gymnastic sections (Eger, Debrecen, Békéscsaba, FTC, KSI) from 2003 to 2005 under the leadership of five qualified trainers, who learned and applied the LPT in the same way. Data were analyzed by SPSS 13.0 for Windows. Means, standard deviation, standard error and highest and lowest values of 95% confident intervall were figured out with 7

descriptive statistics. The three different methods are described by the comparison of the three independent variables with crosstabs, one-way anova and multiple comparisons. A technique, called source-analyzation according to historic science, was used to complete the sub-purpose of the study, (the detailed analyzation of the references about mental training, imagery ab drelaxation techniques). 7. Results, discussion The results and conclusions are published according to the sequence of the hypothesis (1-9). In the first four points the questionnaire is analyzed, from 5 to 7 the differences of the T and MT methods are shown and in the 8. point the comparison of the MT and LMT is made in case of the three independent variables. Results of the source-analyzation of the mental training, imagery and relaxation tecniques are published in the 9. point (in the dissertation in more details) in two chapters and enclosures 1.) Application of mental training in Hungary The first hypothesis was proved true. Mental training was applied by less gymnasts (3178%) than it was expected (60%). The more qualified the gymnast was, the more he/she applied mental training. Among the most qualified gymnasts, I. class adult men and I. class juvenile men, mental training was quite popular (78% and 68%). In the other groups, even in case of I. class adult women, mental training was applied under the proportion of 60%.

2. ) Application of mental training on training sessions, competitions and in rest periods Mental training wass applied rather on competitions as imagery than during training sessions in the motor learning process at all age. On competitions it was applied more (6872%) than it had been expected (60%) at all levels, but on training sessions, regardless of sex, age or level, it was applied much less (28-32%). There was no significant difference between the different groups. In rest period (period of transition, or after injury, during the rehabilitation period), our 8

hypothesis seemed to fail. Mental training was applied by much less (6-12%) than the expected (50%) percent of gymnasts, even by elite-level ones. It was surprising that in rest period mental training is not applied by juvenile and adolescent men at all 3.) Application of mental training for element acquisation and before the whole routine As opposed to our hypothesis, in the motor learning process for element acquisation on training sessions, mental training was used to the same extent (60-70%) by high-level and low-level gymnasts, regardless of their sex. It was also applied to the same extent (37-41%), as imagery, by men and women before performing the whole routine. 4.) Internal or external image of the movement Our hypothesis at this point is undoubtedly proved true. Gymnasts with higher qualification were able to recall their inner feelings and imagine the movements from inside during mental practise. Gymnasts with lower qualification saw themselves from outside, they imagined the movements from outside of their body, what could not be as effetive as the above mentioned mental practise. 5.) The effect of mental training on acquisition time In our case the acquisition time equals the quickness of the acquisition. According to the crosstab gymnasts learning the movements with the T method, the best two gymnasts had been able to score 7 for the technique of flick-somersoult by the 7th day. 16 gymnasts from the group learning with MT method, had been able to score 7 by the 7th day. Looking at the end of the crosstab, the same situation accurs. While from the MT group the last two gymnasts had completed the acquisition succesfully only by the 11th day, from the T group 4 gymnasts were only able to acquisite the element by the 12th trining day. Analyzing the descriptive statistics of the acquisition time, has to be stated that the difference between the two means are considerable (T – 9,72 days; MT – 8,26 days), 1,46 training days. The standard deviation at the two methods do not show a big difference. (T – 1,297; MT – 1,541). Regarding the quickness of the acqusition, at the multiple comparison, the difference between means are strongly significant (p