The ability to move with speed and precision when your head is on a swivel is a skill. This skill can be broken down into specific components.
- Speed and accuracy of head movements.
- Speed and control of footwork.
- Integration of the above capabilities.
Most individuals focus on the speed of their footwork, which is extremely important, but they neglect training of the speed of their head movements and integrations of these capabilities.
I see 3 ways this oversight manifests:
- Decreased speed and accuracy of target acquisition with head movements.
- Decreased speed of footwork.
- Decreased control of footwork- often resulting in injury such as ankle sprains.
None of these are good options for situational awareness or performance.
To perform at your highest level, each component of moving with your head on a swivel should be trained and optimized.
Speed and Accuracy of Head Movements
Quickly turning your head and target acquiring relies on the vestibular system, which is a sensory system vital for situational awareness.
We can train to strengthen this capability. Knowing the targets and improving the speed and accuracy of your head movements increases your performance capability in the field when your head is on a swivel.
Speed and Control of Footwork
You know how to improve your speed. To improve the control of your footwork train to decrease the dependence on your visual system for your precision of movement.
This can be trained by simply looking straight ahead at a target with speed work instead of staring down at your feet. This basic adjustment trains the somatosensory system, which is another sensory system vital for situational awareness.
Integration of Capabilities
When we train to combine these capabilities, we challenge our brain’s ability to process a greater amount of information and integrate the outputs.
Typically, when training this integration, the speed will need to slow down to not sacrifice precision of movements. As you strengthen this skill, you will be able to increase the speed and elevate performance when your head is on a swivel.
Impact of Subconcussions on This Capability
Repeated subconcussive exposures can impact the speed and accuracy of head movements, control of footwork, and integration of these skills.
This slowly chips away at performance and situational awareness capability.
Individuals who rely on the capability to move with their head on a swivel should train to strengthen these 3 components, especially if they are in positions where they are exposed to subconcussive forces.