{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T10:15:16Z","timestamp":1772446516029,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772409600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"publication fund of the Technical University of Applied Sciences W\u00fcrzburg-Schweinfurt"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Virtual Worlds"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Immersive virtual reality (VR) offers promising opportunities for skill acquisition in complex motor domains, yet its specific potential for martial arts training remains underexplored. This pilot study examined how visual and auditory feedback are associated with subjective immersion and motor performance during the execution of a standardized martial arts sidekick in VR. Ten technically experienced participants completed four training conditions, while full-body kinematics were captured using a synchronized VR-MoCap setup. Subjective ratings of immersion and presence were collected after each condition, and three expert interviews provided complementary qualitative perspectives. Exploratory analyses indicated that high-fidelity visual feedback elicited higher immersion and more stable chamber-phase posture, while voice feedback was associated with smoother timing and improved kick alignment. Experts highlighted multisensory coherence as a key design principle and pointed to concrete opportunities for VR-supported technique refinement. These convergent findings suggest that immersive VR can support technically relevant performance cues in martial arts training while also highlighting design considerations for future high-precision VR coaching systems. As a pilot study, the results provide methodological groundwork and signal directions for larger, confirmatory investigations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/virtualworlds5010011","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T08:51:57Z","timestamp":1772441517000},"page":"11","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Enhancing Immersion in Virtual Reality Martial Arts Training: Toward Realistic and Practical Applications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"5","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-1592-5343","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leonie","family":"Laskowitz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Design and Information Systems, Technical University of Applied Sciences W\u00fcrzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS), 97070 W\u00fcrzburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-1176-8260","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karsten","family":"Huffstadt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Design and Information Systems, Technical University of Applied Sciences W\u00fcrzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS), 97070 W\u00fcrzburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicholas","family":"M\u00fcller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Design and Information Systems, Technical University of Applied Sciences W\u00fcrzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS), 97070 W\u00fcrzburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"298","DOI":"10.1038\/551298a","article-title":"Computer science: Visionary of virtual reality","volume":"551","author":"Faisal","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1109\/45.666641","article-title":"Virtual reality","volume":"17","author":"Zheng","year":"1998","journal-title":"IEEE Potentials"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"389","DOI":"10.1089\/109493103322278772","article-title":"Virtual Reality Training for Health-Care Professionals","volume":"6","author":"Mantovani","year":"2003","journal-title":"Cyberpsychol. Behav."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2923.2009.03547.x","article-title":"A critical review of simulation-based medical education research","volume":"44","author":"McGaghie","year":"2010","journal-title":"Med. Educ."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"010405","DOI":"10.7189\/jogh.04.010405","article-title":"Offline eLearning for undergraduates in health professions: A systematic review of the impact on knowledge, skills, attitudes and satisfaction","volume":"4","author":"Rasmussen","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Glob. Health"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"188","DOI":"10.1097\/SIH.0000000000000347","article-title":"Virtual Reality Simulation in Nontechnical Skills Training for Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review","volume":"14","author":"Bracq","year":"2019","journal-title":"Simul. Healthc."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dormegny, L., Lansingh, V.C., Lejay, A., Chakfe, N., Yaici, R., Sauer, A., Gaucher, D., Henderson, B.A., Thomsen, A.S., and Bourcier, T. (2024). Virtual reality simulation and real-life training programs for cataract surgery: A scoping review of the literature. BMC Med. Educ., 24.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-024-06245-w"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Walls, R., Nageswaran, P., Cowell, A., Sehgal, T., White, T., McVeigh, J., Staykov, S., Basett, P., Mitelpunkt, D., and Sam, A.H. (2024). Virtual reality as an engaging and enjoyable method for delivering emergency clinical simulation training: A prospective, interventional study of medical undergraduates. BMC Med., 22.