One way to really, *really* learn good martial-arts form would be to put a teacher in a motion capture suit, and then wire up the students in similar suits...but lined throughout with little "shock beads" that instantly let them know when they are deviating from the kata/form being taught. That is, if a leg is too low or an arm is misplaced- a regional-bzzzt! Nothing painful, and the graduated electrical shock would, according to my psychology text, lessen, then vanish as the student learned. Probably quite quickly! I wouldn't be surprised if there might be a way to stimulate the nerves in a way that would place the wayward limb in the proper position...maybe not. But you could record martial-arts masters and replicate their form electronically for resale. Same for any physical movements, really. Dance, for example. Visions of a square-dance class gone horribly wrong suddenly appearing in my head.
-- cloudface, Apr 09 2009

Geeez, here's a link to a robotic suit http://i.gizmodo.co...ersion-to-cost-4200
Apply this gizmo to Skrewloose's idea? [cloudface, Apr 10 2009]

I was ready for a robotic suit to force the user into the correct position. Could you wire it into the muscles in order to twitch them into the correct position, rather than simply dog-training the students?
-- Skrewloose, Apr 10 2009


This sounds like a very good way to get lots and lots of strained muscles. Most adult beginners, even those in very good shape, are not going to have the range of motion of a master instructor. And the several students in their 70s to 90s in my DoJang are unlikely to reach that range ever. For that matter my instructor doesn't have the range of motion some of the kids do, so you'd be artificially limiting them as well.
-- MechE, Apr 10 2009


bigsleep: Gee, Pavlov's dancing shoes are really close, aren't they? My bad. Skrewloose's idea is also better in a way--a robotic suit that kind of gently positions you the correct form. Might be good for Yoga, too! MechE: Right. I'm guessing that there would have to be a filter that would allow for limited range of movement. And the possibility that the instructor wouldn't have an ideal range of movement never occurred to me. I guess if you had a synthesized instructor that was somehow tailored to an individual's physiology...
-- cloudface, Apr 10 2009



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