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.
