Abstract
In sports and martial arts, it has been pointed out that words often become obstacles when coaching skill. On the other hand, however, the words have also been reported to promote the acquisition of skill in cognitive science. The effect of words in coaching has not been studied sufficiently yet. In this research, we aimed to examine experimentally the change about body movement of learners through verbal communication with a coach and to study the effects of words in coaching. As a method, five learners who received verbal coaching conducted reports on feeling or impressions about standing and walking, after a coach confirmed the reports, and made comments by verbal guidance. As a result, one learner did not recognize the change about body movement both before and after the experiment because an evaluation by a coach is high, but three learners confirmed the tendency to change to body movement expected by a coach. On the other hand, it was confirmed that one learner changed to body movement different from the expectation of a coach. From the discussion, it was suggested that not only words were shown to be effective for coaching skill, its effect varied among individuals, but also words could be counterproductive.
