A New Stage: VR and gaming add a kick to taekwondo | Information, Sports activities, Jobs

Virtual Taekwondo athletes compete at an occasion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — When Vietnamese athlete Nguyen Thanh Hien Linh stepped into her first digital taekwondo competitors in Singapore in 2024, she had little concept what she was doing.

“I was just kicking into the air,” recalled the 21-year-old. Despite her background as an elite nationwide taekwondo champion, she struggled within the digital enviornment with no clue on technique, expertise or how the know-how labored.

Two years later, she gained a gold medal at a current digital taekwondo competitors in Malaysia and was a part of a rising group of the gamified fight sport throughout Southeast Asia.

Once unfamiliar and experimental, digital taekwondo is now rising as a structured aggressive self-discipline. Co-developed by World Taekwondo and Singapore-based know-how firm Refract Technologies, it combines digital actuality know-how with conventional taekwondo methods to woo tech-savvy younger athletes.

Competitors put on VR headsets that transport them right into a digital 3D enviornment, and strap motion-tracking sensors on their backbone, thighs and shins. They use their our bodies to manage digital avatars in noncontact digital matches, the place each quick and well-timed strike depletes the opponent’s digital well being bar.

A laptop computer shows a digital taekwondo match as a practitioner trains in Puchong, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Unlike standard taekwondo the place rivals are separated by age, weight and gender, digital taekwondo locations everybody in the identical digital enviornment.

It was showcased at Singapore’s Olympic Esports Week in 2023 and held its first World Championships in Singapore in 2024. This 12 months, the game will make its debut on the Asian Games in Japan, and it’s anticipated to be included within the 2027 Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia.

Physical demand with out harm threat

During final month’s Malaysian competitors, athletes and coaches described how the self-discipline is reshaping perceptions of each martial arts and gaming.

Singapore nationwide athlete Brian Peh, 46, mentioned he was not into gaming however joined the 2024 championship together with his son out of curiosity. Both gained gold and have since participated in lots of different native and regional video games.

Victoria Siow, 12, calibrates motion-tracking sensors and digital actuality controllers throughout a digital taekwondo competitors occasion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Peh now additionally trains college students in digital taekwondo in his dojang, or coaching corridor.

“I always tell parents: your kids love games. Do you want them using their hands to play, or using their legs?” he mentioned. “When they put on the headset and start to fight, wow, their energy is so high. They can play and play and they love it.”

Cambodian coach Vandy Yiv mentioned extra youngsters and fogeys in his nation are displaying curiosity as a result of low threat of harm. In an area match earlier this 12 months, he mentioned there have been extra individuals for digital taekwondo than conventional segments.

Many initially thought it was a online game however rapidly realized it was a bodily grueling fight sport. “Your whole body is moving. There is action, but no injury,” he mentioned. Vandy mentioned he hopes digital taekwondo can grow to be a medal occasion within the Olympic Games within the close to future.

Some athletes described their preliminary experiences as disorienting, reporting dizziness earlier than they adjusted to the digital setting. Many teen gamers, nevertheless, have been instantly interested in the gamified expertise. Matches include intense and fast-paced rounds, solely a minute for every bout, and requires steady offensive stress.

A digital taekwondo athlete practices at a coaching middle in Puchong, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

For Nguyen, success got here after she realized that digital taekwondo requires excess of merely throwing kicks. “You have to guess first where your opponent is and move” earlier than they do, she mentioned.

Athletes want spatial consciousness

While matches happen in an immersive enviornment, coaches say success is determined by bodily conditioning as a lot as technical capability. Athletes nonetheless execute entrance kicks, turning kicks and spinning methods, with success hinging on velocity of execution fairly than influence power.

“So our training is first stamina, muscle endurance, flexibility. Then we go toward the skills, the strategies, how to fight,” Malaysian coach Henry Lee mentioned throughout a current coaching session at a membership. “Strength … is about how fast your leg can lift and strike. Speed becomes your power.”

Lee, who can be an elite nationwide taekwondo athlete, mentioned he scouts for gamers with a robust physique and a very good “game sense” — the flexibility to learn motion and make split-second choices contained in the digital setting.

Jayden Teng, 15, trains utilizing an immersive VR taekwondo system in Puchong, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

One of his college students, Victoria Siow, 12, mentioned the problem lies in judging house she can not bodily see.

“You have to work on your mind — when to kick, how far to move,” she mentioned throughout a coaching session. “It feels like a game and like a dream at the same time.”

For Raja Mardiah Idris, 45, who trains on the identical membership, digital taekwondo has opened doorways that conventional sparring now not may. It permits older athletes and ladies to compete safely and on equal footing, she mentioned Her younger daughter has additionally embraced the game, in a wholesome different to digital machine.

“When you wear the VR, everybody is the same,” mentioned Raja, a member of a state royal household. “You win through your technique, your strategy and your fitness.”

Raja mentioned she plans to give up full-contact kyorugi sparring to give attention to digital taekwondo. She runs and trains within the fitness center to remain sturdy, and hopes to signify Malaysia in digital taekwondo within the SEA Games subsequent 12 months.

Malaysia’s nationwide digital taekwondo coach Tony Lee, mentioned the game remains to be in its infancy. While gear price is excessive and entry could also be restricted within the area, he mentioned rising curiosity will push golf equipment to speculate. Malaysia has nationwide applications and training certification programs now in place.

“Virtual taekwondo is our future because young people like gaming,” he added.