Characteristics of Skilful Movement

This lesson introduces the concept of skilful movement as required by the OCR GCSE PE specification (J587, Section 2.2). Understanding what makes a movement "skilful" is the starting point for the sports psychology component. OCR Paper 2 regularly tests whether candidates can identify, define, and apply the characteristics of skilful movement to sporting examples. This is distinct from AQA's treatment of skill — OCR focuses specifically on five characteristics of skilful movement rather than a broader skill-versus-ability distinction.

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What Is Skilful Movement?

A skilful movement is one that is performed with a high degree of quality and effectiveness. It is not simply about completing a task — it is about completing it well. A beginner and an expert may both complete a tennis serve, but only the expert's serve would be described as "skilful."

The OCR specification identifies five characteristics of skilful movement. You must know each one, be able to define it, and apply it to sporting examples.

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The Five Characteristics

1. Efficiency

Definition: A skilful movement uses only the muscles and energy needed — there is no wasted effort.

• An efficient performer conserves energy, which allows them to maintain performance for longer.
• An inefficient performer wastes energy on unnecessary muscle contractions or movements, leading to earlier fatigue.

Efficient Performance	Inefficient Performance
A long-distance runner with a smooth, relaxed stride and minimal upper-body movement	A novice runner with tense shoulders, clenched fists, and excessive arm swinging
A swimmer with a streamlined body position and controlled breathing	A beginner swimmer splashing excessively and lifting the head too high to breathe

Exam Tip: Efficiency is about the economy of effort. When describing efficiency in the exam, explain that the performer uses the minimum amount of energy required to achieve the desired result.

2. Pre-determined

Definition: The performer knows what they want to achieve before they execute the movement — the outcome is planned in advance.

• A skilled performer has a clear mental picture of what they intend to do.
• They have practised the movement so many times that they can plan and visualise the outcome before executing it.

Pre-determined Example	Explanation
A football striker shaping to curl the ball into the top corner	Before striking, the player has already decided where to aim and how to contact the ball
A gymnast performing a floor routine	Every movement, jump, and landing is choreographed and rehearsed in advance
A basketball player executing a set play	The player knows the sequence of passes and movements before the ball is even inbounded

3. Co-ordinated

Definition: Different body parts work together in the correct sequence and with the correct timing to produce a smooth, effective movement.

• Coordination involves the precise sequencing of muscle actions.
• In a cricket bowling action, the run-up, arm swing, wrist position, and follow-through must all be timed perfectly.

graph LR
    A["Run-up<br>(legs)"] --> B["Arm Swing<br>(shoulder/arm)"]
    B --> C["Wrist Snap<br>(hand/wrist)"]
    C --> D["Follow-through<br>(whole body)"]

    style A fill:#3498db,color:#fff
    style B fill:#2ecc71,color:#fff
    style C fill:#f39c12,color:#fff
    style D fill:#e74c3c,color:#fff

Co-ordinated Example	Body Parts Involved
Tennis serve	Legs (drive), trunk (rotation), arm (swing), wrist (snap)
Football volley	Standing leg (balance), kicking leg (swing), trunk (lean back), arms (balance)
Javelin throw	Legs (run-up/brace), hips (rotation), trunk (extension), arm (throw), wrist (release)

4. Fluent

Definition: The movement flows smoothly from one phase to the next without hesitation, jerking, or pausing.

• A fluent movement has no obvious breaks between its component parts.
• The phases of the movement blend seamlessly into each other.

Fluent Performance	Non-Fluent Performance
A skilled diver rotating smoothly through a somersault	A beginner diver who hesitates at the take-off and enters the water awkwardly
A skilled hurdler maintaining rhythm and stride pattern over each hurdle	A novice hurdler who breaks stride, stutters before each hurdle, and loses speed
A skilled basketball player dribbling, spinning, and shooting in one continuous motion	A beginner who stops, looks at the basket, adjusts their grip, and then shoots

5. Aesthetic

Definition: The movement looks pleasing to the eye — it appears effortless and graceful to the observer.

