Masters Thesis, titled 3D visualization and motion capture of Historical European Martial Arts, is a combination of varying interest areas – old and often unclear historical sources of the chosen cultural art form; modern technology and potential methods for data analysis that interpret them; and an independently built 3D model, that along with some extra software tools seeks to ensure the final visualization.
Historical European martial arts are a very good example of a sports activity that because of its multiple fighting variations, wide time span and a relatively large geographical spread, left behind a strong tradition. Many experts and enthusiasts strive to preserve and improve it – especially what the clarity and optimal ways of interpreting the sources are concerned. On the other hand, with more technology available, such as various systems for motion capture in combination with 3D visualization tools, we are provided with a visual overview of the techniques from historical European martial arts, easier interpretation of the them, and an increase in the educational value for the desired target groups.
For this intent it was necessary to collect as many publicly available sources as possible. Out of many, a set of a few complicated and most representative techniques was picked out. The experimental part followed. Before the motion capture itself, the space and appropriate tools for it had to be set, and even the choreography needed to be planned. After the motion capture was done, most relevant data had to be selected, processed and combined with an already pre-made 3D figure and that from MotionBuilder itself, on which we visualized the given results.
The outcome of the master thesis is therefore a short visual representation of selected historical European martial arts techniques. It was concluded, that the process of planning, execution and data processing, consequently also the final visualization, still offer a lot of room for optimization. Nevertheless, it is still possible to achieve surprisingly accurate results in the role of a graphic designer.
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