剣道の有効打突の判断における競技者の視線行動の特徴

抄録

　This study investigated the characteristics of visual behavior in skilled kendoists while judging the validity of strikes. A total of 19 expert and 19 novice kendoists were asked to judge the validity of strikes for men (head armor), do (side trunk covered by a stomach and chest protector), or kote (lower forearm covered by a gauntlet). Simultaneously, the participants' eye movements were recorded at 30 Hz, and the location at which their gaze was directed was identified. Additionally, the pupil area was calculated for each frame. Both expert and novice kendoists focused on the striker's shinai (bamboo sword) during the phase from 900 ms to 600 ms before striking, and on the site struck during the phase from the moment of striking to 300 ms after striking. However, during the phase from 600 ms before the strike to just before the strike, the experts tended to switch their gaze from the strikefur's shinai to the striking site earlier than the novices. Furthermore, the pupil areas of the experts were correlated with their years of experience in judging the validity of a strike to the men. The gaze behavior specific to expert kendoists, such as observing the striking area during the phase just before striking while exhibiting intense scrutiny, may be related to their superior ability to judge the validity of strikes.