There are precedents such as those made by Dr. Andrew Newberg in which meditative or religious activities such as prayer can cause the brain to have greater activity at the level of the frontal lobes of the brain. These protocols can be applied to more dynamic activities
You can check
Cerebral Cortex, Volume 23, Issue 10, 1 October 2013, Pages 2282–2292, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhs219 which compared the behavior and brain structure of healthy controls with a group of karate black belts, using 3D motion tracking, investigating whether the ability to control ballistic arm movements was associated with differences in white matter microstructure.
Also check Brain Imaging Behav. 2017 Jun;11(3):698-711. doi: 10.1007/s11682-016-9546-1.
A prospective microstructure imaging study in mixed-martial artists using geometric measures and diffusion tensor imaging.
Front. Psychol., 08 February 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00080
and
Experimental Brain Research
July 2015, Volume 233, Issue 7, pp 2239–2248
If you mean applying during the action, fMRI and sMRI might not be a good choice. However, if you would like to observe the real time activities, fNIRS might be a good option. However, you must analyze the signal very carefully.
Agree with Aykut, if you are looking for dynamic brain activity, fNIRS is likely what you are looking for. Extremely flexible neoprene caps are available and remote monitoring can be performed. I have seen this used for other competitive sports, such as soccer. These caps tend to be lower density of sensors but can still be useful depending on what you are looking for.
You could also try motor imagery during fMRI. Kinesthetic or visual imagery can be quantified through certain questionnaires. As an example see here: Article Motor imagery training: Kinesthetic imagery strategy and inf...
I think, experts in martial arts vs. novices or laymen could produce interesting and strong effects.
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