no reason you can't shoot action with a manual lens, i did it all through high school shooting pretty much all the sports teams at one point or another. with a 135 f 3.5 and a 1.7 tc no less
it helps a lot for action to be able to predict it so the better you know the subject the more keepers you'll get
i shoot some live music now with my m lenses and get as many or more keepers than i do with my sigma 24-70 2.8
i don't use manual zooms though, they just don't cut it compared to the modern ones
the primes on the other hand give some amazing performance at a fraction of the price of any of the new primes. my whole prime kit still cost less than 1 dal 35 f2.4
practice is all it takes. that and a good focusing screen ( i use a nikon k3 split image with gridlines from focusingscreen.com) and if you wear reading glasses like i do then look into the m lens adaptors from Pentax (they are a part not retail item) I bought the +3 which is my prescription and it makes life easier with any lens, and i still have another +1 or so available on the built in diopter as my eyes weaken)
smc m 200 f4.0 @ about 5.6 if memory serves, not my dog, just a quick grab while walking