The foundational role of perception-action couplings for expert performance in jump rope

In sport, expert performance is less about repetition and more about adaptation to achieve task goals. In dynamic coordination tasks such as the Single Rope Speed Sprint (SRSS) in Jump Rope (JR), athletes must regulate complex interlimb movements at high speed to maintain stable performance. Rather than repeat pre-stored responses, experts thrive by continuously perceiving and acting within their environment. Subtle variability in movement, once considered noise, is a hallmark of agency and embodies adaptability. The present study examined how perception-action couplings underpin expertise in SRSS, which requires alternating asynchronous foot movements and synchronized hand rotations. We hypothesized that experts, compared to novices, would exhibit greater global movement stability (i.e., coordination and its maintenance) and higher local movement variability (i.e., adaptability). Thirty-six participants (18 experts, 18 novices) performed the SRSS while wearing inertial sensors (142 Hz) on the hands and feet to capture accelerations (g). Relative phase between the feet indexed global stability, and sample entropy (SampEn) quantified local variability. Results showed that experts achieved significantly superior performance measures (number of jumps, coordination, and coordination maintenance; p < .001) and greater SampEn across all limbs (p < .01). Exploratory analyses suggested a nonlinear, expertise-related pattern between local variability and global stability, rather than a common linear association across performers. Overall, this study suggests that expertise in SRSS is characterized by adaptable perception-action couplings, expressed through greater local movement variability and greater global movement stability in experts.