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-024-03433-9"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1016\/S0304-3940(02)01000-5","article-title":"The visual control of ball interception during human locomotion","volume":"334","author":"Chardenon","year":"2002","journal-title":"Neurosci. Lett."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1167\/9.13.14","article-title":"Catching fly balls in virtual reality: A critical test of the outfielder problem","volume":"9","author":"Fink","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Vis."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1162\/pres_a_00037","article-title":"Virtual Reality as a Tool for the Study of Perception-Action: The Case of Running to Catch Fly Balls","volume":"20","author":"Zaal","year":"2011","journal-title":"Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jelani, N., Zulkifli, A., Ismail, S., and Yusoff, M. (2017, January 3\u20135). Taekwondo trainees\u2019 satisfaction towards using the virtual taekwondo training environment prototype. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Science and Technology 2017, Kedah, Malaysia.","DOI":"10.1063\/1.5005432"},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Kulpa, R., Multon, F., and Argelaguet, F. (July, January 29). Virtual Reality & Sport. Proceedings of the 33rd International Conference on Biomechanics in Sports, Poitiers, France."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"130","DOI":"10.1162\/pres.1994.3.2.130","article-title":"Depth of Presence in Virtual Environments","volume":"3","author":"Slater","year":"1994","journal-title":"Presence Teleoperators Virtual Environ."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Harper & Row."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1024\/1010-0652.19.3.159","article-title":"Motivation, Flow-Erleben und Lernleistung in universit\u00e4ren Lernsettings","volume":"19","author":"Engeser","year":"2005","journal-title":"Z. F\u00fcr P\u00e4dagogische Psychol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"665","DOI":"10.2307\/3250951","article-title":"Time Flies When You\u2019re Having Fun: Cognitive Absorption and Beliefs about Information Technology Usage","volume":"24","author":"Agarwal","year":"2000","journal-title":"MIS Q."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"23","article-title":"Review on Motion Capture Technology","volume":"18","author":"Rahul","year":"2018","journal-title":"Glob. J. Comput. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Suo, X., Tang, W., and Li, Z. (2024). Motion Capture Technology in Sports Scenarios: A Survey. Sensors, 24.","DOI":"10.3390\/s24092947"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1109\/TLT.2010.27","article-title":"A Virtual Reality Dance Training System Using Motion Capture Technology","volume":"4","author":"Chan","year":"2011","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Learn. Technol."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Seino, T., Saito, N., Ogawa, T., Asamizu, S., and Haseyama, M. (2025). Expert Comment Generation Considering Sports Skill Level Using a Large Multimodal Model with Video and Spatial-Temporal Motion Features. Sensors, 25.","DOI":"10.3390\/s25020447"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Penichet-Tomas, A. (2024). Applied Biomechanics in Sports Performance, Injury Prevention, and Rehabilitation. Appl. Sci., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/app142411623"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4584980","DOI":"10.1155\/2022\/4584980","article-title":"Application Effect of Motion Capture Technology in Basketball Resistance Training and Shooting Hit Rate in Immersive Virtual Reality Environment","volume":"2022","author":"Wei","year":"2022","journal-title":"Comput. Intell. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"523","DOI":"10.1007\/s10055-022-00679-7","article-title":"Training in Virtual Reality Enables Learning of a Complex Sports Movement","volume":"27","author":"Pastel","year":"2023","journal-title":"Virtual Real."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Kuckartz, U. (2016). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse: Methoden, Praxis, Computerunterst\u00fctzung, Beltz Juventa. [3rd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (2026, January 28). Code of Conduct: Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice. Available online: https:\/\/www.dfg.de\/en\/basics-topics\/basics-and-principles-of-funding\/good-research-practice\/code-of-conduct."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (2026, January 28). Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice: Code of Conduct (Version 1.2) [Zenodo Record]. Zenodo. Available online: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.14281892."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Gemeinsame Ethikkommission der Hochschulen Bayerns (2026, January 28). GEHBa\u2013Informationen zur GEHBa und zur Antragstellung. Available online: https:\/\/www.gehba.de\/fileadmin\/daten\/Gehba\/GEHBa_Infos_Antragstellung_2022.pdf."}],"container-title":["Virtual Worlds"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2813-2084\/5\/1\/11\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T09:41:14Z","timestamp":1772444474000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2813-2084\/5\/1\/11"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["virtualworlds5010011"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/virtualworlds5010011","relation":{},"ISSN":["2813-2084"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2813-2084","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]]}}}