Page 109 - Safe Wrestling

Motor Learning, Feedback and Movement Screening

In combat sports, where movements are highly complex, multi-joint,
and frequently executed under unpredictable conditions, this approach
is particularly valuable because it enables systematic assessment of fun-
damental movement patterns (e.g., squats, lunges, hip hinges, and trunk
rotations) before these patterns are transferred into sport-specific com-
bat techniques such as throws, strikes, and falls.

Functional Movement Screen and Other Basic Screening Tests
One of the most widely used movement-screening systems in sport is
the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), which consists of seven funda-
mental tasks: the deep squat, hurdle step, in-line lunge, shoulder mobil-
ity test, straight leg raise in supine position, trunk stability push-up, and
rotary stability test (Cook, 2010). The purpose of the FMS is not to diag-
nose injuries or provide medical diagnoses, but rather to assess move-
ment quality – specifically whether the athlete performs the movements
symmetrically, with appropriate segmental alignment, and without obvi-
ous compensations, pain, or range-of-motion limitations.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have demonstrated that the
FMS possesses acceptable reliability (including good inter-rater and
intra-rater reliability) and that, in certain populations, a low total score
(e.g., ≤14 points) may be associated with increased injury risk. However,
effect sizes are generally small to moderate, study results are heteroge-
neous, and the predictive value of the FMS remains limited (Bonazza et
al., 2016; Dorrel et al., 2015; Monaco & Schoenfeld, 2019). Accordingly,
the FMS is best understood primarily as a tool for identifying movement
limitations and asymmetries rather than as a stand-alone predictive in-
strument capable of reliably determining which athletes will sustain in-
juries.
In addition to the FMS, other basic functional tests are frequently ap-
plied in sports practice, including the Y-Balance Test (for the assessment
of dynamic balance and lower-limb asymmetries) (Çimen Polat et al.,
2018; Eri¸s et al., 2022; Pekel et al., 2023; Rotar et al., 2024), the single-
leg squat (Ageberg et al., 2010; Aldhabi et al., 2024; Ugalde et al., 2015),
jump-landing tests such as the drop jump and countermovement jump
(Estevan et al., 2012; Loturco et al., 2016), and various overhead squat
variations (Dingenen & Gokeler, 2017). The principal contribution of
these assessments likewise lies in providing a structured and repeatable
method for observing movement, thereby enabling coaches and ther-
apists to identify recurring suboptimal patterns such as dynamic knee

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