Not-so-Brave New World: Virtual Taekwondo Makes Asian Games Debut
Officials say the VR-based sport uses headsets and motion tracking, with mixed-gender bouts and no weight classes.
- On Friday, Oct 2, the Asian Games in Toyohashi, Japan, introduced virtual taekwondo, marking the Korean martial art's debut in a contact-free, computer-simulated format.
- Virtual taekwondo debuted at the 2023 Olympic Esports Week in Singapore and features a mixed-gender category without weight classes, diverging from traditional contact-heavy versions.
- Competitors wear virtual headsets and body nodes to track movements, aiming real-life kicks at virtual targets to deplete an opponent's health bar during three 60-second rounds without physical contact.
- Silver medallist Chau, a 21-year-old competitor, expressed mixed feelings about lacking weight classes, while Darren Yap praised the format's inclusivity, stating, "It allows more people to participate."
- Governing body World Taekwondo calls the sport "groundbreaking" and safer than traditional sparring, though skeptics argue it represents merely another form of gaming rather than a true martial art.
16 Articles
16 Articles
The discipline appears for the first time in the programmes of the Asian Games in Japan. A "revolutionary" practice supports the international federation when others see it as a devious Korean martial art.
Although it is clearly a combat sport, the two facing athletes stand far apart, relentlessly throwing kicks into the air. Even without an opponent in front of them, they constantly raise their arms to assume defensive stances. Without directly exchanging punches or kicks, they drain the opponent's stamina and, at times, knock them unconscious. This is "Virtual Taekwondo," a new form of Taekwondo adopted as an official sport for the first time at…
Radio France Internationale
Not-so-brave new world: virtual taekwondo makes Asian Games debut
At a gymnasium about a 90-minute drive from the main Games host city of Nagoya, a modest number of spectators watched with a mix of fascination and bewilderment. Taekwondo officials have billed it as "real-world martial arts meets cutting-edge virtual technology". Competitors wear a VR headset and motion tracking technology allows their movements to control their in-game avatars. They have "nodes" on their back, thighs and shins to pick up each …
(Toyohashi, Japan = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dong-han = Virtual Taekwondo, making its debut as an official event at the Asian Games, received an enthusiastic response from the audience, but equipment issues and the US...
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