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Motor PreferencesActionTypes®, Motor Preferences & Motor Signatures

Motor preferences describe the natural ways an athlete organizes movement — including posture, balance, rhythm, vision, coordination, joint action, and nervous system tendencies.

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The theory, practice, and assessment protocols for Motor Preferences were originated by Bertrand Theraulaz and Ralph Hippolyte beginning in 1989. Their work has since come to be known as the action|types® Approach — now used by practitioners worldwide and credited with contributing to more than 60 Olympic medals.

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ActionTypes®
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Motor Preferences
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Motor Signature
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ActionTypes®

An individualized coaching approach that identifies how each athlete is naturally organized — physically, cognitively, and behaviorally — so coaching strategies align to the person in front of you.

The ActionTypes® mission: "To enable every individual to express and thrive within their own identity… To enable everyone to find and be recognized for their natural self."

What this means
  • ActionTypes® looks beyond movement to include how athletes process information and respond under pressure.
  • It gives coaches a language for the whole athlete — not just technique, but how they think, feel, and compete.
  • Communication, preparation, and performance strategies are all aligned to the individual profile.
What this looks like in practice
  • ›A coach adjusts not just their cues but their entire communication approach based on how each athlete is organized.
  • ›Athletes who previously struggled to absorb instruction find that matched coaching feels immediate and usable.
  • ›Team environments shift from coaching the median to one that acknowledges and works with individual difference.

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Motor Preferences

The natural ways an athlete organizes movement — innate tendencies that shape how posture, balance, rhythm, vision, coordination, joint action, and nervous system work together. These preferences combine to define a Motor Profile.

What this means
  • Every individual has a natural way of organizing posture, balance, rhythm, and vision that is unique to them.
  • These preferences are not learned habits — they are innate tendencies that shape how an athlete moves and responds.
  • Identifying them allows coaches to communicate and cue in ways that align with the athlete rather than working against them.
What this looks like in practice
  • ›A coach recognizes one athlete responds to rhythm cues while another needs visual references — and adjusts accordingly.
  • ›Instruction becomes shorter and more precise because it matches how the individual naturally receives information.
  • ›Athletes perform with more consistency because the communication reinforces rather than interrupts their natural movement.

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Motor Signature

The dynamic interplay between an athlete's natural Movement Profile and their Motivational Drivers.

What this means
  • The Motor Signature maps how an individual athlete's movement, cognitive, and motivational dimensions combine to create one of 384 different combinations.
  • This is why one-size-fits-all coaching leaves performance on the table.
What this looks like in practice
  • ›A coach can see an athlete's signature favors some movements that are not aligned to their motor profile and manages transitions in movement so that they complement rather than conflict.
  • ›Athletes develop faster because instruction aligns with how their body is already organized to move end to end.
  • ›Training design, cue selection, and feedback all shift to match the profile rather than a generic model.

Ready to explore this for your program?

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