Kung Fu Metaverse: A Movement Guidance Training System

There are a large number of Chinese Kung Fu enthusiasts worldwide. Offline learning has been the primary method for teaching and learning Chinese Kung Fu due to the inability of online 2-D videos to convey spatial information and provide feedback. To address the issues of the high cost of offline teaching, fixed perspectives in 2-D videos, lack of spatial path feedback, and the absence of practical Kung Fu teaching systems, this article proposes Kung Fu Metaverse: A new movement guidance training system. A digital character in the system is given nearly a hundred kinds of Chinese Kung Fu. Learners can observe the static postures and dynamic transitions of martial arts from various angles. Composite navigation module of our system provides learners with a feedback of spatial path teaching method so that they can receive real-time feedback when training. We recruited volunteers and conducted two experiments. The first compared the cognitive experience of volunteers in three different modes, while the second investigated the impact of voice prompts, trajectory settings, arrow indicators, and free gestures on learning outcomes. The results indicate that volunteers demonstrated significantly higher levels of satisfaction, comfort, and interactivity in the mixed reality (MR) mode. Compared to virtual reality, MR allows free movement and significantly reduces adverse effects such as sickness and dizziness. The addition of the composite navigation module improves the movement precision during practice. This work is a pioneering system that integrates nearly a hundred sets of traditional Chinese Kung Fu routines with a low-cost device.