THE FUTURE KICKING IN A virtual taekwondo competitorperforms a high kick during a competitive event in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia, on June 20. —AP
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—When Vietnamese athlete Nguyen Thanh Hien Linh stepped into her first virtual taekwondo competition in Singapore in 2024, she had little idea what she was doing.
“I used to be just kicking into the air,” recalled the 21-year-old. Despite her background as an elite national taekwondo champion, she struggled within the virtual arena with no clue on strategy, skills or how the technology worked.
Two years later, she won a gold medal at a recent virtual taekwondo competition in Malaysia and was a part of a growing community of the gamified combat sport across Southeast Asia.
Once unfamiliar and experimental, virtual taekwondo is now emerging as a structured competitive discipline. Co-developed by World Taekwondo and Singapore-based technology company Refract Technologies, it combines virtual reality technology with traditional taekwondo techniques to woo tech-savvy young athletes.
Competitors wear VR headsets that transport them right into a digital 3D arena, and strap motion-tracking sensors on their spine, thighs and shins. They use their bodies to manage digital avatars in noncontact virtual matches, where every fast and well-timed strike depletes the opponent’s virtual health bar.
Unlike conventional taekwondo where competitors are separated by age, weight and gender, virtual taekwondo places everyone in the identical digital arena.
It was showcased at Singapore’s Olympic Esports Week in 2023 and held its first World Championships in Singapore in 2024. This yr, the game will make its debut on the Asian Games in Japan, and it is predicted to be included within the 2027 Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia.
Reshaping perceptions
During last month’s Malaysian competition, athletes and coaches described how the discipline is reshaping perceptions of each martial arts and gaming.
Singapore national athlete Brian Peh, 46, said he was not into gaming but joined the 2024 championship along with his son out of curiosity. Each won gold and have since participated in lots of other local and regional games.
Peh now also trains students in virtual taekwondo in his dojang, or training hall.
“I at all times tell parents: your kids love games. Do you would like them using their hands to play, or using their legs?” he said. “After they placed on the headset and begin to fight, wow, their energy is so high. They’ll play and play they usually like it.”
Cambodian coach Vandy Yiv said more children and oldsters in his country are showing interest as a consequence of the low risk of injury. In an area tournament earlier this yr, he said there have been more participants for virtual taekwondo than traditional segments.
Disorienting
Many initially thought it was a video game but quickly realized it was a physically grueling combat sport. “Your whole body is moving. There may be motion, but no injury,” he said. Vandy said he hopes virtual taekwondo can grow to be a medal event within the Olympic Games within the near future.
Some athletes described their initial experiences as disorienting, reporting dizziness before they adjusted to the virtual environment. Many teen players, nevertheless, were immediately interested in the gamified experience. Matches consist of intense and fast-paced rounds, only a minute for every bout, and requires continuous offensive pressure.
For Nguyen, success got here after she learned that virtual taekwondo requires excess of simply throwing kicks. “You might have to guess first where your opponent is and move” before they do, she said.
While matches happen in an immersive arena, coaches say success is dependent upon physical conditioning as much as technical ability. Athletes still execute front kicks, turning kicks and spinning techniques, with success hinging on speed of execution reasonably than impact force.
“So our training is first stamina, muscle endurance, flexibility. Then we go toward the abilities, the strategies, learn how to fight,” Malaysian coach Henry Lee said during a recent training session at a club. “Strength … is about how briskly your leg can lift and strike. Speed becomes your power.”
Lee, who can be an elite national taekwondo athlete, said he scouts for players with a powerful physique and an excellent “game sense”—the power to read movement and make split-second decisions contained in the virtual environment.
Game seems like a dream
One in every of his students, Victoria Siow, 12, said the challenge lies in judging space she cannot physically see.
“You might have to work in your mind—when to kick, how far to maneuver,” she said during a training session. “It seems like a game and like a dream at the identical time.”
For Raja Mardiah Idris, 45, who trains at the identical club, virtual taekwondo has opened doors that traditional sparring now not could. It allows older athletes and girls to compete safely and on equal footing, she said her young daughter has also embraced the game, in a healthy alternative to digital device.
“Once you wear the VR, everybody is similar,” said Raja, a member of a state royal family. “You win through your technique, your strategy and your fitness.”
Raja said she plans to quit full-contact kyorugi sparring to deal with virtual taekwondo. She runs and trains within the gym to remain strong, and hopes to represent Malaysia in virtual taekwondo within the SEA Games next yr.
Malaysia’s national virtual taekwondo coach Tony Lee, said the game continues to be in its infancy. While equipment cost is high and access could also be limited within the region, he said growing interest will push clubs to speculate. Malaysia has national programs and training certification courses now in place.
“Virtual taekwondo is our future because young people like gaming,” he added. —AP