distinction is made between instinctive responses (such as breathing and

coughing), and learned behaviours. In his analysis of the field, Edwards (2011)
concluded that for behaviour to be regarded as skilled it must have been learned. This
aspect has been consistently highlighted by skills analysts. Accordingly, Shmuelof and
Krakauer (2014) noted that skill involves acquiring a behaviour that was not previously
available to the individual. Similarly, van der Fels, te Wierike, Hartman et al. (2014, p.
697) defined motor skills as ‘learned sequences of movements that are combined to
produce a smooth, efficient action’.
This definition also highlights a third aspect of skill, namely that it entails fluent and effective
performance. In this sense, skill is assessed on the display of procedural knowledge rather
than declarative knowledge. In other words, judgements of motor skill are based on what
we can actually do rather than on what we can verbalise (Diedrichsen & Kornysheva,
2015). It involves the implementation of complex motor performance in such a way as to
demonstrate that a smooth integration of behaviour has occurred (Cratty, 1964). As defined
by Proctor and Dutta (1995, p. 18), ‘Skill is goal-directed, well-organized behavior that is
acquired through practice