Wangdo Kim*
Volume6-Issue7
Dates: Received: 2025-07-18 | Accepted: 2025-07-24 | Published: 2025-07-28
Pages: 962-975
Abstract
We propose a new ecological theory of golf swing coordination based on the interaction between degrees of freedom and conserved quantities in golfer–environment systems. Using screw theory and motion capture data, we analyze pitch invariance along the Instantaneous Screw Axis (ISA) as a conserved action structure. Crucially, we introduce visual kinesthesis-the perception of displacement through optic flow-as a key perceptual anchor during impact, when proprioceptive cues are unreliable.
Our findings show that skilled golfers exploit stable ISA trajectories and tightly coupled pitch–force dynamics to produce perceptually invariant motion. Visual kinesthesis, not feedback correction, guides this coordination, while haptic kines- thesis governs internal calibration during the swing. These results suggest that pitch and ISA geometry function as conserved quantities, providing an ecological foundation for understanding skill as emergent sensorimotor alignment.
FullText HTML
FullText PDF
DOI: 10.37871/jbres2151
Certificate of Publication

Copyright
© 2025 Kim W, Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0
How to cite this article
Kim W, Degrees of Freedom and Conserved Quantities in Golfer-Environment Systems: An Ecological Analysis of Visual Kinesthesis and Screw Dynamics in the Golf Swing. J Biomed Res Environ Sci. 2025 Jul 28; 6(7): 962-975. doi: 10.37871/jbres2151, Article ID: JBRES2151, Available at: https://www.jelsciences.com/articles/jbres2151.pdf
Subject area(s)
References
- Cornelius Lanczos. The variational principles of mechanics. Courier Corporation, 2012.
- Teu KK, Kim W, Fuss FK, Tan J. The analysis of golf swing as a kinematic chain using dual Euler angle algorithm. J Biomech. 2006;39(7):1227-38. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2005.03.013. Epub 2005 Jun 2. PMID: 15936026.
- Koon Teu, Wangdo Kim, John Tan, Franz Fuss. Using dual euler angles for the analysis of arm movement during the badminton smash. Sports Engineering. 2005;8(3):171-178. doi: 10.1007/BF02844017.
- RS Ball. A treatise on the theory of screws. Cambridge University Press; 1900.
- K H Hunt. Kinematic geometry of mechanism. Clarendon Press, Oxford; 1990.
- JK Davidson, KH Hunt. Robots and screw theory: Applications of kinematics and statics to robotics. Oxford University Press; 2004.
- GIBSON JJ. Visually controlled locomotion and visual orientation in animals. Br J Psychol. 1958 Aug;49(3):182-94. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1958.tb00656.x. PMID: 13572790.
- JJ Gibson. The ecological approach to visual perception. Houghton Mifflin; 1979.
- Kim W, Kohles SS. A reciprocal connection factor for assessing knee-joint function. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 2012;15(9):911-7. doi: 10.1080/10255842.2011.566270. Epub 2011 May 24. PMID: 21491255.
- Wangdo Kim, Antonio Veloso, Duarte Arau´jo, Maria Machado, Veronica Vleck, Lil- iana Aguiar, Silvia Cabral, Filomena Vieira. Haptic perception-Action coupling manifold of effective golf swing. International Journal of Golf Science. 2013;2(1):10-32.
- David M Trujillo, Henry R Busby. Practical inverse analysis in engineering. CRC press; 1997:7.
- Richard Bellman. Introduction to the mathematical theory of control processes: Lin- ear equations and quadratic criteria. Elsevier. 2016.
- Kim W, Espanha MM, Veloso AP, Araújo D, João F, Carrão L, Kohles SS. An Informational Algorithm as the Basis for Perception-Action Control of the Instantaneous Axes of the Knee. J Nov Physiother. 2013 Mar 27;3(1):127. doi: 10.4172/2165-7025.1000127. PMID: 24932433; PMCID: PMC4057049.
- Jack Phillips. Freedom in machinery. Cambridge University Press; 2007:1.
- David B Dooner, Ali Seireg. The kinematic geometry of gearing: A concurrent engineering approach. John Wiley & Sons; 1995:3.
- Charles Minshall Jessop. A treatise on the line complex. University Press; 1903.
- Nikolai A Bernstein. The problem of interrelation between coordination and local- ization. Arch Biol Sci. 1935;38:1-35.
- Robert E Shaw, MT Turvey. Ecological foundations of cognition. ii: Degrees of freedom and conserved quantities in animal-environment systems. Journal of Consciousness Studies. 1999;6(11-12):111-124.
- JJ Gibson. The senses considered as perceptual systems. Houghton, Boston, 1966.