Every biological system operates within a hierarchy. If we ignore this reality, we lose any chance of understanding how movement is built, organized, or improved. Parts, elements, and subsystems do not function independently — they are all subordinated to a leading factor that determines how the entire system behaves and how its components interact.
In human movement, especially in the context of learning and training, that leading factor is gravity.
Academic P. K. Anokhin emphasized that gravity affects all physiological functions down to the cellular level. It should not surprise us, then, that gravity also governs movement. Whether we are teaching a beginner or refining an elite athlete, gravity is the constant foundation. It serves as the common denominator across all stages of learning and all types of training.
In learning, gravity defines both the structure and the organization of movement.
1. Structural Influence
The structure of movement is shaped by how gravity dictates the use of energy and force. From this comes the concept of the Pose as the structural basis of movement — the spatial-temporal position that allows the body to cooperate with gravity efficiently.
2. Organizational Influence
Movement organization arises from gravity’s expression as free-fall acceleration. This governs timing, transitions, and energy flow. The nervous system organizes movement around this constant; technique must respect it.
If we reduce hierarchy to its simplest form, it becomes a question:
Which factor determines the functioning of the system as a whole and its parts?
Under Earth’s conditions, that factor is gravity.
Within movement, the hierarchical factor becomes the result — which directs and coordinates systems, functions, and components toward achieving it. Anokhin’s theory of functional systems (1968) offers a clear explanation of how this result-driven hierarchy is formed and maintained.
When we map this hierarchy onto movement, the structure becomes straightforward:
- Gravity — the source of potential energy (through free fall) and force (body weight, mg).
- Pose — the structural condition defining movement modality and its spatial-temporalorganization.
- Technique — the integrating factor that aligns structure and organization, so the athlete works with gravity, not against it.
This is why technique is not secondary or cosmetic — it is hierarchical. It brings together the structural and organizational principles that movement depends on, in both learning and training.
The concept of hierarchy has deep roots, even linguistically — from Greek ἱεραρχία hierarkhia, from hierarkhēs ‘sacred ruler’
or 'the governance of things sacred'. More importantly, complex biological systems consistently demonstrate hierarchical structure. Human movement follows this same logic.
Recognizing this hierarchy is essential for understanding why technique begins — and must begin — with gravity.
