Men vs women, no weight classes: Virtual taekwondo breaks old rules at Asian Games

At the Asian Games held in Toyohashi, virtual taekwondo was showcased, merging traditional martial arts with modern virtual reality technology to create a contactless yet athletically demanding competition.

Competitors wore VR headsets and motion tracking devices to control avatars, aiming real-life kicks at their opponent's virtual body to deplete a computerized health bar.

The sport, endorsed by World Taekwondo as "groundbreaking," sees both men and women competing in a mixed category without weight classes, attracting both interest and skepticism as it expands participation.

Singapore has become a hub for this innovation, first appearing at the Olympic Esports Week in 2023.

TOYOHASHI, Oct 2 — Taekwondo dates back more than 2,000 years, but on Friday at the Asian Games the Korean martial art stepped into a not-so-brave future where nobody gets hurt: virtual taekwondo.

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 bodily action.

Rounds are typically 60 seconds each and matches are a best of three rounds, the two combatants standing within their own play area a few metres apart.

The goal is to aim real-life kicks to the virtual body and head of their opponent to deplete their computerised health bar.

The opponent is physically there, standing on an opposing side, but there is never any real-life contact.

Darren Yap won bronze — to go with another bronze in the traditional format.

“It was fun playing out there. I had zero expectations,” said the Singaporean.

Asked what he could see through the VR headset, he said: “You can see your health bar, your opponent’s character, your limbs.

“It’s actually quite nice to wear.

“It’s a fun way to do sparring and it’s a fun way to do taekwondo without the contact.”

Officials say virtual taekwondo is just as athletically demanding as the real thing, but safer.

Governing body World Taekwondo “proudly endorses” it, calling it “groundbreaking”.

Sceptics say it is just another type of gaming.

The first world championships were in 2024 in Singapore, but on Friday it arrived at a bigger stage.

One of the differences to the real-life sport is that men and women compete in a mixed category. There are also no weight classes.

“It allows more people to participate in the sport, and I think it’s cool that women are able to beat men,” said Yap, 22, after losing his semi-final to Vietnam’s woman athlete Chau Ngoc Tuyet Sang.

Singapore has become the early home of the sport. Virtual taekwondo appeared at the inaugural Olympic Esports Week in the city-state in 2023.

Silver medallist Chau, who also competes in the real-life format, had mixed feelings about no gender or weight separation.

“One advantage is that you don’t have to worry about the difference in weight,” the 21-year-old said.

“But one disadvantage is that men and women can have differences in physical strength, and men may tend to be stronger.

“That could also mean that some of the movements are faster than those performed by women.” — AFP

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在丰桥举行的亚运会上，虚拟跆拳道亮相，将传统武术与现代虚拟现实技术相结合，创造了一种非接触式但对体能要求很高的比赛。

参赛选手佩戴 VR 头戴式设备和动作追踪设备来控制虚拟化身，用现实生活中的踢击瞄准对手的虚拟身体，以消耗电脑控制的生命值。

这项运动被世界跆拳道协会誉为“开创性的”，它允许男女混合参赛，不分体重级别，在扩大参与范围的同时，也引起了人们的兴趣和质疑。

新加坡已成为这项创新的中心，并于 2023 年首次亮相奥运会电子竞技周。

丰桥，10 月 2 日——跆拳道的历史可以追溯到 2000 多年前，但在周五的亚运会上，这项韩国武术迈入了一个并不那么勇敢的未来，在这个未来里没有人会受伤：虚拟跆拳道。

在距离奥运会主会场名古屋约 90 分钟车程的一座体育馆里，少数观众带着既着迷又困惑的心情观看比赛。

跆拳道官方将其描述为“现实世界的武术与尖端虚拟技术的结合”。

参赛者佩戴VR头显，通过动作追踪技术控制游戏中的虚拟角色。

它们的背部、大腿和小腿上都有“节点”，可以感知身体的每一个动作。

每回合通常为 60 秒，比赛采用三局两胜制，两名参赛者站在各自的比赛区域内，相距几米。

目标是用现实中的踢击攻击对手的虚拟身体和头部，以耗尽对手的电脑生命值。

对手虽然人就在场上，站在对面，但双方之间永远不会有任何实际的身体接触。

达伦·叶获得铜牌——加上他在传统赛制中获得的另一枚铜牌。

“在那里比赛很有趣。我当时没有任何期望，”这位新加坡球员说道。

当被问及通过 VR 头显可以看到什么时，他说：“你可以看到你的生命值条、对手的角色、你的四肢。

“穿起来其实挺舒服的。”

“这是一种有趣的搏击练习方式，也是一种无需身体接触即可练习跆拳道的有趣方式。”

官方表示，虚拟跆拳道与真实跆拳道在竞技水平上要求不相上下，但更安全。

世界跆拳道联盟“自豪地认可”它，称其为“开创性的”。

怀疑论者认为这不过是另一种类型的游戏。

首届世界锦标赛将于 2024 年在新加坡举行，但周五，它登上了一个更大的舞台。

与现实生活中的体育运动不同的是，这项运动中男女选手同场竞技，而且没有体重级别之分。

“这让更多的人能够参与这项运动，我觉得女性能够战胜男性很酷，”22 岁的叶在半决赛输给越南女运动员周玉雪桑后说道。

新加坡已成为这项运动的早期发源地。虚拟跆拳道于2023年在该城邦国家举办的首届奥林匹克电子竞技周上亮相。

银牌得主周女士也参加现实生活中的比赛，她对不分性别或体重级别感到五味杂陈。

“一个优点是你不必担心体重差异，”这位21岁的年轻人说。

“但缺点之一是，男性和女性在体力上可能存在差异，男性往往更强壮。

“这也可能意味着，男性的一些动作比女性的动作更快。”——法新社

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曼城调查举报人鲁伊·平托或将失去证人保护身份，律师警告称后果“极其严重”。

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