ABSTRACT
Gymnastics coaches pride themselves on detailed knowledge of their craft. Coaches have a great deal to know, and the best coaches have a large assortment of gymnastics-specific knowledge and coaching skills. Knowledge is most commonly thought of as academic-type knowledge or the “know-that” of something. For example, a coach may “know-that” force is the product of mass and acceleration, he or she may “know-that” gymnastics skill performance is dominated by anaerobic energy metabolism, and the coach “knows-that” landing forces dissipated over a greater distance or over a greater impact area result in lower pressures. Coaches also “know-that” the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, if you drop something it will fall, and water is wet. Perhaps more important for the coach is another kind of knowledge that is suggested by a one-word hyphenated concept, “know-how” or practical knowledge. Philosophy and artificial intelligence have attempted to codify knowledge in the hopes of clarification and to develop expert systems (Jones, 1988; Sands, 1991a, 1991b; Sherald, 1989). This concept also includes know-what (facts), know-why (science or theoretical understanding) or know-who (social discourse or politics). Certainly, application without know-that is too often foolish and dangerous; knowledge without know-how is sterile.
