ABSTRACT
Hierarchical theories of control work from a foundation that all aspects of movement planning and execution are the responsibility of higher orders of the central nervous system. To successfully perform a wide variety of skilled actions the performer has to coordinate various muscles and joints to work both effectively and efficiently. Over the years there has been a change in emphasis from an information-processing approach to a dynamical systems approach to movement control. Taking a hierarchical stance, movements are stored in memory as plans or motor programs for movement. It was Keele who defined a motor program as ‘a set of muscle commands that are structured before a movement sequence begins’. The ecological perspective on motor control is based on the fact that the perceptual and motor systems evolved in natural environments, and that a good starting point is the physical task to be performed. Theories of motor control provide the foundation on which practice should be based.
