Whether it be closed-skill sports like powerlifting and triathlon, or open-skilled sports like team sports and mixed martial arts (MMA), both physical attributes and technical proficiency in the sport-specific movements play a role in an athlete's success. Much of periodization has been focused around physical training, and how micro, meso, and macrocycles can be set up to aid in the improvement of strength, power and endurance. The periodization of skill acquisition and practice however, has yet to be examined to the same degree.

From my personal work on how to facilitate better technical improvements through periodization in powerlifting, to personal interests in MMA plus the back and forth debates on whether Conor McGregor's mixed martial arts skills will transfer over to the boxing ring; skill acquisition and performance is a big interest of mine.

Most of this series will be based on one of my recent readings: "Development of a Skill Acquisition Periodisation Framework for High-Performance Sport" by Damien Farrow and Sam Robertson (2016). For a more in-depth, fuller understanding, I highly suggest you read the article first.

In part 1 (this article), I will outline the main points made by Farrow & Robertson (2016) plus any of my own commentary and insight as it pertains to periodization. In part 2, I will directly quote the review article and expand on the points as it pertains to the sport of MMA and the implications it has on how MMA-specific skills are acquired, developed and expressed.