• An aesthetic performance is one that spectators or judges would describe as "beautiful" or "elegant."
• Aesthetics are particularly important in judged sports such as gymnastics, diving, figure skating, and dance, where marks are awarded for the quality of movement.
• Even in non-judged sports, a skilful performance often has an aesthetic quality — for example, a perfectly timed cover drive in cricket or a flowing passing move in football.

Sport	Aesthetic Element
Gymnastics	A routine with pointed toes, extended lines, and controlled landings
Figure skating	Graceful spins, smooth transitions, and expressive movement
Diving	A controlled approach, clean entry, and minimal splash
Football	A flowing team move with one-touch passing ending in a goal

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Linking the Five Characteristics

The five characteristics are interconnected — a truly skilful movement demonstrates all five simultaneously:

graph TD
    S["Skilful Movement"] --> E["Efficient"]
    S --> P["Pre-determined"]
    S --> C["Co-ordinated"]
    S --> F["Fluent"]
    S --> A["Aesthetic"]

    E -.-> F
    C -.-> F
    F -.-> A
    P -.-> E

    style S fill:#8e44ad,color:#fff
    style E fill:#2980b9,color:#fff
    style P fill:#27ae60,color:#fff
    style C fill:#e67e22,color:#fff
    style F fill:#3498db,color:#fff
    style A fill:#e74c3c,color:#fff

• A movement that is co-ordinated and efficient is likely to be fluent.
• A movement that is fluent is likely to be aesthetic.
• A movement that is pre-determined is likely to be efficient because the performer is not wasting energy deciding what to do.

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Applying the Characteristics: Worked Example

Scenario: Describe the characteristics of a skilful tennis serve.

Characteristic	Application to Tennis Serve
Efficient	The server uses a smooth throwing action with minimal wasted energy — no excessive backswing or unnecessary body movements
Pre-determined	Before serving, the player has decided where to aim (e.g. wide to the deuce court) and what type of serve to use (e.g. slice)
Co-ordinated	The ball toss, knee bend, trunk rotation, arm swing, and wrist snap are all timed to produce maximum racket-head speed at the point of contact
Fluent	The serve flows smoothly from the ball toss through the loading phase to the contact point and follow-through with no hesitation
Aesthetic	The serve looks effortless and powerful to the observer — the movement is smooth and the outcome (an ace) appears almost inevitable

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Common Exam Mistakes

• Listing the characteristics without applying them. Simply writing "fluent, efficient, co-ordinated, pre-determined, aesthetic" without linking each one to a sporting example will limit your marks.
• Confusing "efficient" with "effective." Efficient means using minimal energy; effective means achieving the desired outcome. A movement can be effective (the ball goes in the net) but inefficient (the performer used excessive effort).
• Forgetting "pre-determined." Students often remember the other four but overlook this one. It is about the performer knowing the intended outcome before executing the movement.
• Not using the correct OCR terminology. OCR uses these five specific terms. Using alternative phrases such as "well-timed" or "good-looking" is not sufficient — use the exact terms.

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Summary

The five characteristics of skilful movement (OCR J587) are:

Characteristic	Key Phrase
Efficiency	Minimum energy, no wasted effort
Pre-determined	Outcome planned in advance
Co-ordinated	Body parts work together in correct sequence and timing
Fluent	Smooth flow from one phase to the next
Aesthetic	Pleasing to the eye, looks effortless

• All five characteristics are present in a truly skilful performance.
• You must be able to define each one and apply it to a named sporting skill.
• This topic appears regularly in OCR Paper 2 and is worth learning thoroughly.

Exam Tip: A useful memory device is EPFCA — Efficient, Pre-determined, Fluent, Co-ordinated, Aesthetic. Alternatively, you might create your own mnemonic to help recall all five in an exam.