Development of a pneumatic assist suit that assists the twisting movement of the lower body during the forehand swing of table tennis

Abstract

Typical sports support methods have a possibility that people will acquire a form which puts a burden on one part of the body or a form which cannot exert sufficient power and a problem that an instructor who gives guidance is essential. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a device which allow one person to acquire a form which could exert sufficient power. In this research, we developed an assist suit that assists the lower body during a forehand swing of table tennis for acquiring a forehand swing with twist of the lower body. And we conducted experiments using this suit for beginners of table tennis. As a result, the range of movement of the lower body increased by the assist suit and there are individual differences in whether to acquire a swing with twisting the lower body.