Global Promotion of the Innovative Aspects of Science of Martial Arts: An Exemplary Application of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Technologies to Improve Combat Sports Techniques and Prevention of Injuries = Global Promotion of the Innovative Aspects of Science of Martial Arts: An Exemplary Application of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Technologies to Improve Combat Sports Techniques and Prevention of Injuries

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

A common factor of all combat sports is that there is an impact on the opponent’s body in order to document one’s advantage or to defeat the opponent before the lapse of time specified in the rules. The likelihood of injuries, permanent disability and even death is greater than in many other sports. The goal of this paper is to provide argumentation based on scientific facts and elementary logic which defines the possibilities and limits of using innovative technology in combat sport training. In some scientific circles, there is a strong temptation to implement new, up-to-date technologies in as many diverse human activities as possible, such as intellectual, motor, or artistic technologies. In numerous circles, practitioners (i.e., athletes, artists, medical doctor, etc.) are excessively attached to tradition of certain activities which in fact slows the progress down (e.g., health prevention or injury prevention). However, in another perspective, these activities protect scientists against intellectual embarrassment (e.g., education, training, and interdisciplinary evaluation). Yet, being modern does not necessarily mean being rational and effective in a broad sense. As long as virtual reality technology opens up a comprehensive perspective of the simulations of how to avoid collisions with moving objects (e.g., strikes in Taekwondo, punches in boxing, and objects thrown), in other words a preventive purpose, augmented reality technology applied while teaching techniques typical for particular combat sports like Taekwondo and Judo-even when limited to a vertical posture-will remain a technological novelty for a long time. Experience, intuition, ability to select individual methodological paths, adequate intervention at the right moment of training, and mutual understanding between the master and trainee of combat sports cannot be converted into “intelligent” computer programs.