Play Halo’s “Oddball” with 2020 Armor
Genesis Martial Arts is one of the founding schools behind the Midwest Taekwondo League. The Midwest Taekwondo League is the first martial arts league in the world to spar exclusively with 2020 Armor and is spreading like wildfire throughout the United States. Genesis are known for their creativity, ingenuity and passion for the sport. They also, as the name indicates, have a deep and sincere love of video games.
Genesis Martial Arts owner Dave Metz, reached out to us to explain that he’d found a new use for the equipment that might get gamers excited. It certainly got us excited.
“I created a new game last night during our competition team training,” said Metz. “They begged me to not do ladder drills. It was some kind of Cross Country Week in gym class for them. Instead of being inflexible, I thought on my feet as I always do! Does anyone remember “Oddball” from Halo?”
Oddball is an incredibly fast paced and popular game within Halo. The goal is to maintain possession of the skull for as long as possible. Since a skull was unavailable, Genesis improvised.
“Well, we played real life Oddball with a Nerf football and 20/20 Armor on survival mode,” explained Metz. “If you have the ball, you are wanted. If your hogu gets punched or slapped once, you can dump the ball but it has to hit someone or you are still the Oddball and still fair game for punches or slaps. If you hit someone else with the ball, they have to pick it up and become the Oddball until they are punched or slapped on the hogu. Eliminated players become “Guardians” and can still punch or slap the player who is the Oddball. Keep going until one is left standing! We played with six players (all of our 20/20 units) and it was a blast! Best part is they had so much fun they forgot they were tired. These are kids who have been sparring and doing drills on 20/20 for nearly a year… and they were crazy excited over this new game.”
Metz went on to explain that the game taught martial arts in a way the kids could understand. The game emphasizes speed, conditioning and tactical awareness.
“We might just have to get more hogus,” said Metz. “People loved it that much.”
Do you have an idea that will let your students play video games in real life and learn valuable martial arts skills? Send us your ideas. We love the way you think.
