Karate Activity Observation

The person performing the activity I observed is a 24-year-old male who stands 5 feet 9 and a half inches and weighs 145 pounds. His ethnicity or race is half-Vietnamese and half-Filipino. He wears glasses, has a thin petite build and a trim figure. He played soccer before, continues to go workout a few times a week, and is taking a karate class which lasts 2 hours per week so I know that he is somewhat fit. I could say that his body posture is not “normal” because his back is a little bit hunched and his shoulders are rounded forward, which based on my research, is clinically called kypholordosis. He told me that he feels a slight tightness on his right hamstring so that might have an effect on the movement that I observed. ADD MORE!!! Present The selected movement task that I observed was walking at a normal pace. The person doing the movement was looking forward and has his arms on his sides. His arms were not stiff and straight; they were loose and relaxed. His toes were pointed in a forward direction and he also has a narrow base of support. It is almost as if he is walking in a straight line. The movement I observed starts when he flexes his hip and his right knee, and then lifts his right foot forward. While doing so, his right heel strikes the ground first (heel strike) followed by his right toe, then his left arm swings forward—arm swings in opposition to the leg. Once his right toe touches the ground, his left heel lifts up the surface followed by the forward flexion of the hip and the knee, then the heel strike or heel-toe movement is exhibited by the left heel and toe. …show more content…
Simultaneously, the right arm then goes forward while the left arm swings back to his side. Then the cycle alternatingly goes on—the flexion of his hip and knee, then the lifting of his foot forward. His heel will touch the ground followed by his toe, then the arm opposite to the leg in front would swing forward. I assumed that his strides would be larger because of his height, but it was average. His shoulders were kind of leaning forward when he performs the movement observed, but that was his normal posture. Overall, he showed a mature walking pattern. Future If he does perform this movement in the future, say 55 years later, I believe that his performance of this movement would change in a greater degree. His pace would get slower and I would assume that his back would be hunched noticeably and that his shoulders would further round forward while performing the movement. He would slightly lift his arms, to some extent, somewhat like a high guard arm position in an immature walker to help …show more content…
When he lifts his leg forward, it would not be as high as when he was at 24 years old. The heel strike would still be visible, but only slightly and there would be a noticeable dragging of the feet. His arms would still move in opposition to the leg, but it would just be a little and subtle movement. He might also look down quite a bit in order to gain balance and for safety reasons, such as to avoid tripping or falling. The regression of the movement observed would be due to old age and the bones, joints, muscles, and the body overall getting