Coordination of human movements resulting in motor strategies exploited by skilled players during a throwing task

In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of a motor system that affects skills and strategies of expert dart throwers. Eight experts participated in our experiment and each subject performed 42 throws. Kinematics of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and dart were recorded by six high-speed cameras (200 Hz). The vertical error curve over time was calculated based on both hand and dart trajectories to clarify their relationship and interaction, which could attribute to their skills. Moreover, the kinematics of the dart (speed and direction) and angular kinematics of the elbow and wrist at the time of release were investigated to elucidate which parameters constitute the throwing strategies of experts. Experimental results showed that expert’s throwing can be classified into two strategies, i.e., reducing timing sensitivity and reducing timing error. These strategies were derived from the spatial and temporal controls of the hand trajectory. Moreover, we confirmed that the speed of the dart and angular acceleration of the wrist joint at the time of release were highly correlated with the time-window for successful release. These results imply that the two strategies are characterized not only by a spatiotemporal relationship between the hand and dart trajectories, but also by relationships with release kinematic parameters of the proximal joint and the dart. Understanding characteristics which lead to strategies of skilled throwers would provide effective training methodology for beginners.