Sanda is a combat sport in which athletes adopt offensive and defensive techniques for barehanded confrontations. Inhibition of return (IOR) describes a phenomenon in which an individual's response time to a target appearing at a previously cued location is slower than to a target appearing at an un-cued location. Because Sanda requires attention skills and fast response times in dynamic situations, a good understanding of IOR among Sanda athletes is important for enhancing their performance. We recruited 180 research participants for a 3-part study - 90 Sanda athletes (age M = 21.56, SD = 2.68; 52 males, 38 females) and 90 college student controls (age M = 21.64, SD = 2.40; 45 males, 45 females). We used the IOR paradigm with virtual reality technology to explore Sanda athletes' IOR in three experimental conditions: three-dimensional (3-D) static, dynamic, and mixed. There was a robust IOR effect in the 3-D static scenario, with the IOR effect larger among Sanda athletes than controls. There were different IOR spread patterns between Sanda athletes and controls, and the IOR effect was weaker or absent when the objects moved. There was a speed advantage for Sanda athletes once a static object started moving. In conclusion, the Sanda athletes' faster response times and more fine-graded IOR in 3-D environments may benefit their visual search in combat, and the reference of the static location may be critical for the IOR effect.
Keywords: attention; combat sport; dynamic situation; static situation; virtual reality.