The 2026 Asian Games are being held in Japan.
There is competition in 43 sports and over 460 events in 53 venues in Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya Prefecture.
One of the events is this ‘taekwondo’ which is defined as ‘a Korean martial art particularly characterized by the use of a combination of kick movements in combat and widely practised as a sport’ (Oxford English Dictionary).
I presume that like all martial arts it has an ancient heritage, but the word only turns up in English from around 1962.
In English we pronounce the word as tigh-kwon-DOH.
And when I look at that pronunciation, I’m sure I’ve heard of it (without ever being quite sure what it was).
The name combines two Chinese words meaning ‘kick’ and ‘fist’—and I’m sure that more or less describes what the fighters in the arena get up to.
Except at these Asian Games where something quite weird is happening.
It seems that this time it’s being done differently—fighters square off against each other on the mat (but not actually within striking distance!) and then perform the Korean martial art’s familiar kicks and punches but (and it’s a big ‘but’) without physically striking one another.
What happens is that their movements control images (called ‘avatars’) that fight on a screen.
So, this is a combat sport in which no actual combat takes place?
That would be like two boxers standing a couple of metres away from each other, swinging punches into the air, which controlled computer images of boxers hitting each other.
Or something like that.
Critics have dismissed this event at the Asian Games as ‘just a video game,’ despite its use of traditional taekwondo techniques.
That sound you can hear is the ancient masters of this ancient combat sport spinning in their graves.
Tonight I will be a guest commentator on Danica de Giorgio's 'Opinionated' program on News24 -- tonight at 8pm AEST. (With a repeat screening tomorrow night at 6pm AEST.)
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