TAEKWONDO Malaysia (TM) is looking to leverage Malaysia’s role as host of the Southeast Asian Games 2027 by proposing the inclusion of virtual taekwondo, a tech-driven discipline it believes could boost the country’s medal haul on home ground.
According to TM Technical Director R Dhanaraj, the format mirrors the principles of kyorugi but eliminates physical contact, relying instead on a fully digital competitive platform.
Competitors don specialised headsets and motion-tracking sensors, with every kick and punch captured and projected onto a virtual avatar displayed on screen.
“It feels similar to a video game environment, but the actions are entirely powered by the athlete’s actual movements,” he explained following a working committee meeting at the National Sports Council in Bukit Jalil.
But how does it really work? According to a Taekwondo coach, Tony Lee Chun Wah, Each player dons a VR headset and holds two joysticks for blocking, while five body-mounted nodes track their movements: one on the back for upper-body actions and two on each leg to register every kick. With the VR headset, players can see and face their opponents in a virtual setting.
The objective is to land as many kicks as possible to deplete the opponent’s health bar, just like in arcade-style fighting games.
The player with the most points or the fullest health bar remaining at the end is declared the winner. If a player manages to completely deplete their opponent’s health before time runs out, the match ends immediately.
Dhanaraj further pointed to Malaysia’s recent gold medal performance at a tournament in Cambodia as evidence that the country could position itself among the early frontrunners in this emerging category.
The governing body has since shared the proposal with regional counterparts and received encouraging feedback, strengthening hopes that virtual taekwondo will be formally introduced at the 2027 edition of the Games.
Should it gain approval, the new event would sit alongside kyorugi and poomsae, broadening the competitive landscape and reflecting the growing integration of technology within international sport.
Coach Lee added that VR taekwondo is changing the traditional dynamic, allowing mixed-gender matches where players compete only within their age categories. —Feb 25, 2025
Main image: Reddit
