Do Expert Fencers Engage the Same Visual Perception Strategies as Beginners?

An effective visual perception strategy helps a fencer quickly react to an opponent's actions. This study aimed to examine and compare visual perception strategies used by high-performance foil fencers (experts) and beginners. In an eye tracking experiment, we analysed to which areas beginning and expert fencers paid attention during duels. Novices paid attention to all examined areas of interest comprising the guard, foil (blade and tip), armed hand, lower torso, and upper torso of their opponents. Experts, however, paid significantly less attention to the foil, picking up information from other areas, mainly the upper torso and the armed hand. These results indicate that expert fencers indeed engage different visual perception strategies than beginners. The present findings highlight the fact that beginner fencers should be taught already in the early stages of their careers how to pick up information from various body areas of their opponents.