Letter to TV Broadcasters
Dear Broadcaster,
Combat sports have always been difficult to understand for the average spectator. Take Taekwondo, Karate, Judo, Wrestling, and Boxing. Unless a spectator has played or experienced one of these sports first hand, they will most likely be unable to recite how the scoring works for each individual sport, and they are all quite different from one another. The audience understands only the basic idea that there are two people attempting to impose themselves upon the other, but the specifics of how each sport is scored, what each sport considers valuable, and the goal of each sport is not inherently forthcoming.
These have a massive bearing on the flow of the match, the decisions the athletes make in the ring, and how the judges come to the decision of who wins the match. When these are not inherently obvious to the audience, the first time viewer has a massive barrier to entry.
This is where 20/20 Armor and Energy Scoring provide immense value. For the first time, it is possible to bring to life the intuitive and engaging scoring style from the world’s most popular video games, like Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat, by measuring the impacts sustained in scoring areas of combatants in real time and displaying them in the universally understood health bar format, which has been in usage since 1985. Instant understanding of this fighting format extends to video game players from ages 5 – 55.
We can now measure and proportionally reward the effects of each combatant on the other. This means that striking sports no longer have to rely on outdated integer point systems or ineffective and controversial decision systems like Boxing’s 10 Point Must. This leads to fairness and transparency, while promoting understanding. The spectators can see exactly what scored and that score correlates in real time to what the spectators are seeing in a match, something that combat sports have never been able to do very well if at all. If a player only receives a light hit, then the reward is small, while if a heavier hit lands, the reward is larger. This allows the connection between the action on the screen and the effect on the scoreboard to make intuitive sense, drastically reducing barrier to entry for spectators, translating into longer and larger viewings, and ultimately producing higher ratings and media dollars through advertisements and big name sponsorship.
Beyond this, 20/20 Armor’s patent pending Energy Scoring provides combat sports the ability to have World Records for the first time. Things like “Fastest Depletion”, “Hardest Kick”, “Highest Scoring Combo”, “Longest Combo” and many more are all able to be tracked, giving athletes even more motivation to promote the highest levels of action while giving the spectators an added depth in their viewing experience. The end result is a sport worthy of television that can garner a real audience and mainstream success.
Welcome to the New Era of Taekwondo!
William Sexton,
Founder & COO
20/20 Armor
