Me has long been a source of curiosity for individuals from numerous disciplines. Since the pioneering work of Aristotle (384-322 BC), Borelli (1608-1679), Marey (1830-1904), Sherrington (1857-1952), and Bernstein (1896- 1996), we have known that the activation patterns used by the nervous system and muscle to produce movement are constrained by the laws of physics, To understand how the nervous system ancl muscles generate movement, therefore, it is necessary to appreciate the existing physical constraints, Although this text is primarily about the neural control of movement, its foundation is the principles of mechanics. This is called @ newromechanieal focus. Part I describes the mechanical interaction between the world in which movement ‘occurs und the body parts that are moved. The discussion includes an introduction to the terms and concepts commonly used to describe motion, a description of the various forces that are involved in human movement, and demonstrations of the biomechani- cal techniques used to analyze motion, Although many of these aspects ofthe relation between force and motion are illustrated with a variety of numerical examples that can be bewildering, the student is encouraged to focus on the systematic application of the various equations and methods, OBJECTIVES ‘The goal of this text is to describe movement as the interaction of the human body with, the physical world in which we live. In part I, the aim is to define the biomechanics of ‘human movement. The specific objectives arc + to describe movement in precise, well-defined terms; + to define force; * to consider the role of force in movement; and + to demonstrate the biomechanical techniques that are used to analyze move~ ‘ment.