A Working Framework for Movement Competency

A Working Framework for Movement Competency

At its core, movement competency may hinge on two critical, albeit ambiguous, components: Effectiveness and efficiency.

Effectiveness
Did the task goal get accomplished?

Effectiveness reflects whether the intended outcome was achieved — whether emergently during sport, or intentionally during training (e.g., imparting stress to a tissue for adaptation, or expressing a distinct impulse profile).

In simple terms: Was the “purchase” made?
Effective movement doesn’t guarantee efficiency, but without effectiveness, efficiency is irrelevant.

Efficiency
What was the cost of doing business?

Efficiency concerns how the goal was achieved with a focus on minimizing unintended metabolic, structural, or mechanical costs.

The more competent a mover, the less homeostatic disruption they incur for a given outcome.

It’s not just about movement “looking good”; it’s about reducing the collateral costs so the right tissues are stressed, the right outputs are expressed, and the organism maintains buffering capacity.

Important Distinctions

One can be effective but inefficient — achieving the goal at an unnecessarily high cost, risking long-term sustainability.

One can be efficient but ineffective — moving “well” but failing to achieve the intended task or tissue adaptation.

Options and Coordination

A foundational element of competency is the availability and meaningful coordination of options (degrees of freedom).

Competency is, in part, about expanding and refining the trainable “menu” — in order to meet the demands of the moment.

On Measuring Competency

Assessment is inevitably influenced by bias and motivated reasoning.

Movement is not binary: Variation is normal, and biomechanics exist on a spectrum of task relevance, not right or wrong.

Thus, competency may best be judged by a mover’s ability to solve movement problems efficiently and effectively over time — maintaining mechanical positions that afford stress tolerance, tissue adaptability, and resilience without overexposing vulnerable structures.

-Jarred