FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE // NEWS PROVIDED BY 2020 Armor

December 8th, 2020

2020 Armor Combine: World-class Competition from Home 

2020 Armor, the leader in electronic training and scoring gear for martial arts, is hosting its second Data-Driven Martial Arts Tournament - the 2020 Armor Combine. Following the successful inaugural 2020 Armor Combine in September 2020, the second edition of the tournament will continue to pit a wide spectrum of global athletes, from amateur to Olympian, against one another for the title of the martial artist with the world’s fastest reflexes. 

The 2020 Armor Combine uses 2020 Armor’s patented technology to empower athletes to compete safely and remotely against one another. The tournament climaxes in a live eSports-inspired broadcast, with a star-studded group of commentators from the traditional martial arts and video game worlds. This live broadcast is set to air on January 16, 2021 at 1pm EST.

“We learned in the first Combine that having worldwide tournaments - hosted by local clubs powered by 2020 Armor is a model that will continue to thrive, even in a  post-pandemic world”, says Ali Ghafour, 2020 Armor’s Founder and CEO. He continues: ”Clubs and martial art federations are noticing this shift and are adapting their business models around it”.

Ghafour also states that “not everyone likes to compete at in person tournaments. In fact, approximately 90% of people who practice martial arts do not compete in person. So providing a platform for the other 90% to compete is a win for the student, the parents, the clubs, federations and the various sparring martial arts sports at large.” 

The 2020 Armor Combine #2 is structured in  the following manner:

• Martial art clubs put 2020 Armor on a free standing punching bag and students register their reaction time using varying techniques (individuals can also compete directly from home by wrapping their 2020 Armor Vest on a free standing punching bag).

• The 2020 Armor mobile app records a video of their techniques and overlays their data on the video stream. 

• Students then upload their video with the overlaid data to 2020 Armor through the Combine portal at 2020armor.com/combine

•  The fastest competitors are filtered based on their average reaction time. 

• 2020 Armor hosts a 90 minute broadcast to showcase these winners in an entertaining format with commentators and professionals from the sport.

The replay of 2020 Armor Combine #1 can be found on our YouTube channel via this link.

To watch 2020 Armor Combine #2, subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified ahead of the live stream.  

Introducing the Sponsors of 2020 Armor Combine #2 

New to the 2020 Armor Combine sponsor partners is AAU Taekwondo, one of the largest taekwondo federations in the US. The 2020 Armor Combine #2 will see 2020 Armor strengthen partnerships with two sponsors of 2020 Armor Combine #1: Mooto and leAD Sports. Mooto is a leading global Martial Arts equipment brand originating in South Korea. LeAD Sports Accelerator is the world’s leading sports and health tech investment platform inspired by a legend of the sports industry and founder of the Adidas brand, Adi Dassler.

About AAU
Founded in 1888, the Amateur Athletic Union is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has more than 700,000 members nationwide, including more than 100,000 volunteers. 

AAU Taekwondo was organized and named as the National AAU Taekwondo Committee in October of 1974.  At the 87th National AAU Convention held in Washington, DC Taekwondo was officially admitted as a sport of the AAU of the US in October 1974. To learn more about AAU Taekwondo or to get involved with them, visit their official website.

About leAD

leAD Sports & Health Tech Partners sources, funds, and drives growth of early-stage sports & health tech startups globally. leAD was founded in 2016 and was inspired by the legend of the sports industry Adi Dassler. Since inception, leAD has taken on new companies into its business every year. With 30 companies from around the globe under its portfolio, leAD is constantly empowering founders to create their own legacy. leAD works with groundbreaking solutions across the verticals of fan engagement, connected athletes, and health & well-being and focuses on driving growth through smart investment, premier network access, and expert training. leAD has three investment vehicles – Academy, Portfolio, and ADvantage Fund – and commercial partnerships with Citi Private Bank, Tavistock Group, OurCrowd, and Lake Nona to further support portfolio growth. To learn more about leAD, visit www.leadsports.com 

About 2020 Armor
2020 Armor is a sports technology company that develops martial art scoring equipment and software, transforming martial arts into a mainstream professional sport like soccer. The company’s flagship product, 2020 Armor Vest, tracks impacts through a protective vest that displays the score on the vest using scoring from popular video games. Customers include the largest martial art clubs in the world, high performance athletes and coaches as well as recreational practitioners. Founders & investors of 2020 Armor are former professional martial art athletes. leAD Sports, founded by the family members of Adidas is a major investor. 

2020 Armor’s vision is to be the standard of impact measurement for all martial arts and to be the foundation technology of a spectator-friendly professional martial arts league. 

For more information visit: 
https://www.facebook.com/2020armor
https://www.facebook.com/2020ArmorCombine/
https://www.instagram.com/2020armor/
https://2020armor.com/