This study proposes that the perceptual experience of learning a skill can initially be comprehended through the key concepts of life and existence in phenomenology. Recent phenomenological research in the cognitive sciences have discussed expertise in sports and arts in terms of refinement of perception and “motor intentionality,” elucidating finely discriminated situations and pre-reflective awareness during performance. Simultaneously, existential phenomenology in psychological research has examined “human phenomenon” related to sports (e.g., anxiety) by focusing on the existential aspects of athletes. In this study, we demonstrate that these two approaches are complementary, and explore ways to connect these theories. In conclusion, we show that the transformation of motor intentionality is not related only to the perception and cognition of excellence during performance. Rather, it is extended to the relationships with situation and the responsibility to others, which constitutes the lived experience that is at the core of phenomenology; that is, the human existence of being-in-the-world.

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