World’s first robot martial arts tournament throws down in China

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Recently, China hosted an unprecedented event – a martial arts competition exclusively for robots. These mechanical competitors displayed impressive moves, such as kicks and punches, against one another.

This year, it was noticeable that a street-patrolling robot with a humanoid design emerged, bringing back memories of Robocop for many of us.

As technology continues to progress, it became increasingly inevitable that we would eventually witness robots battling one another. On May 25, 2025, our anticipation was fulfilled when China hosted the inaugural robot fighting competition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

In the arena, two units of Unitree’s G1 model, standing at 132 cm tall and weighing approximately 35 kg each, squared off in a boxing ring for competition.

China has just held the first-ever robot kickboxing tournament

The China Central Television transmitted coverage of the China Media Group (CMG) World Robot Competition, which spanned three rounds. Points were awarded for strikes either on the robot’s head or body, with each punch earning one point and kicks awarding three points.

As a passionate spectator, I’d say: If those marvelous robots were to take a tumble, five points would be subtracted. On the flip side, if they failed to regain their footing within eight swift seconds after being knocked down, it would cost them ten points, and the round would abruptly conclude.

During the physical confrontations, these machines were operated by humans using remote controls and vocal instructions. The captured video shows them delivering punches, kicks, and even uppercuts. Picture it as a more advanced version of the Robot Wars seen in the early 2000s.

To put it another way, it’s clear that these robots aren’t performing flawlessly in terms of movement; a few even stumbled when they attempted to walk backwards or kick. In the end, among the four competing robots, the one controlled by Chinese tech influencer Lu Xin was the victor.

In an interview with the security cameras, Director Wang Qixin of Unitree stated that instructing robots various actions can be quite challenging.

In his explanation, he mentioned that they employed AI technology for their training process. Initially, they gathered data on the movements of skilled kick-boxers, which was later used to teach the robots those moves within a digital environment.

Although it may prove difficult, similar occurrences are bound to happen again. It has been announced that the EngineAI Robot Free Combat Tournament is scheduled for December. The tournament organizers revealed that this year’s event will push not only the robots’ physical boundaries but also their cognitive abilities.

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2025-05-29 05:48