Smart Headgear for Assessment of Auditory Response Reaction Time of Professional and Amateur Kendokas

Abstract

In Kendo, the ability to execute a technique within the shortest time is essential for winning. The purpose of this study was to utilise an in-house developed automatic headgear-scoring sensor with a buzzer to determine the auditory response reaction time (ARRT) of professional (PK) and amateur (AK) Kendo practitioners. ARRT is defined as the time required for a participant to hit a target after a buzzer is sounded. A total of 14 participants took part in this study. The participants were requested to hit the opponent’s headgear target, which consisted of a pressure sensor, upon hearing the buzzer. The average reaction time of PK is 0.44 s, and for AK 0.58 s, with a significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.0001). The in-house developed automatic headgear-scoring sensor with buzzer can be utilised to assist a Kendo practitioner in training to shorten the response reaction time to improve competition performance.

Keywords

• Kendo
• Smart Kendo Headgear
• auditory response reaction time
• reaction time
• movement time
• tactile sensor