The idea of being able to improve our cognitive functioning is one that has been increasing in popularity over the past decades. Martial Arts are an activity that has been heavily researched in this regard, in populations of children and older adults. However, there has been far less research in this area using populations of healthy, typical adults. This thesis aimed to fill this literature gap by comparing groups of experienced martial artists and groups of participants with no experience in the sport. The participant groups were compared on three validated and strong cognitive measures and paradigms – the Go/NoGo test in Chapter Two, the Attention Network Test in Chapter Three, and a Task Switching paradigm in Chapter Four. The thesis aimed to address research questions investigating potential differences in inhibitory control, attentional networks, and cognitive flexibility. Additionally, a fourth research question sought to understand whether any cognitive changes are associated with the length of time a person has been taking part in Martial Arts. Over the course of the following chapters, it is suggested that martial artists have a more efficient alert network representing greater vigilance, and a smaller mixing cost for specific incongruent trials again representing superior vigilance. Additionally, the martial artists also showed a greater sensation seeking score suggesting higher impulsivity, and a higher number of commission errors suggesting poor inhibitory control. This thesis therefore suggests that improved vigilance can be associated with
Martial Arts practice, along with high impulsivity and poor inhibition.