Visual proprioception

[nevets88]

The word proprioception is used in golf instruction a lot and I think there's an additional related skill that helps in improving at golf, a sort of visual proprioception, which I think is just as important.

So you have the correlation of actually doing what you're feeling but now with ubiquitous cameras, I think this skill of visual proprioception, figuring out movement given what you see on video, should be mentioned/talked about more. Noticing differences between positions at certain points in the swing. Changing how you move to make the swing look a different way. Spatial, geometric awareness (drawing lines and angles in the picture in your head). Noticing if something changes from 50 degrees to 55 degrees.

But unlike proprioception, which one only has so much of, imho this visual proprioception can be developed. If you asked me before I used video differences in swings, I couldn't tell much, but now, having watched many swing analyses on YouTube and Instagram and all different swings at 100+fps, I see much more. And I think it's something in the toolkit that can help you improve quicker. No?

[Piz]

I coached pitchers for 10 years; LL thru HS.  During that time I learned how to observe.  There was no "aha" moment; just an incremental evolution in my perception.  It began when it occurred to me that a mistake is a compensation for something earlier, or further back in the motion, and I needed to understand why a thing was happening and not simply point out that it was happening.  In other words:  what most people notice is the result rather than the cause.  To analyze a motion properly; it is necessary to develop the ability to observe properly.  Otherwise...you reduce your role to that of a traveling Band-Aid salesman.  Whatever you call that it amounts to the same thing...learning how to observe.

[dennyjones]

5 hours ago, Piz said:

To analyze a motion properly; it is necessary to develop the ability to observe properly.  Otherwise...you reduce your role to that of a traveling Band-Aid salesman.  Whatever you call that it amounts to the same thing...learning how to observe.

The difference between a great xxxx and a not so great xxxx.    This thought can be used in almost any profession, from teacher, athletic coach, speech pathologist and many more.    We definitely see this in golf instructors but the good ones are the people that observe, analyze and "relate" that information to the student where it can be comprehended.  

[Piz]

2 hours ago, dennyjones said:

The difference between a great xxxx and a not so great xxxx.    This thought can be used in almost any profession, from teacher, athletic coach, speech pathologist and many more.    We definitely see this in golf instructors but the good ones are the people that observe, analyze and "relate" that information to the student where it can be comprehended.  

Hear Hear!  It is akin to the realization that one needn't heat the sauce pan prior to slivering the garlic.  What's the rush?  Why not have patience and allow events to unfold?  A poor pass is a realization...not an indictment.