Learning Expert: The Key to Perfect Practice in Sports (Exclusive Interview with Dr. Will Wu)

Both Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods were relentless with their practice. They spent thousands of hours honing their craft in the gym or on the course. While this created a tremendous advantage, it also broke down their bodies. What if there was a way that they could have achieved the same results with dramatically less repetition, in turn reducing the physical sacrifice? Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Will Wu. He specializes in motor control and motor learning, the stealth sciences that underly the effectiveness of our approach to practice. In this episode we learn about how some of the underlying mechanisms of our motor learning work, what most athletes are missing in their approach to skill development, and the types of practice that give you the most bang for your buck.

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0:00 Intro

2:27 Muscle Memory a Myth?

4:45 What is Motor Learning?

5:51 Open and Closed Systems

11:58 Fast and slow movements

17:01 Focus of Attention

28:08 Core Needs of Motor Learning

35:25 Should Athletes Look Bad in Practice?

39:18 Progression of Practice

40:13 Motor Learning Fundamentals

44:10 Volume vs Gamification

50:02 Variability in movements?

55:26 "Bad Hand"

57:08 Schema Theory

1:103:47 Taking Breaks in Practice

1:08:51 Specialized Games

1:11:17 Cross Sport Variance?

1:14:33 Generalizable patterns

1:18:33 Mental Mapping

1:21:19 Visual System

1:26:19 Chunking

1:31:02 Actionable Tips