Introduction to Sports Biomechanics: Analysing Human Movement ...

Preface
Why have I changed the cover name for this book from that of the first edition? Because
after teaching, researching and consulting in sports biomechanics for over 30 years, my
definition of sports biomechanics has become simply, ‘the study and analysis of human
movement patterns in sport’. This is a marked change from the first edition, the
introduction to which began with the sentence: ‘Sports biomechanics uses the scientific
methods of mechanics to study the effects of various forces on the sports performer’.
The change in focus – and structure and contents – of this book reflects an important
change in sports biomechanics over the last decade. Most sports biomechanics textbooks,
including the first edition of this one, have strongly reflected the mathematical,
engineering or physics backgrounds of their authors and their predominant research
culture. Hence, the mechanical focus that is evident, particularly in earlier texts, as well
as a strong emphasis on quantitative analysis in sports biomechanics. In this early part
of the third millennium, more students who graduate with a degree focused on sports
biomechanics will go on to work as a movement analyst or performance analyst with
sports organisations and client groups in exercise and health than will enrol for a
research degree. The requirements on them will be to undertake mostly qualitative,
rather than quantitative, analysis of movement. Indeed, I will often use the term
‘movement analyst’ instead of ‘sports biomechanist’ to reflect this shift from quantitative
to qualitative analysis, and to broaden the term somewhat, as will be apparent later.
So, qualitative analysis is the main focus of the first three chapters of this new
edition; however everything in these chapters is also relevant for quantitative movement
analysts – you cannot be a good quantitative movement analyst without first being a
good qualitative analyst. The last three chapters focus on quantitative analysis. Even
here, there are notable changes from the first edition. First, I have removed sections
that dealt with sports objects rather than the sports performer. This reflects the
growth of sports engineering as the discipline that deals with the design and function of
sports equipment and sports objects. Secondly, rather than the structure of the first
edition – four chapters on fundamentals and four on measurement techniques – the
measurement sections are now incorporated within Chapters 4 to 6 (and touched on
in Chapter 2) and are covered only in the detail needed for undergraduate students.
More advanced students wishing to probe deeper into measurement techniques and
data processing will find the new text edited by Carl Payton and myself a source of more
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