<p>The following citations don't speak to starting slow, but they confirm that speed and accuracy increase with practise.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is interesting that with practice, [...] limb trajectories get faster and more asymmetric (Elliott, Chua, Pollock, &amp; Lyons, 1995; Khan &amp; Franks, 2000).</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f0cb/b028b6248ac5fd74bbb22e2b65c13fbb6198.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Elliott, D., Hansen, S., Grierson, L.E.M., Lyons, J., Bennett, S.J., Hayes, S.J. 2010. Goal-directed aiming: two components but multiple processes. <em>Psychological Bulletin</em>, 136, 1023-1044.</a> PDF page 5.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Decrease in endpoint variability occurs in conjunction with an increase in the peak velocity of the limb (e.g., Elliott et al., 1995).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Elliott et al., 2010, PDF page 10)</p>
<p>Edit: Found some more relevant sources.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The group exposed to the slowest speed training program was the only group [...] which had significantly lower time-on-target scores from the control group who trained at the criterion speed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10671315.1975.10615298" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Barbara E. Jensen (1975) Pretask Speed Training and Movement Complexity as Factors in Rotary Pursuit Skill Acquisition, <em>Research Quarterly</em>. American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 46:1, 1-11</a>, DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10671315.1975.10615298" rel="nofollow noreferrer">10.1080/10671315.1975.10615298</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>The effect of learning a novel skill at specific speeds on performance over a range of speeds was examined on <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=pursuit+rotor" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the pursuit rotor</a>. Three groups of subjects were given three days of training: Group 1 at 30 rpm, Group 2 at 60 rpm, and Group 3 at 30–45.60 rpm. Group 4, a control, practiced on a pegboard task during this period. On Days 4 and 5, all four groups were tested for transfer at 30, 45, and 60 rpm. For the most part, Group 3 appeared to perform equal to or better across the range of speeds than any of the other groups.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pms.1980.50.1.83" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Siegel, D., &amp; Davis, C. (1980). Transfer Effects of Learning at Specific Speeds on Performance over a Range of Speeds. <em>Perceptual and Motor Skills</em>, 50(1), 83–89</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1980.50.1.83" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1980.50.1.83</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Speed and accuracy are two sides of the same skill coin. although there is a strong and widespread belief in industry that the instructor should focus on developing accuracy because speed will follow, that is not true. The research is clear: if you want speed and accuracy, you must train for both and preferably right from the start of training.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=BqkpO46H5GsC&amp;pg=PA55&amp;lpg=PA55&amp;dq=The+result+of+speed+and+accuracy+emphases+on+the+learning+of+a+selected+motor+skill+in+golf&amp;ots=tze717VyUs&amp;sig=ACfU3U3wMdC7BhpiZBXxhHZhx4s4TcZTgQ&amp;hl=en#v=onepage&amp;q=The%20result%20of%20speed%20and%20accuracy%20emphases%20on%20the%20learning%20of%20a%20selected%20motor%20skill%20in%20golf&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">James, R. (1995). Chapter 8. In <em>The techniques of instruction</em> (p. 55). Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Gower.</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-05T07:57:17.517Z
2020-10-10T09:34:33.923Z
2020-10-10T09:34:33.923Z
NiteCyper
<p>I've commonly heard that when practising a motor skill, one should start slow with correct form and one shouldn't force speed. Rather, let speed come naturally. I believe this but I can't find a citation for its prescription. Does anyone have a study to support (or deny) this?</p>
<p>I'm particularly interested in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/aiming-movement" rel="nofollow noreferrer">aiming movement</a> in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykuuv23-40o" rel="nofollow noreferrer">first-person shooter</a> video-games. The input device is moving a computer mouse. I am also training in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDjlV6Qtb90" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Super smash Bros. Melee</a>, a platform fighting game. The input device is a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&amp;q=gamecube+controller" rel="nofollow noreferrer">GameCube controller</a>. These would both fall under fine motor skill.</p>

<learning><performance><motor><sport-psychology>
Motor skill: Let speed come naturally?
NiteCyper
# Motor skill: Let speed come naturally?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-25)

I've commonly heard that when practising a motor skill, one should start slow with correct form and one shouldn't force speed. Rather, let speed come naturally. I believe this but I can't find a citation for its prescription. Does anyone have a study to support (or deny) this?

I'm particularly interested in [aiming movement](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/aiming-movement) in [first-person shooter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykuuv23-40o) video-games. The input device is moving a computer mouse. I am also training in [Super smash Bros. Melee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDjlV6Qtb90), a platform fighting game. The input device is a [GameCube controller](https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=gamecube+controller). These would both fall under fine motor skill.

**Tags:** learning, performance, motor, sport-psychology


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2020-10-05. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

The following citations don't speak to starting slow, but they confirm that speed and accuracy increase with practise.

> It is interesting that with practice, [...] limb trajectories get faster and more asymmetric (Elliott, Chua, Pollock, & Lyons, 1995; Khan & Franks, 2000).

[Elliott, D., Hansen, S., Grierson, L.E.M., Lyons, J., Bennett, S.J., Hayes, S.J. 2010. Goal-directed aiming: two components but multiple processes. *Psychological Bulletin*, 136, 1023-1044.](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f0cb/b028b6248ac5fd74bbb22e2b65c13fbb6198.pdf) PDF page 5.

> Decrease in endpoint variability occurs in conjunction with an increase in the peak velocity of the limb (e.g., Elliott et al., 1995).

(Elliott et al., 2010, PDF page 10)

Edit: Found some more relevant sources.

> The group exposed to the slowest speed training program was the only group [...] which had significantly lower time-on-target scores from the control group who trained at the criterion speed.

[Barbara E. Jensen (1975) Pretask Speed Training and Movement Complexity as Factors in Rotary Pursuit Skill Acquisition, *Research Quarterly*. American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 46:1, 1-11](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10671315.1975.10615298), DOI: [10.1080/10671315.1975.10615298](https://doi.org/10.1080/10671315.1975.10615298)

> The effect of learning a novel skill at specific speeds on performance over a range of speeds was examined on [the pursuit rotor](https://www.google.com/search?q=pursuit+rotor). Three groups of subjects were given three days of training: Group 1 at 30 rpm, Group 2 at 60 rpm, and Group 3 at 30–45.60 rpm. Group 4, a control, practiced on a pegboard task during this period. On Days 4 and 5, all four groups were tested for transfer at 30, 45, and 60 rpm. For the most part, Group 3 appeared to perform equal to or better across the range of speeds than any of the other groups.

[Siegel, D., & Davis, C. (1980). Transfer Effects of Learning at Specific Speeds on Performance over a Range of Speeds. *Perceptual and Motor Skills*, 50(1), 83–89](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pms.1980.50.1.83). <https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1980.50.1.83>

> Speed and accuracy are two sides of the same skill coin. although there is a strong and widespread belief in industry that the instructor should focus on developing accuracy because speed will follow, that is not true. The research is clear: if you want speed and accuracy, you must train for both and preferably right from the start of training.

[James, R. (1995). Chapter 8. In *The techniques of instruction* (p. 55). Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Gower.](https://books.google.ca/books?id=BqkpO46H5GsC&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=The+result+of+speed+and+accuracy+emphases+on+the+learning+of+a+selected+motor+skill+in+golf&ots=tze717VyUs&sig=ACfU3U3wMdC7BhpiZBXxhHZhx4s4TcZTgQ&hl=en#v=onepage&q=The%20result%20of%20speed%20and%20accuracy%20emphases%20on%20the%20learning%20of%20a%20selected%20motor%20skill%20in%20golf&f=false)


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