2020 Armor Releases Revolutionary App: Changing the Reality of Martial Arts
2020 Armor, the leader in electronic training gear for martial arts, released their revolutionary “In Game Reality” App today granting the wish of millions of young martial artists and giving them the chance to be a character in their own video game.
What is “In Game Reality?”
“In Game Reality” transports martial artists into their very own video game,” says 20/20 Armor CEO Ali Ghafour. “All you need is a 20/20 Armor vest and your mobile phone. The sensors in the vest connect to the app recording every kick, punch and combination. Every video you record gives each player their own avatar, gamertag, fighting stance and victory pose. It’s everything we dreamed of when we were kids playing Street Fighter after Taekwondo practice.”
What does “In Game Reality” Mean for the World of Martial Arts?
“I bet you don’t know how martial arts is scored,” says Ghafour. “Even people like myself with decades of experience can watch a match and not know the winner. 99% of Karate or Taekwondo matches aren’t even tracked. Professional matches, which make up 1% of the market, have a scoreboard but the audience doesn’t know how the points are arrived at. We created our video game scoring vests so that students and coaches could know their score simply by looking at the health bar. Instead of a point based system that measures only contact (like existing electronic scoring systems) we created one modeled after a damage based system like in popular video games. With our new “In Game Reality” mobile app we are putting that scoring system into the hands of spectators. With IGR, audiences can follow fights in real time and see how every punch, kick and combination is scored. This is a game changer that will finally make martial arts accessible to a mainstream audience.”
How Does it Help Martial Arts School Owners Double Their Referrals?
“IGR (In Game Reality) also gives club owners a massive referral boost,” says Tony Kook, a successful club owner with 4 schools and over 1200 students. “The number one way all club owners get referrals is offering students a discount in membership if they tell someone about their martial art school. Kids don’t like to do that. Their teachers don’t like to constantly ask them to do it. With IGR, kids trip over themselves to show their friends what they do in martial arts and their friends are extremely eager to join. Imagine if every student brought in just their best friend. You’d double the size of your school.”
So Good You Can’t Keep It To Yourself!
Beta testing of the app proved the technology was so exciting that it was difficult to keep secret. Master Aaron Vorpahl, a 2020 Armor customer, shared the technology when he was being interviewed by Fox News and they immediately ran a segment on it. In the new year, he is expecting to do a demonstration of IGR during the Milwaukee Bucks Half-Time show at center court.
“You’ve never seen this level of excitement around a tournament ring,” says Master Vorpahl. “Kids see a 2020 Armor match and they want to join my school so they can be a part of it. It’s getting more kids into martial arts. Kids who were never interested in it before. You want to get people talking about martial arts? Show them this.”
Supported by The Children of Adi Dassler
20/0 Armor was one of the first companies invited into the elite leAD Sports accelerator. Now they have received their third round of funding and attribute their success to the extensive mentorship they’ve received from this incredible organization.
Christoph Sonnen, Co-Founder & CEO of leAD Sports, and Partner of ADvantage Sports Tech Fund said he was thrilled about leAD’s investment in 2020 Armor.
“The launch of their mobile app is an industry game-changer,” says Sonnen. “Their whole new approach called ‘In-Game Reality’ puts the player inside their very own video game. This technology will impact the lives of the 240 million people that already practice martial arts and millions that are yet to start practicing and will discover the sport because of 2020 Armor. In addition to their already solid business model, this opens up massive opportunities with the e-sport industry, as well as a path to creating their own professional sport. The martial arts industry is very eager for 2020 Armor to realize their vision and make martial arts a mainstream sport like soccer or basketball.”
For interviews contact:
About leAD
leAD, the premier sports venture ecosystem, is inspired by Adi Dassler, the founding father of the modern sports industry. leAD works with the most promising early-stage sports tech startups from around the world, aiming to propel their growth through smart investment, premier network access, and expert mentorship. leAD consists of the leAD Sports Accelerator programs, targeting pre-seed startups, the leAD Business Builder, focused on the gap between seed and growth, and the Series A ADvantage Sports Tech Fund.
About 2020 Armor
20/20 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 tracks impacts through a vest that shows the score on the vest itself using scoring from popular video games. Customers include the largest martial art clubs in the world. Founders & investors of 20/20 Armor are former professional martial art athletes. leAD Sports, founded by the family members of Adidas is a major investor. 20/20 Armor’s vision is to be the standard of impact measurement for all martial arts and to create a professional martial art league powered by their technology.
