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Participant Invitation Letter

Touch, confidence and well-being among visually impaired and blind people – March, 2024

My name is Mathias Alberton, MSc Applied Sport Psychology student under the supervision of Tom Williams, Senior Lecturer in Sport Psychology, Faculty of Sport, Technology & Health Sciences at St Mary's University, Twickenham.


I am conducting a quantitative and qualitative research study on the effects of training techniques derived by Kung Fu Wing Chun on confidence levels and overall well-being among visually impaired and blind people.

The study will focus on the experiences of being in contact with others before and after three guided training sessions, free of charge, for participants who meet these criteria:

  • Registered visual impaired and blind people who will come together with a sighted partner (family member or friend) also committed to train with them for all the three scheduled sessions, fortnightly.
  • Participant must be 18+ years old.


The activities for this research project will include:

  • Completion of two different questionnaires (approximately 15 minutes). The first explores how one generally feels when touching and being touched by people in family and social contexts. The second measures one’s tendency to attribute well-being to factors outside of one’s own will.
  • Three training sessions (1 and a half hours each) on exercises involving a continuous exchange of applied pressure to arms and forearms of two people through a combination of movements delivered repeatedly. In simple terms, you and your training partner will stand in front of one another at approximately 40 cm distance and will learn how to create a safe flow of movements of progressive complexity.
  • Participation in person or online in an audio recorded semi-structured interview on the overall experience (approximately 1 hour).


If you are interested in participating in this study, please feel free to listen to Martial Attitude Voice episode with Takashi Kikuchi, RNIB member to explore the themes investigated. I can be reached via email at 2309443@live.stmarys.ac.uk


Yours sincerely,
Mathias Alberton