Can Kinect aid motor learning in sportsmen? A study for three standing techniques in judo

PLoS One. 2019 Feb 6;14(2):e0210260. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210260. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

Our objective was to examine how exercises with the second generation of the Microsoft Kinect sensor may aid in the process of motor learning in young judo practitioners. We addressed improvements in spatio-temporal accuracy during execution of three standing techniques in judo, in a simple paradigm designed to study short-term practice effects. Two groups of judokas, 12 athletes each-one aided with Kinect and our dedicated software vs a group of controls-were asked to mimic previously recorded master-level performances of the three techniques, established as benchmarks by a two times world champion in judo. In five training sessions, athletes of the aided group used a virtual-reality setup in which they trained with a virtual representation of the master displayed on a large screen with a simultaneous real-time visualisation of their own movements in the form of an avatar based on body joint localisation, as determined by Kinect, which also measured their performance. The control group used Kinect in the 1st and 5th session, which was necessary for the measurements that constituted the basis for subsequent statistical comparisons, whereas the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th session in this group was guided by a coach, without the use of the Kinect setup. In addition, athletes of the two groups had unrestricted access to a video recording of the master performing the three throws. We found statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) in the accuracy of executing the three techniques between the 1st and the 5th training session for the aided group but not for the control group. We conclude that incorporating Kinect based exercises into a judo training programme may be a useful means to supporting motor learning, therefore enhancing training efficiency, and thus improving performance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Athletes*
  • Humans
  • Learning / physiology*
  • Male
  • Martial Arts*
  • Motor Skills / physiology*
  • Movement / physiology*
  • Software*

Grants and funding

Cezary Sielużycki was supported partially by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme, Coordination and Support Action, grant agreement number 316097, ENGINE—European research centre of Network intelliGence for INnovation Enhancement, together with the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education fund for supporting internationally co-financed projects in 2013–2016, and partially by the statutory funds of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Jarosław Maśliński, Wojciech B. Cieśliński and Kazimierz Witkowski acknowledge support by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, grant number 0011/RS3/2015/53. There was no additional external funding received for this study.